ATLANTA-Cingular Wireless L.L.C. officially took the high-speed plunge with the launch of its UMTS/HSDPA-based BroadbandConnect network.
The carrier said its next-generation network is initially available in 16 markets covering nearly 35 million potential customers. Those customers reside in Dallas, Houston and Austin, Texas; Baltimore; Boston; Chicago; Las Vegas; Phoenix; Portland, Ore.; Salt Lake City; San Diego, San Francisco and San Jose, Calif.; Seattle and Tacoma, Washington; and Washington, D.C.
The launch is the first wide-scale commercial deployment of HSDPA technology in the world.
The launched markets include five metropolitan areas-Dallas, Phoenix, San Diego, San Francisco and Seattle-where AT&T Wireless Services Inc. had previously launched UMTS services prior to being acquired by Cingular in late 2004. Cingular had previously promised it would launch UMTS/HSDPA capabilities in 15 to 20 markets by the end of the year.
Cingular noted its UMTS/HSDPA network provides average throughput speeds of between 400 and 700 kilobits per second, with bursts to more than 1 megabit per second-roughly twice as fast as AWS’ legacy UMTS capabilities. The UMTS/HSDPA speeds are also similar to what Verizon Wireless, Sprint Nextel Corp. and Alltel Corp. claim for their CDMA2000 1x EV-DO wireless data networks.
In support of the BroadbandConnect network, Cingular is initially offering the Sierra Wireless AirCard 860 PC card. The device includes support for HSDPA/UMTS, as well as Cingular’s nationwide EDGE and GPRS data networks. It runs both domestic 850 MHz and 1.9 GHz spectrum bands and international 900 MHz and 1.8 GHz bands. The AirCard 860 retails for $100 with a two-year service agreement.
Cingular expects to launch UMTS/HSDPA-enabled handsets beginning next year, which will include full-motion video and streaming audio capabilities. AWS offered a pair of UMTS handsets from Motorola Inc. and Nokia Corp. that Cingular no longer supports.
Initial rate plans begin at $20 per month for 5 megabytes of data transmission, and run up to $60 per month for unlimited data access. The prices are equivalent to what Cingular’s competitors are charging for access to their high-speed wireless data networks.
Cingular has said it expects to roll out UMTS/HSDPA capabilities to most major markets by the end of next year. Verizon Wireless currently offers EV-DO services covering more than 150 million pops, while Sprint Nextel’s EV-DO network is expected to cover more than 130 million pops by early next year.
