LONDON—Jordanian operator Fastlink has unveiled its countrywide commercial General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) service. The service will enable post-paid customers to have always-on connections to the Internet via their mobiles. Charges are based on use rather than time online.
While data transfer rates using GSM are 9.6 kilobits per second (kbps), the GPRS network provides a speed of up to 44 kbps, eventually set to be more than 170 kbps.
Fastlink is offering its customers free GPRS services until 15 February with the hope that this will push uptake of the service. For enterprise customers, Fastlink is pushing the “remote access” benefits of GPRS, which will enable users to access their office-based systems while on the move.
“Over the next few months, a variety of services will be introduced to reflect the increased capabilities offered by GPRS technology. Our customers will now be able to use their mobile devices in new ways, for more services than ever before,” said Samer Bazyan, Fastlink’s Data Group manager.
