[3GScottishUser]

LONDON -(Dow Jones)- O2 PLC (OOM.LN), the U.K. mobile telecommunications company, Thursday said it will launch a faster third-generation, or 3G, network in the Isle of Man on November 1.

It will be the first commercial launch in Europe of high-speed downlink packet access, or HSDPA, technology. This allows mobile operators to offer users much faster speeds than existing 3G networks. The network will offer speeds of 1.3 megabits-a-second and provides theoretical maximum speeds to 14.4 mbs.

The launch is in partnership with telecoms equipment manufacturer Lucent Technologies (LU).

http://money.iwon.com/jsp/nw/nwdt_rt_top.jsp?cat=TOPBIZ&src=704&feed=dji§ion=news&news_id=dji-00041320051020&date=20051020&alias=/alias/money/cm/nw

[Ben]

I guess it's a first step, miffed that it's not a UK-wide launch though, just IOM! Sounds like more of an extended testing phase. Still, roll on HSDPA, we want/need it!

[Jon3G]

Roll on the mobile data services, it will really help mobile workers or even mobile offices. Hopefully this will challange the way BT and likes think about charging

Any example of this is

www.mynow.co.uk

MyNOW offer wifi BB in your home without the need for BT line or any line

[bsrjl1]

I use MyNow (was Netvigator) as I spend quite a bit of time in a hotel covered by their service. Box has to be positioned correctly to work (just keep turning & seeing if the signal gets better...), and needs a PC for first use but then is fine with a Mac. For £14/month it's great - I'd pay much more than that for the WiFi hotspot, and £45+VAT for a Vodafone 3G data card.

512k, but often get more. Although it can drag down to low speeds at peak time but the upgrades earlier in the year helped. Just hope they roll out to more areas, as coverage is really limited to Thames Valley & parts of London.