Cellnet launches Net access on a prepay mobile phone
Internet access on a prepay mobile phone will be available starting April 3 thanks to an aggressive tactic by BT Cellnet to oust other players in the fledgling mobile Internet arena. The move means users will access the Internet for around a tenth of the price of a PC.
Cellnet's mobile Internet unit, launched by BT Thursday, promises to have the know-how and resources to drive WAP into the mass market with Britain's first pre-pay WAP phone, restructured pricing tariffs and guaranteed supplies of WAP handsets including the Motorola Timeport and Mitusubishi Trium.
Cellnet is investing £160m in the venture which Cellnet managing director Peter Erskine describes as "The turning point for mobile Internet."
Cellnet's belief that the launch of a pre-pay tariff and handset will explode the WAP protocol is endorsed by IDC's Tim Sheedy, who reckons the prepay model is "crucial" for driving mass market uptake.
Cellnet also claims it has cracked the lack of handsets issue that have dogged Orange by sourcing "hundreds of thousands" of WAP phones -- mainly Mitsubishi's Trium -- ahead of its April launch. "In the next quarter we have cornered the market in WAP handsets and over half of handsets we ship will be WAP," says Kent Thexton, managing director BT mobile Internet worldwide.
Cellnet also announced that an extension of its partnership with Freeserve would allow WAP subscribers to access their Freeserve accounts over a mobile.
Cellnet's mass market WAP offerings now break down as follows:
Guy Kewney predicts WAP rage. Go to AnchorDesk UK for the news comment.
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