BUENOS AIRES, Argentina—Entel PCS of Chile commercially launched its Mobile Wide Band service, using General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) over the 1900 MHz band, on 25 October, becoming the first carrier to operate a 2.5-generation (2.5G) network in South America.
One terminal to be used for the new service is the T39 tri-band phone from Ericsson, which through the use of accessories allows users to take digital photos and send them via e-mail, download and listen to music in MP3 format, and connect wirelessly within a 10-meter range of a PC, notebook or personal digital assistant (PDA) using a Bluetooth interface. Motorola’s T193 Baracuda handsets are also available for the service.
Marco de Lissicich, Entel PCS general manager, said: “With GPRS, it is possible to surf at an average speed of 44.4 kbps (kilobits per second) for the reception of data and potentially we could reach 114 kbps, depending on the terminal and use of the network. This will lead to a large development of applications for companies, m-commerce, m-entertainment and m-information.”
The service is already available in Santiago de Chile, Vi
