AT&T Wireless rolls out super-speedy Internet service

Articles: AT&T Wireless rolls out super-speedy Internet service

Posted by admin on Wednesday, July 21, 2004 - 12:46 AM

The white-hot wireless technology known as 3G UMTS — short for Universal Mobile Telecommunications System — is finally making its U.S. debut.
The high-speed Internet connection, which AT&T Wireless began selling Tuesday, is fast enough to enable a customer to use a cell phone, PDA or laptop computer to receive streaming audio and video, create and share video clips, and much more. The technology is already popular in many foreign markets. The service will cost consumers $24.99 a month for an unlimited connection and $5 extra for unlimited streaming. Business users will pay a flat monthly rate of $79.99. Those fees don't include the cost of basic cell phone voice services, which start at about $20 a month. Availability is limited. For now, AT&T Wireless is offering the service in just four cities: Detroit, Phoenix, San Francisco and Seattle. Two others — Dallas and San Diego — are expected to get the service later this year. And even in those markets, the service, at least initially, is restricted to office parks and city centers. Users also have to buy new handsets, which cost about $300, to handle the turbocharged technology. That could prove a handicap in the market. Analyst Roger Entner of Yankee Group points out that just 1% of all cell phone users today spend more than $199 for their phones. About 50% pay less than $100, and about 30% get them as freebies. Using the service on a laptop will require a UMTS card. Still, for those enamored with the idea of harnessing the power of the Internet while on the go, 3G might be worth it. True 3G offers wireless transmission speeds up to eight times faster than conventional dial-up connections. At those speeds, the video and audio streams are Hollywood smooth — no herky-jerky feeds or scratchy sounds. "Think Charlize Theron, not Charlie Chaplin," quipped John Zeglis, chairman and CEO of AT&T Wireless. The launch fulfills a longstanding promise to NTT DoCoMo, the Japanese mobile communications giant that invested $10 billion for a 16% stake in AT&T Wireless in November 2000. As part of the deal, AT&T Wireless agreed to roll out 3G services in 13 U.S. cities, a number later reduced to four, by the end of 2004. If it failed to do so, AT&T Wireless was obliged to give DoCoMo a full refund. As it stands, DoCoMo will be getting back some money anyway. When the planned Cingular-AT&T Wireless merger closes later this year, DoCoMo will get about $5 billion for its stake, which shrank in value along with the fortunes of the U.S. wireless industry. Cingular has indicated that it plans to continue the rollout of advanced wireless services once the merger closes.

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