Launched earlier this month, Vodafone’s USB modem stick is a neat little device for accessing the operator’s High-Speed Uplink Packet Access (HSUPA) service.

Vodafone upgraded its network throughout autumn 2007 to allow HSUPA access, and released a pebble-style HSUPA modem in early December. The new USB stick device is much smaller than the pebble and should therefore prove more attractive to road warriors.

We tested the device using Windows XP Professional and Windows Vista Ultimate running on a Dell Precision M50 laptop. Vodafone’s HSUPA service currently covers most of central London as well as several major airports. The device comes with all the software required to install the modem, which meant we could start accessing the internet or using the SMS function after about five minutes.

Our tests looked at download data transfer rates in the W1 and N17 London postcode areas. The fastest sustained data transfer rates we achieved were 2Mbit/s in W1 and 800kbit/s in N17. The highest rate we saw was a 2.6Mbit/s burst in W1.

As well as quick data transfer speeds, HSUPA also offers significantly lower latency ­ the time it takes for transmit and receive signals to traverse network infrastructures. The lower the latency, the faster web pages can be drawn.

To assess latency, we pinged Google’s web site and recorded an average of 110ms for the HSUPA connection. In tests last November, Orange’s High-Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA) service gave ping times of around 170ms.

Vodafone’s usage tracker records the volume of data transferred, or can be set to record time-based usage. However, the system only displays rates for the current month or last month, and only for the PC the modem is used on. It would have been nice if the modem had the ability to send usage data to a central system to enable administrators to monitor traffic patterns.

Users can set data volume or time access limits, and can choose to be warned either just before the limit is reached, and when it is reached or exceeded.

The modem costs £49 plus a flat rate of £25 per month, with a fair usage policy of 3GB per month. Vodafone said it will not charge for out-of-contract usage “within reason”.