AirTouch Launches All-Digital Mobile Internet Service - Company Business and Marketing

Cambridge Telcom Report, August 9, 1999

AirTouch Cellular has launched Net Access, an all-digital service that lets travelers and mobile workers in Western Washington cut the tether to their desktops and access the Internet, online services or corporate networks while on the go.

Armed with a laptop computer and a data-ready AirTouch digital phone, customers from Bellingham to Olympia can now enjoy the freedom and convenience of Net Access, which offers the fastest and most convenient wireless information service offered by a major U.S. cellular carrier.

The service also is being launched in Salt Lake City and Detroit and AirTouch plans to extend the service across most of its footprint by the first quarter of next year.

Users at airports, client sites or even the beach now can send and receive e-mail, files and faxes; access their company's intranet; update contacts and schedules; and use the Internet to check a customer's Web site, monitor news and stock prices and review airline schedules -- all without having to plug into a telephone line.

"In today's fast-paced world, Net Access will help you stay in touch, manage information more productively and balance your life," said Joe Dodson, vice president-Sales for AirTouch in the Northwest. "It promises to be as revolutionary for personal information access and management as cellular was for voice communications."

Net Access is the first of several planned Mobile Internet offerings from AirTouch. Products coming soon will include wireless portal services that work with handheld smart phones and personal digital assistants to facilitate a variety of mobile messaging, information and e-commerce services.

Unlike previous wireless data access services, Net Access doesn't require an expensive wireless modem. It works with new data-ready digital phones such as the sleek, lightweight and inexpensive Qualcomm 860 Thin Phone, which AirTouch is the first cellular carrier to offer. (Compatible handsets from other vendors will be available later this year.) The phone, connected to your laptop with a simple serial cable (available from AirTouch), is all you need -- the service requires no other hardware or special software.

Net Access provides a speedier and much more reliable connection than older analog-based wireless services. The service offers the fastest data throughput commercially available from any major U.S. cellular or PCS carrier and is more than adequate for text-based applications such as e-mail or most Web browsing.

In addition, Net Access connects you directly to the Internet exceptionally fast -- typically in less than 10 seconds, according to our tests, compared to as much as 30 seconds for dial-up access from your desktop.

"With its promise of broad geographic coverage, Net Access will be an invaluable tool for many professionals and business people who can't afford to wait to access vital information," said Andrew Seybold, mobile communications analyst and publisher of Andrew Seybold's Outlook. "The service is affordable, easy to use, and will set customers free from the tether of telephone lines while they're on the go."

The service is priced for now at the same airtime rates as voice communications. While connected to Net Access, customers can use the minutes they already have in their monthly bundle.

AirTouch serves 9 million U.S. cellular and PCS customers on a proportionate basis. Its ventures operate in 25 states and 22 of the top 30 U.S. markets, including Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Detroit, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, Phoenix, San Diego, San Francisco and Seattle. AirTouch is part of Vodafone AirTouch Plc, the world's largest wireless communications firm, based in the United Kingdom. It has mobile operations in 24 countries on five continents, with more than 31 million proportionate customers. FMI: www.airtouch.com.