Vodafone has launched a 3G service for mobile business
users, almost four years after it bought its UK 3G licence for
£5.96bn.
Users wishing to use the high-speed data access service will
need Vodafone’s Mobile Connect 3G/GPRS PCMCIA data card, which
plugs into notebook PCs. To access corporate applications users
will require either a virtual private network connection or a
leased line linked to Vodafone’s network.
Vodafone’s 3G network only covers 30% of the UK population, so
the new service also supports GPRS data connectivity. Huw Medcraft,
director of product management at Vodafone, said, "The Mobile
Connect data card provides access to 3G and GPRS with seamless
hand-over." This means that a user’s network connection is not lost
if the card switches between the 3G and GPRS networks.
The service is being charged on usage, starting at £10 a month
for a low-user tariff, rising to £85 for a power-user. The low-user
tariff bundles 5Mbytes of data access per month, and the power-user
tariff includes 500Mbytes.
Ben Wood, principal analyst at Gartner, said 3G data services
were "a big leap forward from GPRS". However, he urged users to
consider the premium they would pay for mobile access to
applications. IT departments should run a pilot to assess the cost
implications of running 3G and should establish clear usage
policies to avoid unnecessary costs. "It does not make sense to
rely [on a 3G data card] when you are in a Wi-Fi area," Wood
said.
Mark Blowers, senior research analyst at Butler Group, said
network access needed to be automatic, so that if a user was in a
Wi-Fi zone, their notebook PC would connect via Wi-Fi, rather than
3G or GPRS.
The road to third generation mobile
services
2000: The government auctions licences to
telcos, giving them the right to run 3G services. Many industry
watchers saw 3G, which allows users to download data at 384kbps and
upload at 64kbps, as essential for mobile data access, the next
wave of technology innovation.
September 2000: Vodafone pays £5.9bn for UK 3G
licence
March 2001: UK availability of Vodafone’s GPRS
service for business
October 2002: First consumer GPRS service,
Vodafone Live!, starts running
March 2003: Vodafone introduces its first GPRS
data card
Summer 2003: Blackberry GPRS service
launched
November 2003: Consumer version of Blackberry
service introduced
April 2004: Launch of 3G mobile data service
for business users.