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Technology Stocks : Mobile Wireless Packet Data for Dummies -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Michael Allard who wrote (26)	6/11/2003 11:24:42 AM
From: Eric L	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 54

Hi Michael, << Have you used the GSM card yet for internet access? >> Yes and no. I don't have my own card yet and don't expect it for another few weeks. I did some benchmarking of the card here in my office mid-winter when a friend was beta-testing a prerelease card, and also in his office. It's a stellar product. << I have the 7135 Smartphone, a Globalstar Phone, and an old GSM phone. >> My own GSM WorldPhone (Bosch 718 dual-mode) is pretty ancient also. I put it in service on Omnipoint early in 98 for overseas travel. No serial cable. I use it. and will continue to use it, strictly for voice and SMS and its paid for itself many times over. << I am in Italy the last 2 weeks of July and am looking for the best way to connect. .... I was curious as to my options with the GSM Internationally activated SIM card? Is coverage and speed adequate in Italy? Is it worth buying the hardware for 2 weeks (ie is it that much quicker than Globalstars 9.6 MBPS?) >> Italy has great voice coverage and I would assume good GPRS coverage. I am told that GPRS roaming has been greatly enhanced over the last 6 to 9 months, pretty flaky before that, but I have no first hand experience yet. The friend I referred to travels to Europe and Asia frequently, and uses the card with regularity and also uses a Communicator with HSCSD. My firm has several employees stationed in Europe or ME, equipped with the card. They obtain good utility from it so far as I know. Realistically you should expect raw effective throughput ~2.0x to 3.5x GSM's 9.6 kbps peak, depending on how the card is configured and how the network your on is configured. Card I'll be using is here: sierrawireless.com I anticipate I'll be receiving some client side data acceleration software, but I'm not sure yet whose product it is. Best, - Eric -