Ramping up the pressure on cable TV operators and other mobile phone services, AT&T has created a one price triple play bundle for broadband: wireline broadband at home, Wi-Fi access at more than 17,000 hot spots in the States and wireless access, AT&T’s Laptop Connect, to AT&T’s cellular network all for $79.95 a month.
There’s no guesswork for the user when it comes to selecting the strongest signal. The service, called Net Reach, includes AT&T’s Communication Manager software (version 6.8) for laptops, which automatically detects the strongest AT&T network signal within range of the customer, including 3G or EDGE cellular or an accessible Wi-Fi network including those that AT&T operates for such as McDonald’s, Starbucks and Barnes and Noble.
If customers are at home, and choose to connect via their laptop with their home high speed Internet service, the software will detect that signal.
An indication of the bundle’s appeal can be seen in the dual connection service that AT&T offers iPhone users. It automatically switches between Wi-Fi and a cellular signal, with the iPhone user paying a fixed monthly rate for unlimited access to both services.
AT&T’s senior VP at its Converged Service Brian Shay, said, “Knowing that a reliable network virtually shadows you every step of the way gives consumers the peace of mind they need to stay ahead in today’s busy world.”
Net Reach provides Internet service at home, access to AT&T’s 3G wireless network in more than 275 major metro areas, national coverage on AT&T’s EDGE wireless network and free access to more than 17,000 Wi-Fi hot spots nationwide, including roughly 7,000 Starbucks locations.
The AT&T Communication Manager software comes pre- installed on the AT&T USBConnect 881 for use with laptops and is available for free download. Customers must also combine their wireless and wireline services onto one billing statement.
Shay said, “Whether it’s high speed Internet at home, our wireless networks
or our Wi-Fi hot spots, it’s all about delivering the best experience for our customers.”
AT&T this week said its cellular broadband will become faster. It recently said that it could do that with its 3G service in order to compete with WiMAX and this is perhaps the first sign of its roll out.
It’s boosting by about 20% the top end of the company’s typical 3G network downlink speed range and increasing by 50% the top end of the typical uplink speed range for wireless laptop card customers.
It attributed the increases to network enhancements, including the deployment of High Speed Uplink Packet Access (HSUPA) technology across all existing 3G markets that’ll be finished before the end of June.
AT&T said that as HSPA technology evolves between 2009 and 2010 to HSPA+, peak speeds could reach 20 Mbps. It confirmed plans to adopt LTE (Long Term Evolution) technology to reach even higher speeds in the longer term. LTE is a competing technology to the WiMAX technology, that Clearwire and three major cablecos plan to deploy.
Looking ahead, AT&T said that by month end it will become the first US carrier to have fully deployed High Speed Packet Access (HSPA) technology across its entire 3G network. By year-end, the company plans to offer 3G service in nearly 350 major metropolitan U.S. areas.
The new typical wireless broadband speeds for LaptopConnect customers are:
– Downlink – Between 700 Kbps (0.7 Mbps) and 1.7 Mbps, formerly 600 Kbps to 1.4 Mbps
– Uplink – Between 500 Kbps (0.5 Mbps) and 1.2 Mbps, formerly 500 Kbps to 800 Kbps
The company said the new typical speed ranges reflect the results of recent measurements performed during thousands of tests in multiple markets.
According to AT&T, the number of Laptop Connect subscribers increased 83% between the first quarters of 2007 and 2008.
To achieve the higher speeds, subscribers must be using one of AT&T’s four current devices that support HSUPA technology or a laptop with embedded HSUPA technology. The four devices are: AT&T USBConnect 881, Sierra Wireless AirCard 881, Option GT Ultra and Option GT Ultra Express