Option today announced that it started shipping a new wireless broadband ExpressCard to Vodafone. Exclusively developed for the Vodafone Group, the new ExpressCard is designed to achieve peak HSDPA download speeds of 7.2 Mbps with HSUPA uploads at up to 5.76 Mbps. Initial shipments have been delivered to Elisa, the Vodafone partner network in Finland and the world’s first commercial 3G HSPA 900 MHz operator.

The ExpressCard also supports HSDPA and HSUPA in the 900 MHz band. This extra band satisfies a growing need among mobile operators, especially in Europe and Australia, who are using the band to upgrade their legacy 2G networks to 3G in order to improve mobile broadband coverage in buildings and to extend the reach of their broadband offerings in rural areas.