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UK to get 100kbps+ over cellular phones in June
evilandi writes "Cellnet, British Telecom's cellular division, has officially announced that GPRS will go live on 30th June 2000 with 99% UK population coverage (including most rural areas). GPRS, General Packet Radio Service, provides always-on packet-switched ISDN-like bandwidth over a mobile telephone. This will be a boon to mobile office workers and rednecks like me who live out in the sticks (as my wife points out), out of range of ISDN, DSL and cable. The price, has yet to be announced.
" Wow. I want. And I was even thinking about moving to the UK for a while anyway.
This is BT we're talking about. I'd guess the price will be of the order of 5pence a minute+connection.
(FYI: 100 pence / pound, one pound ~ 1.6 US$)
-Yarn - Rio Karma: Excellent
Finally another kick in the pants to US West for not having DSL available in my area due to distance/red tape limitations.
Now if America could get on with this "best thing for the consumer" thing instead of wasting their time on trying to suck every penny out of 56K dial-up and actually do something _productive_, we could all be walking around completely wireless. We have the technology and the money, we're just too lazy. Palm VII with 100Kbps access. Nice
Now you'll be able to get ultra fast data transfers over them. How many accidents will be caused because the driver was surfing while driving to work?
"I'm sorry, Officer, but this porn site just popped up, and my eyes left the road.."
I mean, people already read (while driving) to work..
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Internet Explorer (n): Another bug -- that is, a feature that can't be turned off -- in Windows.
From what I've heard, an ISP in Perth offers a similar service, and although it's apparently rather expensive compared to modem access, if you need the speed it's worth it. For more info try iinet.general or their homepage. NB This is Perth, Australia, not Perthm Scotland.
I wonder how much they'll charge for this. Britain has a poor telecomm industry so this may be priced out of the reach of everyday people.
Whilst I agree that BT will probably take every opportunity to shaft me over, the fact is that they can't charge per minute for this service.
GPRS is always on.
It's always there, permanently. There is no dialling, no placing a call, no handshaking... it's a permanent connection.
Now the question is, will they charge by the byte? Initially, I suspect so- and through the nose, no doubt.
But I live outside the reach of ADSL, cable and ISDN, so frankly I don't care! I'll get a better paid job if that's what it takes to get some bandwidth out here in the Cotswolds!
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Andrew Oakley - www.aoakley.com
Packeted data transmision technology using current mobile GSM technology; wauw! This will mean an enormous boom for mobile ICT in Europe (other countries in Europe will follow shortly), because the GSM infrastructure is everywhere in Europe. Maybe it is wise to invest in GSM infrastructure in the US now...?
now alan cox can stop some of his insistant bitching
At a recent symposium at Twente University, The Netherlands the president and CEO of Ericsson in The Netherlands pointed out that Europe is way ahead of the USA when it comes to wireless services. By his estimate a 2 to 3 years. What he was wondering though was, if Europe would become a dominating force in the mobile services market.
Now, we have the bandwith, but what will be the appliances, what will be the killer-app?
Use Adsense for Charity
I also wonder about lags, since the user is "virtually" on, but the actual packets transmissions tackes place only when data is coming to (or going from) the user.
Wolverhampton University (home of the classic WITCH 1948 historic computer) has had a similar microwave Internet connection since the early 1980's.
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Andrew Oakley - www.aoakley.com
If BT are willing to charge £90 per month (roughly $160) for ASDL access (when they finally get round to it) I imagine we'll be looking at something similar to current ISDN prices to use the service.
I bet they haven't sorted out all the bugs either.
Paul
100kbit/sec? That's about twice as fast as a 56k modem.
Oh well, better than nothing I guess.
Would that be near Wales, then?
/* The People's Republic of Chocolatey Delicious! */
I can get 14.4k right now through my cell phone. Still pay airtime though, so I don't consider it a big win. I'm still waiting for reasonably priced high speed access, but belive me, I've considered this more then once.
While other posters are correct that Eurpoe is ahead of the US in wireless, that is partially because our land lines phones aren't as expensive. When you have to pay 10 cents a minute to call you may as well have the convience of a cell phone. When it doesn't cost you anything (extra) to use the land phone vs 10 cents a minute for the cell, you try to use the land line phone wherever possibal. (Note that 10 cents is a estimate, and not intended to reflect accual prices which vary)
All in all this is good though. It brings my dream of the floating office closer to reality. I can't wait until the time when I work from the lake.
Do you guys get charged per SECOND or per MINUTE for phone use? I have a friend in London who calls me once a month for about an hour..(I'm in NYC), and I ask him if he's paying thru the nose..and he says no...he pays the same even if he's calling down the block! That's insane!
If you're not a Liberal in your 20's, then you have no heart.If you're still a Liberal in your 30's you have no brain.
In its concept, it's perfect. It makes elegant use of the available bandwidth: it uses the bandwidth of several GSM channels if possible. They will probably charge by the amount of data transmitted, and even though it's expensive, I personally don't mind: you're not going to download the latest kernel with it, nor browse HTML pages with megabytes of images anyway. No, you will be connected virtually all the time, and that's what's great about it.
Ahhhhhh finally, high bandless wireless. This should kill WAP, if the WAP patentsquatting fiasco doesn't kill it first.
This is not a technology breakthrough, but rather a profit decision. Wireless connections are already technically feasible from 100kbps all the way up to really fast. The main problem is that there is a huge investment in 14kbps hardware on the telcos part and they don't want to take losses on that (they still need to recoup their investment). I think we can expect to see a gradual shift (with high cost/scattered service areas) to higher bandwidth, but it will be following a cost/profit graph at the telcos and not be so dependent on tech improvements.
The 100kbit per sec figure quoted is the rate if all (8?) channels are used by one device, in practice that wouldn't happen and you would get much less bandwidth than that.
-- You ain't seen me, right?
Never knock on Death's door:
More race stuff in one place,
than any one place on the net.
This sounds like a technology breakthrough that is no doubt going to benefit people in rural areas, but what I really want is a solution to the "last mile" problem that doesn't require a monthly fee.
If wireless technology can communicate high bandwidth packet transfers, then what is stopping people from eliminating the middle man and communication directly with their neighbors? It seems like such technology could be combined with network routing technology to "liberate the internet".
What would change everything would be an independently owned backbone of network routers that communicate to each other over wireless broadband. Anyone who could cough up for the equipment could then become another node. If enough of these linked together end users would only need equipment strong enough to get the signal back and forth to this backbone (so they don't need the router part).
I'm talking about would sort of be a cross between CB or HAM radio and the internet. The "Amature Radio Support" in the linux kernal could be very close to liberating the internet backbones from corporate control.
Am I dreaming?
British Telecom come out with new and whacky marketing ideas about as regularly as intel do. This sounds remarkably like the DSL/ADSL promises that BT made about 2 years ago, and many other promises besides.
ADSL via BT was promised at 2MB down 512Kb up, they trialed, it went down to 1MB down 128Kb up, they trialed again, it went to 2MB down, 128Kb up, but shared between you and the rest of the city.
Now they are about ready to launch, but only if you live in sidcup and you have a bit of string long enough to stretch to the exchange, it doesn't go over a puddle and it doesn't endanger the lifes of any pigeons that may live in your area.
BT wouldn't know broadband if it jumped up behind them and pumped a rocket into their ass. They are incompetent mi-managed and generally wasteful!
I won't hold my breath, and I certainly wouldn't move country for it!
:o)
Wonder what this means for WAP? WAP is, of course, optimised for low bandwidth devices. The first wave are based on GSM.
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It's life Jim, but not as w
...the steering wheel at the 10 o'clock and 2 o'clock positions. Driving one-handed is an safety hazard!
GPRS over GSM is coming to the US as well. I happen to work with a couple of guys that we liberated from AT&T. They, being architects of the CDPD data network currently in place, are in a position to know about these things. Also, the first whack at GPRS over GSM will be 128k. Next it will ramp up to 256k and so on.. It will take a while for us to catch up with the europeans due to the proponderence of different carrier formats for cellular traffic here in the states..
WAP can be used over several types of connections. For example SMS, GSM data OR GPRS. WAP is protocol family, and it really doesn't have anything to do with courier type. Like HTML doesn't care wheter connection is modem, cabel-modem or what ever. You can even use your internet connection to use WAP applications. (if you have WAP browser). Actually GPRS makes WAP better, because it makes it faster...
The /. newsbit has "100kbps+" in the title, but I can't find anything about data transfer rates in the article...
Here in the US you can get Ricochet from Metricom if you live in DC, San Francisco or Seattle. Their press says that they're going to 128kbs, and it's unlimited connection time. Works on a frequency hopping spread spectrum radio system. The coverage sucks outside those three cities, just major airports and a few universities. Linux isn't offically supported but you guys with linux laptops are used to that.
Spyder
Transmeta should stick these GPRS cellphone thingies in Crusoe webpads and sell them in the UK...
BT's doing something cutting edge and interesting? I have my doubts but will check it out later. (looked at Cellnet's website today but didn't notice anything). IF this is true, then it is happening because there is real and murderous competition in the UK cellular market. Prices are really competetive and investment levels really high. 4 companies compete in that market and BT's Cellnet is by no means the largest (2nd and worst rep.) This is in stark contrast to the wired market where BT's monopoly in the local loop means that we can forget about ADSL for the near future (if ever!!) and ISDN is exhorbitantly expensive. Well, either way, I hope it is true though given the state of Cellnet's present network (bloody awful) I have doubts. Bye
-wibble-
When AT&T upgrades the basestations at the end of this year to GSM we will start to see 3G products. Speeds will start at 128K then upto 768K.
WAP/Hdml will stick around for phones, but people want to view websites with html,java, vscript, shockwave, etc... 1 Bit bitmaps and text doesnt cut it.
Also if you cant wait for wireless data, check out the new CDPD phone from Mitsubishi. Its the same size a nokia, has Indeglo screen, 10 Lines of display, and a jack to hookup your laptop, 128bit encyrption.t m
http://www.mobileaccessphone.com/products/index.h
You can use this phone with AT&T Pocketnet CDPD Service. Its the one I use. (Oh yeah, ask about the Unlimited access)l l
Personal @ http://www.attws.com/personal/pocketnet/index.htm
Business @ http://www.attws.com/business/pocketnet/index.htm
Hey, if Slashdot ever has an HDML page, Alot of us mobile junkies would love it. (If I just had time to get the darn html-hdml convertor working..)
Thanks
Bruce
Bruce Perens.
I know I know offtopic but......
I must commend the author on personalizing the original post.
You should consider putting a house there, that was a really nice view, and whoever the woman in the picture is, she has a very nice smile.
I'm still working on a clever footer.
Now I can run my server out of my backpack and carry it with me anywhere I go!
because in reality you can get 15-20 kbps at most.. With GSM you can already get 14.4 kbps. The only difference with GPRS is that you don't have to make a call to use some services. Is that a reason to buy a new phone?? I think that my GSM phone will be enough until the UMTS arrives.
It's not red tape... it's economics.
DSL really can't be supported beyond a 5 or 6 mile radius from the nearest "upgraded" switching station, since quality (manifested as speed) decreases with distance. According to U S WEST, the cost of upgrading the stations simply isn't justified in rural/fringe areas. They polled a number of residents some time back and asked whether they would be willing to pay a little more for DSL access in order to equate the costs. An overwhelming majority said no.
If you live in a densely-populated area, then I'm sure they're on the way.
Please tell me that's pronounced "jeepers".
It would possible (in theory, that is) for the telecom company to guarantee that bandwidth, but it would be extremely expensive and nowhere near profitable. It is feasible to get a speed around 30-40 kbs, which is still considerably more than what current GSM data gives.
So, whenever you hear 100 kbs, repeat the word marketing to yourself.
Canada has decent GSM coverage too (via Fido/Microcell). Poor CDMA USA.
for any inaccuracy. I was drunk.
-Yarn - Rio Karma: Excellent
Do you have a working TV perched on a non-working TV? Does the bed of your truck bed four? Are you humming a song at this moment about someone doin' someone else wrong?
Are there also Oakies, hillbillies and rubes in the sticks? Are there even sticks?
Cross-cultural can be interesting sometimes.
It just so 1980s.
Deleted
All the new mobiles have the web stuff built in. No need for a Palm V.
Deleted
Some would say a view of the countryside is only a really nice view(TM) if it doesn't include any houses.
just imagine yourself in the car: your car mp3 player (or laptop, or rio style device) is connected to your cell phone and you're listening to shoutcast & icecast streams. That's cool.
this is an attempt o liven up the GSM standard for a bit longer. Motorolla (and probably Qualcomm) are working on T1-speed for CDMA. I no fscking clue what to do with all that bandwidth in one tiny phone, or even when hooked to a palm pilot. one thing is for sure, it will be fun to use it on laptops... a Crusoe webpad comes to mind... maybe ones that fold to the size of a palm...
:-)
nahh, that's way to futuristic
None of the handset manufacturers has shown a GPRS capable handset, even at trade shows AFAIK.
Existing handsets cannot do GPRS, and you cannot buy one that does.
There may be a "commercial" launch in June, but to whom?
IIRC, HSCSD (High Speed Circuit Switched Data) *can* be used with existing handsets, and will be available on the Orange network in the UK before June. HSCSD is effectively bonding of multiple timeslots.
Wireless markup language (WML) defines a simple (and easily parsed, because it is XML and well formed) way of describing pages, which is suitable for a device with a very small screen, little memeory, no mouse and a numeric keypad (i.e. a phone).
Sure, if you are using a device without these restrictions, HTML allows for richer content, but even if you have loads of bandwidth, you are not likely to want to view big pages on the screen of a cellular phone.
${YEAR+1} is going to be the year of Linux on the desktop!
I think it was on /., but I remember reading an article on "VDMA Technology" -- Basically, the Virtual Division Multiple Access allows exactly that scheme, and uses MIR technology (still tied up in court battles, I think) to do low-power routing even while the phones are off.
True science means that when you re-evaluate the evidence, you re-evaluate your faith.
Also.. slightly offtopic.. but does anyone actually know of any 0800-number ISPs in the UK who a) have actually launched, b) have not subsequently crashed and burned and c) don't cost £50 a month and still require you to have ad banners on your screen?