Asia: GPRS service launches...finally

The company's announcement yesterday comes more than a year after MobileOne (Asia) Ltd (M1) had launched its GPRS network. Earlier this year, the island's leading mobile provider, Singapore Telecommunications Ltd (SingTel), started its GPRS services.

"The reason we only launched now is because we wanted the right customer experience (to be there) first," said StarHub spokesperson Eric Loh. And part of that experience will come from having the right GPRS applications, he added.

StarHub will thus offer Gee!, a mobile data applications suite that includes services such as sending and receiving email, trading shares and purchasing movie tickets.

Its GPRS customers can also make use of high-speed mobile Internet access while traveling in Thailand, Hong Kong and Philippines as part of roaming trials.

"StarHub has been working closely with our partner, Nokia, to test out the GPRS network with various GPRS-enabled terminals. We have also been working closely with leading industry names to develop mobile data applications. This is to ensure that the first time our customer access Gee! through his GPRS-enabled device, the right customer experience is delivered," StarHub Mobile vice president Chan Kin Hung said in a statement.

StarHub will offer three plans, including one that doesn't require an accompanying voice line. GPRS usage is charged at S$2.50 to S$5 per MB of data transfer.

According to whatis.com, GPRS is a packet-based wireless communication service that promises data rates from 56Kbps up to 114Kbps and continuous connection to the Internet for mobile phone and computer users.