German mobile operator E-Plus will expand its 3G network over the next years. The company has announced to upgrade the 3G network and offer mobile data services with data transmissions of up to 21.6 mbps. The customers will continue to benefit from highly attractive pricing, E-Plus says. More information on the network expansion will be released at the beginning of next year.

According to E-Plus the mobile operator’s network already offers 90 percent of the German population with mobile internet access, primarily based on EDGE with data transmission rates of up to 220 kbps and UMTS with data transmission rates of up to 384 kbps. Other mobile operators such as T-Mobile, Vodafone and O2 Germany already offer DSL-like transfer speeds of up to 7.2 mbps in their networks.

To meet the growing mass market demand for mobile data communication the company finally decided to upgrade the 3G network with HSPA. The company has deliberately waited with the expansion of the 3G network in Germany in order to benefit from lower prices for network technology and more efficient hardware, CEO Thorsten Dirks had declared earlier. In order to keep infrastructure costs low, E-Plus has now selected Chinese ZTE Corporation to supply HSPA-enabled 3G equipment for further expansion and technical upgrade of their mobile networks. Like E-Plus, ZTE is a challenger in the market.

Read more about mobile broadband in Germany:
Mobile Access to Broadband Internet in Germany