News

If EDGE is 3G, then WiFi plus 3G is (nearly) here on 6,000 sites

The pioneering integration project, bringing 3G phones and WiFi hotspots into the same budget, comes from SBC Communications, a DSL installer in 13 American States - plus Wayport, plus Cingular - producing a product called FreedomLink.

The "6,000 sites" claim is not as impressive as it sounds. First off, the rollout is slow, and the 6,000 count won't be reached till end 2006, says SBC.

The "integrated 3G" claim depends on how 3G you believe EDGE (Enhanced Datarate for Global Evolution) is. EDGE is a software enhancement to a GPRS data network, in this case Cingular's General Packet Radio Service. Top data rates are claimed to be "up to 170 kilobits per second" but after much of the GPRS hype so far, users will be more than a bit sceptical.

SBC companies plan to deploy more than 1,000 WiFi hot spots in several hundred venues by year-end, more than 9,000 hot spots in 2,000 venues by the end of 2004 and more than 20,000 hot spots in 6,000 venues by the end of 2006. Some of these will be brand-new "small business" hotspots - but it isn't yet clear how many of these will be the new hot spots, and how many are already accounted for by Wayport's expansion plans.

And the "seamless roaming" experience is also a plan, not a product: To deliver an integrated WiFi and 3G service, SBC companies and Cingular "are working on a solution to allow roaming" between home and office LANs, WiFi hot spots and the Cingular GPRS/EDGE network "so that subscribers can experience broadband Internet access regardless of where they are." One day ... nice ambition, not available yet.

The encouraging aspect of the news is that SBC is no stranger to WiFi. "The public hot spot deployment will build upon the success they have experienced with enterprise and residential customers," said the company. "Today, SBC companies provide wireless LANs to businesses and colleges, and home WiFi gateways to SBC Yahoo! DSL customers."

"We're currently selling 2,000 home Wi-Fi gateways a day," said Ray Wilkins, president, SBC marketing and sales. "Our aggressive efforts to enable SBC Yahoo! DSL and enterprise customers to enjoy the benefits of wireless broadband access have paved the way for the FreedomLink service. Now, customers can come to one source to get a single, consistent broadband experience in the home, office or on the road."

In addition to establishing hot spots at primary venues, SBC companies also plan to provide a turnkey product that enables small-business customers to quickly become a hot spot and differentiate themselves in the marketplace. The businesses would then offer Wi-Fi access to their customers.

More details in the full release, or from Wayport.