Ericsson is taking 3G mobile technology to the next level with HSPA Evolution.

The company demonstrated its new HSPA Evolution technology yesterday in Sweden; setting a new 3G speed record with a network downlink speed of 42 Mbps. Ericsson is able to achieve these speeds because the technology allows for data to be received on two frequency channels simultaneously.

The development will boost network capacity and peak data bit rates. This will result in cheaper delivery of data to consumers for networks, cost savings they will hopefully pass onto us in the future.

“Achieving speeds of up to 42 Mbps is a major industry milestone. It further strengthens the position of HSPA as the major mobile broadband technology as we go forward. Consumers will enjoy an even richer communications experience thanks to higher speeds, while operators will be able to reduce network operating costs via increased throughput enabled by HSPA Evolution,” says Ulf Ewaldsson, vice president and head of product area radio at Ericsson

While the new speed sounds rather impressive, consumers are unlikely to achieve this optimum downlink speed when it becomes available. Factors like distance from base station, weather conditions, a consumer’s hardware and software configurations and traffic on the network all affect the downlink speed a consumer experiences.

No networks have yet announced plans to upgrade to HSPA Evolution.