Johannesburg, 20 Oct 2008
Toshiba is ready to ship its embedded-3G laptops after successful talks with the GSM Association (GSMA), which represents cellular network providers all over the world.
The company says it has agreed on a set of standards with GSMA members.
Last month, 16 of the world's largest IT and mobile companies - including Toshiba - united behind a GSMA-led initiative to create a new category of always-connected mobile broadband devices, which will deliver an alternative to WiFi.
During the first phase of the initiative, mobile operators, PC manufacturers and chipset providers will unite to pre-install mobile broadband into a range of notebook PCs that will be ready to switch on and surf straight out of the box in 91 countries across the world.
"Mobile broadband is like a home or office broadband connection with one crucial difference: freedom. Freedom from hotspots, freedom from complexity and freedom from security concerns," says GSMA chief marketing officer Michael O'Hara.
The requirements
O'Hara explains that, to achieve mobile freedom, it is crucial embedded mobile broadband modules work with nearly all frequency bands used in mobile networks worldwide, in order to enable access to the Internet anywhere, at anytime.
Toshiba also states WiFi can complement mobile broadband by giving people access to broadband data communication exceeding data rates of up to 54Mbps, which surpasses advanced 3G networks.
The computing company says because of the added benefits of WiFi, laptops should offer embedded interfaces for both types of wireless technology, to ensure users can choose the network that best meets their individual needs.
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