3G today: Broadband on every corner

Mobile 3G wireless has had more ups and downs than a Six Flags thrill ride. First, it was built up as a fast-approaching broadband panacea that would keep us connected, outdoors and in, all the time. Then it plunged into ridicule and ultimately obscurity thanks to infrastructure delays, the economic downturn, and competition from coffee shop Wi-Fi.

And today? With little fanfare, 3G has clearly added a new, if pricey option for those who need high-speed access on the go.

[ Talkback: Is the hotspot era over? ]

Verizon Wireless and Sprint Nextel have already rolled out their EvDO (Evolution Data Optimized) service -- Verizon to more than 180 major metropolitan area markets and Sprint Nextel to 219. Claimed download speeds average 400Kbps to 700Kbps, and both companies are quickly ramping up for near nationwide coverage by the end of 2006 or mid-2007. Cingular is off to a semirespectable start with 16 metropolitan area markets and promises to connect most U.S. metropolitan markets by the end of 2007. T-Mobile has no 3G service yet but promises a fast ramp-up in 2007.

Meanwhile, 3G speed is accelerating. Cingular’s HSDPA (High-Speed Downlink Packet Access), already in deployment, is supposed to deliver sustained downlink speeds as high as 1.1Mbps by the end of 2006, and EvDO Revision B could achieve 14Mbps with new client chip sets within a couple of years.

Although 3G services still can’t be considered cheap, prices have moved into range, averaging $60 per month for unlimited data using a notebook and PC Card, with enterprise volume discounts, discounts for bundled voice and Wi-Fi, special pricing for shared buckets of megabytes, and lower monthly pricing if you use a phone or BlackBerry device as a modem. If you compare this with the average charge of $8 to $12 per day for Wi-Fi in hotels and airports, you’re in right the ballpark for frequent business travelers.

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Hardware options have also multiplied, with certain Dell, Lenovo, and Sony notebooks offering built-in 3G modems, and a number of smartphones offering the same. In many cases you get both 3G and Wi-Fi. Verizon Wireless recently unveiled the first 3G-enabled BlackBerry device, which can double as a 3G modem for a notebook. Intel recently announced an agreement with the GSM Association to publish guidelines for building SIM cards into notebooks that would allow users to connect to both 3G networks and Wi-Fi. And of course there’s always the notebook PC Card option from a variety of vendors, including Kyocera, Option NV, Sierra Wireless, and Sony Ericsson.

The 3G premium