Cingular will test high-speed wireless network

Mobile Internet, The, June, 2004

Cingular Wireless is planning to start testing a high-speed wireless Internet network later this year, though the carrier says it doesn't plan to launch a major commercial offering of the service until 2006. Cingular will use so-called UMTS technology for the initial trial of its 3G technology. The company will start its initial trial in its hometown of Atlanta sometime during the summer, and will use equipment from Lucent Technologies Inc.

Already, Verizon Wireless is rolling out a different technology, called EV-DO, and has said it will offer high-speed wireless data services in roughly one-third of the country by year end. Some analysts have speculated that the increased spending by Verizon Wireless may put pressure on rivals such as Cingular and Sprint Corp. to step up their capital spending on such network upgrades, or risk losing share in the nascent wireless data market. Verizon Wireless is a joint venture of Verizon Communications Inc. and Vodafone Group PLC.

AT&T Wireless Services Inc. is scheduled to offer UMTS services in four U.S. cities by year end, although at a different radio frequency. If Cingular's pending acquisition of AT&T Wireless is approved by regulators, it means Cingular could offer a service in those four markets by the end of 2004. In February, Cingular announced it would acquire AT&T Wireless for $41 billion.

Cingular's current data network offers speeds close to dial-up phone connections. This summer the carrier will finish the nationwide rollout of a network upgrade enabling speeds of roughly 100Kbps, or about twice as fast as a dial-up connection. Verizon Wireless advertises speeds of between 300 and 500Kbps, comparable to wired DSL or cable modem connections.

While Verizon Wireless is pulling out ahead of its rivals in offering higher speeds, it remains unclear whether there is a market for such paid services, particularly given the explosion of wireless access to the internet through the technology known as Wi-Fi. Spring and Nextel Communications Inc. still haven't publicly committed to a nationwide rollout of a particular technology for high-speed wireless services.

High-speed data networks cover a wide area, providing wireless Internet access wherever users can get cellular coverage. Wi-Fi generally only covers a radius of a few hundred feet.