* Dual-mode wireless data plan hits the streets
The hard part about choosing between cellular and Wi-Fi services is the tradeoff between speed and coverage. Wi-Fi is grand if users are able and willing to go to the location where the high-speed network is. Cellular works particularly well if users can tolerate sub-megabit speeds, because broadly deployed cellular networks basically come to wherever the user is.
That’s why the idea of having devices with dual-mode radios and the intelligence to pick the fastest network available has been alluring. In this spirit, Cingular Wireless launched what is believed to be the first national unlimited EDGE/Wi-Fi data service plan at this week’s Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association (CTIA) show in New Orleans.
The mobile network operator says its customers can now access data at either 4,000 Wi-Fi hot spots in the U.S. or via its Enhanced Data Rates for Global Evolution (EDGE) network domestically in 13,000 cities and towns. EDGE service is also accessible internationally in about two-dozen countries (nine of which are in Europe) via roaming agreements Cingular has struck with other carriers. Generalized Packet Radio Service (GPRS) service is available in about 80 countries where EDGE is not yet available, according to the company.
Cingular’s Wi-Fi connections are provided through agreements with SBC, Wayport, Concourse Communications and StayOnline, and available on Cingular’s own Wi-Fi networks in several airports and train stations. Dual-mode Wi-Fi and EDGE access is available for $99.98 ($79.99 for EDGE plus $19.99 for Wi-Fi). Customers purchasing a two-year contract with the unlimited plan qualify for a free EDGE PC modem card valued at about $249.99, Cingular says.
Note: For EDGE-only users who roam the globe, quad-band equipment that works in the U.S., Europe and other parts of the world is available: the Sony Ericsson GC83 and Sierra Wireless Airlink PC cards for laptops, as well as the quad-band Treo 650 handheld.
