HSDPA connection sharing from WM6 phones

In an ever connected digital world, users are doing all they can to stay connected to the Internet. Manufacturers realize this and that is why you are seeing many new types of portable devices hit the stores such as smaller notebook computers, Ultra Mobile computers (UMPC), internet tablets and a multitude of Pocket PC style smartphones.

All of these devices include many data connection options such as regular gigabit or 10/100 local area networking, 802.11b/g Wi-Fi as well as many different mobile phone network connectivity types such as GPRS, EDGE (EGPRS), 3G (W-CDMA) and the newest kid on the block, 3.5G or HSDPA which is short for High-Speed Downlink Packet Access.

HSDPA is currently deployed around the world in speeds ranging from 1.8Mbps to 14.4Mbps, which is fast enough to better even the best ADSL2 fixed line internet connections. Depending on where you are located, you'll typically see download speeds ranging from 1.8Mbps to 3.6Mbps but some areas such as Singapore are ahead of other countries offering speeds of up to 7.2Mbps (or around 900 kilobytes per second).

Many countries such as Taiwan and Singapore offer unlimited data plans which are much cheaper compared to other countries such as Australia and the United States. For instance, in Taiwan the largest telecommunications provider "Chunghwa Telecom" offers unlimited usage "3G" access for what is around $28 USD per month - and that includes your voice connection fee too. The voice rates per minute are increased by around 30% but it is still a pretty good deal.

What we decided to do today is play around with the Internet Sharing feature on our new UBiQUiO 503G mobile which comes installed with Microsoft Windows Mobile 6 Professional (this method also works with phones using AKU 3 for WM5) as its operating system.

It allows you to rather easily create a shared internet connection on your PC or other portable device over USB or Bluetooth. It is perfect for users who are going out of town for the weekend and still like to be always connected to the net on your PC, notebook, UMPC, internet tablet and so on.

With 3G / 3.5G enabled SIM in phone, we set about seeing just what type of internet experience we get out of sharing the HSDPA connection on the PC here in Taipei, the capital of Taiwan. We'll also tell you how to get it done in case you are interested in trying it out for your next trip when away from home or office.