High-bandwidth, wireless internet access may soon become as ubiquitous as cellular phone service — and as easy to connect to as Wi-Fi.
Qualcomm is readying the second generation of its universal wireless broadband platform, allowing users to connect to any telecom carrier worldwide with a single device.
The technology, called Gobi, has the potential to turn the cellular world into one big hotspot. While it is currently availabile in just notebooks targeted at road warriors, netbooks and smaller "mobile internet devices" are also likely to be swept up in this trend.
"Gobi seems like it will revolutionize the adoption of mobile broadband
among users," says Kathryn Weldon, a principal analyst at
research firm Current Analysis.
Qualcomm hopes to have the Gobi chipsets available in consumer laptops later this year.
It’s the first step towards making wireless broadband work like Wi-Fi. Wi-Fi has long been the favorite of mobile internet users because of its simplicity and standardization — but hotspots cover relatively small areas and finding them isn’t easy. By contrast, mobile broadband services offered by wireless carriers provide a lot of bandwidth and cover large geographic areas. But a
confusing array of carriers and standards means that getting a signal
in Paris generally requires a totally different wireless adapter than it
does in Poughkeepsie.
"You take someone who travels two to three times a month or someone
who wants to get online without being troubled by irregular Wi-Fi
connectivity and Gobi is the answer," says Mike Concannon, a senior
vice-president at Qualcomm.
The technology today is only hampered by the lack of flexible data plans from carriers, which limits it people who are willing to pay for multiple subscriptions and expensive monthly subscription fees.
But that will change, say Weldon and Concannon. Carriers are likely to be more open to more pay-as-you-go plans and short, one-day or one-week contracts.
Having a single device that can connect to multiple carriers is a big step in the that direction.
A significant market for Gobi is likely to be netbooks. That’s why Qualcomm will partner with Sony to integrate Gobi
into Sony’s Vaio P lifestyle netbooks.
Gobi supports both High Speed Data Packet Access and EVDO networks and will work with the four major U.S. carriers (Verizon, AT&T, Sprint Nextel and T-Mobile) as well as international carriers such as Vodafone, Orange and Telus. Laptops that support Gobi will allow users to not be locked into one carrier but choose to have multiple carriers, as long they subscribe to data plans from both.
As notebooks outsell desktops, users are exploring a range of for mobile connectivity options, including Wi-Fi, WiMax and EVDO cards that bring 3G connectivity to laptops. The rise of netbooks, inexpensive computers largely designed for online use, has also increased the demand for mobile broadband services.
Searching for Wi-Fi hotspots or buying wireless PC cards for mobile connectivity can grate on notebook users. "Wi-Fi is a hit or miss thing," says Weldon. "You don’t know if you will be at a hotspot or if you will be secure logging in some random coffee shop or book shop."
Qualcomm first announced the Gobi wireless platform in October 2007
and laptops featuring the technology were first commercially available
nearly a year later. It was initially available through cards that
could be plugged into the computer or as chips built into the machines
by their manufacturers.
Now Gobi is increasingly being embedded into computers by PC makers such as HP, Lenovo, Dell and Acer, among others.
In its second generation chip, Qualcomm has expanded its support for
coverage in Europe, increased data speeds and expanded support for a
range of operating systems including Microsoft Windows 7, Ubuntu and
other popular Linux distributions. The current Gobi platform can support upload speeds of up to 5.7 Mbps.
Gobi’s biggest advantage is its ease of use and the multi-mode
roaming capabilities. Logging on to mobile broadband requires users to
buy a data plan from their carrier and set up a profile. Users can
choose to have multiple carrier profiles. For instance, they can
connect to Verizon and AT&T and switching between both is easy with
just a single click.
Gobi supports a wide range of international carriers, which means
users can take their laptops, buy a local data plan and log on.
"In a world that’s split between GSM and CDMA, multi-radio chipsets like Gobi just seems the way forward," says Weldon.
Weldon believes Qualcomm will announce more partnerships with PC
makers this year. Last year, the company focused on getting carrier
certifications for the Gobi platform.
Critical to Gobi’s future will be the kind of mobile broadband plans
that carriers such as Verizon and AT&T offer. Currently, for
instance, Verizon offers a monthly service plan with 5GB data limit for
$60, and 50MB data limit for $40 a month.
Telecom carriers in North America are used to locking up customers
in long-term contracts that tie them to a single service provider. For
instance, AT&T recently introduced a netbook for $100 with a two-year contract for the company’s 3G data plan.
But to make Gobi a success, AT&T and others will eventually have
to not only offer more pay-as-you-go plans but also be open to giving
customers the freedom to choose.
Weldon and Concannon say they are confident it will happen. Data
services are more lucrative than voice calls and have become a
strong source of revenue for telecom carriers. Gobi could also help
bring in more business users, especially executives who travel
frequently.
"For carriers this is a win-win situation," says Welden. "Gobi
opens up mobile broadband in a way that hasn’t been possible so far and
it is likely to increase data usage significantly."
Photo: (Mike Oliveri/Flickr)
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