M1 offers free wireless broadband access

SINGAPORE--Mobile operator MobileOne has rolled out free wireless broadband access (WBA) at a mall in the island-state.

Shoppers at Parco Bugis Junction can now access the Internet using the WBA service, which offers up to 1Mbps download speed, at no charge, said M1 in a statement Thursday.

The free service will be available until Dec 31, 2007. Thereafter, the mobile operator will assess the situation before deciding whether to charge users, Chua Swee Kiat, general manager of corporate communications at M1, told ZDNet Asia.

This follows the month-long trial that M1 launched at the same mall early this year.

The WBA service taps on Mesh Wi-Fi, which uses a series of Wi-Fi access points that are interconnected with one another by radio links. Unlike the normal Wi-Fi that is deployed for hotspots and WLAN (Wireless Local Area Network), Mesh Wi-Fi covers a wider area, said M1.

Early this month, the mobile operator launched the republic's first commercial high-speed downlink packet access (HSDPA) mobile service.