SAN DIEGO-Cingular Wireless L.L.C. will sell HSDPA PC cards from Novatel Wireless Inc. when it launches its high-speed 3G network, the companies announced. The news offers further evidence that Cingular is gearing up to launch UMTS/HSDPA services in 15 to 20 markets by the end of the year-the carrier’s stated goal.
Cingular will sell Novatel’s Merlin U730 PC card in “several markets across the United States.” The PC card supports HSDPA technology as well as EDGE and GPRS connections. The companies did not specify where the card would be available or when it would go on sale. The companies also did not say how much the card would cost. Cingular recently made a similar announcement on HSDPA cards with Novatel rival Sierra Wireless Inc.
Cingular was to launch UMTS/HSDPA services across 18 markets today , according to launch plans leaked early last month on one of the carrier’s internal Web sites.
In other modem news, Sierra Wireless said its HSDPA AirCard 850 PC card is on sale on the Isle of Man, where O2 subsidiary Manx Telecom recently launched an HSDPA network. Manx Telecom said customers will initially experience peak data speeds of up to 1.3 megabits per second, with theoretical speeds on the network of up to 14.4 Mbps available “in the future.”
