T-Mobile Go for speedy cheap surfing

A huge creamy dollop of news today now I’m back in sunny England. First up is news of a HSPDA data card from T-Mobile. Yes, another acronym for you guys – HSPDA is basically 3G on steroids – more speed and a reduction in latency. You can read more about the technology here at Wikipedia and T-Mobile have launched their card ahead of the HSPDA being available on their networks. The card can also connect to current 3G and also to WiFi hotspots. In theory you should be able to get up to 1.8Mbps on this new technology and, with the T-Mobile announcement of a new of “web’n’walk professional” tariff which is “the UK’s most competitive flat rate tariff”, it would seem like the super-fast super-cheap connection we’ve always wanted is drawing near.

There is a slight catch though. Those who are keen to enjoy VoIP across the flat-rate tariff will have problems after T-Mobile replied to TheRegister regarding the banning of VoIP on their network. In the article they stated that “Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) in our view is not yet of a consistent or high enough level of quality to offer a good customer experience on the T-Mobile network. This situation may change in the future, but for now we believe it is in the best interests of our customers to restrict the use of VoIP technology”.

A full press release on the new tariff, charged from just £8.50 per month and the new T-Mobile Web’n’Walk Card, which is free on certain contracts, can be found below. Personally I’ve tried connecting to a VoIP (SIP) server over 3G and it works fine, so I presume T-Mobile are merely trying to protect their revenue share.

Link – www.t-mobile.co.uk/webnwalkprofessional

T-Mobile makes internet access faster and cheaper

Mobile internet access for just £17 per month

Also available at launch is the new mobile broadband

ready (HSDPA) web’n’walk data card

– Mobile internet access for £17.00 per month + VAT with a web’n’walk data card
– Mobile internet access for £8.50 per month + VAT with all web’n’walk devices when purchased together with a voice price plan

– Web’n’walk card includes 12-month unlimited access to T-Mobile’s 1,000 Hotspots within the UK
– Free web’n’walk card on 18 or 24 month contracts

8^th May 2006, London: T-Mobile UK today announces two initiatives to further drive take-up and usage of the mobile internet. The first is the launch of ‘web’n’walk professional’, which is today the UK’s most competitive flat rate mobile internet tariff, and the second is the launch of T-Mobile’s new mobile broadband ready ‘web’n’walk’ card (also known as HSDPA).

‘Web‘n’walk professional’ offers users flat rate access to the internet* at near broadband speeds (up to 384kbps upload and download) for an extremely competitive, low fixed price that is 2.5 times cheaper than the nearest competitor’s offering.

The card is mobile broadband ready, which will allow customers to experience speeds of up to 6 times faster than current 3G speeds when the service is available later this year. In addition, as the web’n’walk data card is quad-band, it will now work in more countries, including the USA. The web‘n’walk card includes 12 months access to T-Mobile’s Wi-Fi service in the UK, giving users access to over 1,000 T-Mobile HotSpots.

Customers wishing to access the mobile internet using their laptop will pay just £17.00 per month (+VAT) using the web’n’walk data card, and will receive a free web’n’walk data card if they select either an 18 or 24 month contract. Alternatively, customers wanting to access the internet via a handset can do so from the range of T-Mobile web’n’walk devices by simply adding web‘n’walk professional to their existing Flext, Relax or Business 1-Plan tariff for just £8.50 per month (+VAT). The service is compatible with most web’n’walk devices, such as the Nokia N70 or SDA II, the BlackBerry 8700 and the MDA Compact II, Vario and Pro.

Simon Ainslie, Director of Sales commented on the launch: “T-Mobile’s web’n’walk professional price plan, along with our other web’n’walk plans, makes internet access on the move a reality. Until today’s announcement cost has been a barrier to customer take-up. Now there really is little comparison in the market.”

Ainslie continues: “Today’s announcement is the latest in T-Mobile’s drive to offer customers simple, straightforward price plans with true, outstanding value. With such an offering we are helping laptop users to access the information they want, whilst helping them to effectively control their mobile communications spend.”

The new web’n’walk data cards as well as the web’n’walk professional price plan are available through all T-Mobile’s channels.

For more information see:www.t-mobile.co.uk/webnwalkprofessional