Many of the developing economies including India are yet to experience 3G service and Swedish telecom equipment manufacturer Ericsson is precisely eying an opportunity here. The company has come up with an enhanced EDGE Evolution solution promising to power the current GSM networks with 3G capabilities.

Ericsson claims the new solution can shoot up the data speeds in GSM networks by up to 300%. The capability of the solution makes available mobile broadband at near 3G speeds to 4 billion of the world’s population.

Even where 3G exists, the solution can offer coverage in patchy areas.

According to Ericsson the solution is already being evaluated in European and Asian markets.

Ulf Ewaldsson, Vice President and Head of Product Area Radio at Ericsson, says, "We are proud to be the world's first vendor with a commercially available EDGE Evolution solution. This is mobile broadband performance with low entry barriers. With this technology operators can address a potential market of 4 billion GSM users and provide cost-effective mobile broadband anywhere - including countries where 3G licenses have not yet been granted. It is all part of our commitment to offering improved communications such as mobile broadband to more people around the globe and to helping close the digital divide."

The solution finds relevance in the Indian context as well with 3G yet to enter the country. It can also serve those operators who fail to successfully bid for 3G spectrum.