GPRS Roaming initiative for Taiwan, HK, & Britain.
JohnG
Published on Tuesday, May 23, 2000
TELECOMS
SmarTone trials
herald roaming
wireless service
Expansive mood: SmarTone chief executive Ian Stone
says browsing the Net will be simple and fast. SCMP
picture
BIEN PEREZ
SmarTone and Taiwan-based partner Far
EasTone say they are on track to create
advanced services and customer-friendly
global pricing after successfully
completing roaming trials between their
two wireless, high-speed
data-transmission networks.
The trials, which use prototype handsets
from Ericsson, are part of the larger
development initiative on general packet
radio services (GPRS) that SmarTone and
Far EasTone have embarked on with
global allies AT&T Wireless Services
and BT Cellnet.
"The way the future is going to develop is
through these alliances and partnerships,"
said Ian Stone, chief executive at
SmarTone.
"We have the intention of looking beyond
the technology and moving towards
increased co-operation between the
companies."
GPRS is a new technology for transmitting
data over Global System for Mobile
(GSM) cellular networks.
It will be commercially available in the
second half of the year and will provide
customers in Hong Kong, Taiwan and
Britain with mobile data connections at
more than twice the speed of today's
desktop modems.
The GPRS roaming trials are supposed to
ensure that the four operators gain the
needed experience to implement wireless
high-speed data roaming services. The
trials also aim to assess network stability,
integration and connectivity.
Joseph O'Konek, president at Far
EasTone, one of Taiwan's leading
mobile-phone operators, said: "We are
working towards the day when a customer
with a wireless handset can go anywhere
in the region and be guaranteed a set of
services and pricing that is easy to
understand and consistent.
"Once GPRS is in place so that the
networks interact without having to go
through clearing houses, although they do
provide good value, we would be able to
offer even global pricing."
Mr O'Konek said the pricing initiative
followed the lead of the Digital One Rate
programme rolled out by AT&T Wireless
in the United States about two years ago.
"For the first time, a user was able to
make a voice call or a long-distance call
to any place in the US on a single-rate
plan," he said.
"Prior to that, the US rate plan looked
much like what was being implemented in
Europe or Asia. When you went to a
different state, you had a different roaming
price, which was very expensive and
confusing to the customer."
In Hong Kong, SmarTone's GPRS trials
were expected to continue over the coming
weeks.
The GPRS development is part of an
infrastructure expansion of SmarTone's
existing dual-band GSM network. The
Ericsson-based GPRS system will directly
integrate SmarTone's dual band mobile
network with the Internet world, where
data is transmitted using packet-switching
technology.
"For customers, browsing the Internet will
become simple, fast and convenient," Mr
Stone said. Commercial GPRS services
would start in the second half.
"Compared with the capabilities offered
now, GPRS transmits data in excess of
115 kilobits per second. This technology
maximises the efficiency of network
resources and enables users to be always
on-line."
GPRS will also be suitable for video and
multimedia applications. New GPRS
modems and phones will be required for
customers who want to use the services.
The technology is hailed as an important
step in the evolution of third-generation
communications networks.
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