In an effort to offer a compelling alternative to Wi-Fi, 16 IT and mobile companies are collaborating in a GSM Association-led initiative to create a new category of always-connected mobile broadband devices. In the first phase of the initiative, mobile operators, PC manufacturers, and chipset providers are uniting to pre-install mobile broadband capabilities into a range of notebook PCs that will be ready to switch on and surf straight out of the box in 91 countries.

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The wider strategy is to deliver wireless Internet access and management to a whole range of previously unconnected devices, such as cameras, MP3 players, refrigerators, cars, and set-top boxes. However, only devices that offer a truly untethered mobile broadband experience, such as those offered by the 16 companies involved in the program, will qualify to carry the new Mobile Broadband service mark created by the GSMA.

The service mark will be a global identifier to help consumers differentiate the array of “ready-to-run” mobile broadband devices. A global media spend of more than $1 billion in the next year will back up the service mark.

Launch participants include 3 Group, Asus, Dell, ECS, Ericsson, Gemalto, Lenovo, Microsoft, Orange, Qualcomm, Telefónica Europe, Telecom Italia, TeliaSonera, T-Mobile, Toshiba, and Vodafone. The operators involved service more than 760 million connections.

“The Mobile Broadband initiative is a timely one in that it leverages the increasingly widespread availability of high-bandwidth networks in both developed and developing economies,” said Shiv K. Bakhshi, director of mobility research at IDC. “While there will always be a place for Wi-Fi connectivity, the great merit of Mobile Broadband might be that it liberates the user from the spatial tyranny of the so-called ‘hotspot.’”

• GSM Association
  www.gsm.org

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