REDMOND, Wash.-AT&T Wireless Services Inc. is jumping in the wireless Internet pool again, with the introduction of its Digital PocketNet service.
Unlike AT&T’s first attempt, an analog cellular service introduced in 1997 that allowed only basic e-mail functions, PocketNet will feature all the standard Internet functions most wireless carriers provide, with the addition of free unlimited online time to 40 select sites.
The company’s basic plan can be upgraded to the Plus Plan for $7 per month, or the Premium Plan for $15 per month. For the extra costs, subscribers will have additional access to e-mail and faxing service on the Plus Plan, and access to all wireless Internet-enabled Web sites, calendar, contacts and to-do lists with the Premium Plan.
However, one analyst said he was less than thrilled with AT&T’s model.
“As a competitive response to Sprint (PCS), AT&T’s effort falls short in several ways,” said Robert Egan, analyst for the Gartner Group. “For one, it limits people to 40 selected sites, out of more than 100,000 wireless-friendly sites, unless they want to pay extra fees. Through an untested business plan, this `sticky’ strategy may bring advertising and other revenue to AT&T and its business partners, but it needlessly restricts customer choice in a service that should be highly personalized.”
Another downside Egan pointed out is that AT&T is only offering two handset models for the service, compared to more than 10 choices from other carriers.
PocketNet uses AT&T’s Cellular Digital Packet Data protocol, which covers about half of the country, but misses larger cities like Atlanta, Kansas City and New Orleans.
AT&T Wireless noted that service is available in more than 3,000 cities across the United States.
