3G today: Broadband on every corner for the enterprise?

InfoWorld analyzes the current state of the mobile broadband market in the U.S. from an enterprise perspective. The article writes that "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."

The article notes the speeds and feed are increasing too. "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."

And whiles performance increases, data plan pricing is decreasing and hardware options, from new 3G enabled handsets to notebook PC Card, abound.

Ken Dulaney at Gartner said, “There are few applications, aside from certain verticals, that have the need for 3G performance. The typical business traveler leaves the house, drives to the airport, and has maybe a few minutes at the airport to get on a Wi-Fi hot spot and do some work. He uses his BlackBerry to get e-mail. After getting off the plane he typically rushes to his destination. For these uses, Wi-Fi hot spots and BlackBerrys are fine.”

Dulaney added that "the price of 3G is still high for most enterprise budgets and that carriers have been somewhat misleading, quoting theoretical 3G speeds in unloaded cells and conveniently limiting their quotes to downstream performance when upstream is typically much slower." He also cautioned that "notebook-embedded 3G undoubtedly means trouble switching carriers and added expense when carriers upgrade."

Julie Ask at JupiterResearch, agreed. She said, "3G is great for the few frequently traveling white-collar executives who can convince IT the cost is justified.” She placed 3G enterprise percentage uptake somewhere in the “low single digits” and thought "3G is generally a more reliable connection than Wi-Fi." She said, "Wi-Fi typically has too much interference, and [it’s] on and off. 3G is a closed network."

The article looks at possible enterprise usage and prcing models for 3G and compares it to Wi-Fi. It cites research from Gartner that found "less than a quarter of all business travelers used Wi-Fi hotspots while traveling. The primary reasons for this were log-on hassles and cost -- or uncertainty about cost options."

The article then states that "perhaps the greatest advantage of 3G is the simplicity of a single, transparent log-on from anywhere within the sphere of coverage."