REDMOND, Wash.-Through the end of January, AT&T Wireless Services Inc. said it will offer business customers a free Sony Ericsson GC-82 EDGE wireless modem card when they trade in a similar modem card from any national wireless carrier and sign a two-year contract for unlimited data service that the carrier offers for $80 per month.
AT&T Wireless, which offered a similar trade-in deal earlier this year for its Research In Motion Ltd. Blackberry device, noted the data card will also allow access to GPRS networks operated by its affiliates and roaming partners.
A recent report from Allied Business Intelligence found that the wireless modem card market is set for substantial growth following the launch and planned launch of numerous high-speed next-generation networks around the world. The report added that most data network launches have centered on PC cards, which typically do not require as high of subsidies as customer-oriented handsets, targeting high-value business customers.
“[Cellular PC card] users tend to bring in a higher and sustained [average revenue per user], unlike the pattern with individual users that tends to be cyclical,” said ABI analyst Kenil Vora.
