Mobile operator MTN has teamed up with entrepreneurs in the South African province of Gauteng to provide high-speed wireless Internet access to ‘Internet cafes’ in townships lacking affordable fixed-line connections. The pilot project, which uses MTN’s 3G network to connect 10 sites to the Internet, is part of a GSM Association Development Fund programme to adapt the latest mobile technologies to the needs of the developing world.

MTN is using the cutting edge 3G technology HSDPA to provide a high-speed connection to a local entrepreneur’s payphone shop in the Alexandra township near central Johannesburg – one of the first ‘Internet cafes’ in the world to use HSDPA. People renting time on the computers situated in the booth will be able to access the Internet at speeds of up to 1.8 megabits per second. The other nine sites are connected to the Internet via an EDGE network, allowing download speeds at about 120 kilobits per second.

The early rollout of high speed Internet services by South African mobile operators demonstrates that technologies, such as HSDPA, are not solely the preserve of affluent developed countries and that mobile networks can bring far more thant voice and text services to people in developing countries. To help accelerate uptake of 3G in both the developing world and the developed world, the GSMA recently launched a ’3G for all’ programme designed to make 3G services and handsets more affordable.

“This ground-breaking MTN project highlights the great potential of mobile networks to provide high-speed Internet access to the many parts of the developing world that lack extensive fixed-line telephone networks,” said Rob Conway, CEO of the GSM Association (GSMA), the global trade association for mobile operators. “We are hopeful that this kind of shared access service can be replicated throughout the developing world, allowing millions of people to exchange email and browse the wealth of information on the Internet for the first time. By using mobile networks to offer fast Internet access, South African operators are blazing a trail for the rest of Africa to follow,” added Conway.

Branded MTN@ccess, the MTN pilot service is supported by the GSMA’s Development Fund, which finances pilot projects that exploit mobile technologies to bring social and economic benefits to the developing world. Users of MTN@ccess connect to the Internet via an MTN portal – http://www.mtnaccess.co.za – featuring direct links to recruitment services, email services, universities, government departments and many more useful Web sites. The MTN pilot is scheduled to run for six months and could be a precursor to a much wider rollout of shared Internet access services across South Africa using HSDPA and EDGE.

The GSMA’s Development Fund is also supporting a similar shared Internet access pilot in Bangladesh, which uses EDGE technology, and shared voice pilots in several African and Asian countries. These projects could lead to large-scale rollouts that have the potential to transform millions of people’s lives by giving them access to information and communications technologies for the first time. For example, a telephone call, email or Internet search could save people from making long journeys to contact relatives, search for employment or find out which market is offering the best prices for their crops.

South Korea broke into a wireless broadband frenzy Friday with the country’s top two operators launching a volley of services. Leading mobile operator SK Telecom and fixed line carrier KT both introduced wireless internet services over WiBro – Korea’s homebrew WiMAX technology – while mobile unit KTF fired up its HSDPA network.

As of today both KT and SKT will be offering WiBro connectivity in a number of ‘hot zones’ in Seoul. As a result of the limited coverage, KT is offering discounted tariffs until year-end. Both operators expect coverage in all of Seoul by year-end.

WiBro is a homegrown Korean technology that shares compatibility with mobile WiMAX 802.16e and has a theoretical maximum speed of 20Mbps when stationary. The technology can potentially deliver speeds of 1-3Mbps while on the move at up to 120km per hour.

KT is launching with a PC data card and tariffs starting at Won6,000 for 500MB of data per month, ranging up to Won16,000 for unlimited usage. All subscriptions carry a one off Won30,000 connection fee. WiBro enabled PDAs and notebooks are expected to be introduced during the second half.

SKT is launching with a PCMCIA data card and a WiBro Unlimited Usage Plan for Won30,000 per month.

At the same time, KT’s mobile unit, KTF, also launched its commercial HSDPA service in 50 cities, supported by 2 DBDM (Dual Band Dual Mode: 2100MHz WCDMA/HSDPA, 1800MHz cdma2000 1x EV-DO) handsets.

KTF’s HSDPA service provides coverage to 80 per cent of the population in Korea, and is expected to reach 91 per cent of the population by year-end.

The two handsets, the Samsung SPH-W2100 and LG-KH1000, are capable of downloading wireless data at a maximum speed of 1.8 Mbps in HSDPA mode and 2.4 Mbps in EV-DO mode. The SPH-W2100 also supports T-DMB mobile TV services.

KTF said it plans to release up to three additional HSDPA handset models by year-end.

SKT beat KTF to the punch in terms of HSDPA though, commercially launching its network last month in 25 major cities, including Seoul, Incheon, Busan, Daegu, Daejeon and Jeju. The company plans to quickly extend its network to cover to a total of 84 cities, providing full service across the country. SKT hopes to sign up a total of 300,000 subscribers by the end of 2006.

SKT kicked off its service with the Samsung W200 and expects LG’s SH-100 to be in stores by June and four to five other models to be added by year-end.

Mike Roberts, principal analyst at telecoms.com’s parent, Informa Telecoms and Media believes the plans will face tough challenges. “The launch of WiBro by SKT and KT will be the first mass-market rollouts of pre-Mobile WiMAX service, so are an important test of the potential for Mobile WiMAX services,” said Roberts. “However WiBro is also something of a special case because it is launching into an intensely competitive market that will feature HSDPA services from SKT, EV-DO Rev. A services from LG from 2007, and EV-DO services from several operators.”

The country’s smallest operator, LG Telecom is in the process of deploying a cdma2000 1x EV-DO Rev. A network, which is expected to go live next year. LG previously abandoned plans to deploy a faster EV-DV network when vendor interest in the technology began to wane around 18 months ago.

Telefonica Moviles Espana, Palm, Inc. (Nasdaq:PALM) and Research In Motion (RIM) (Nasdaq:RIMM)(TSX:RIM) today announced the availability of BlackBerry(R) Connect(TM) software for the Palm(R) Treo(TM) 650 smartphone in Spain. With BlackBerry Connect, movistar’s enterprise and multinational customers will benefit from a wider range of devices compatible with BlackBerry(R) services from movistar.

“Demand for wireless email solutions is driven by the need for increased productivity amongst movistar’s enterprise customers,” said Luis Ezcurra, general director of market development and marketing for Telefonica Moviles Espana. “Movistar believes that working closely with Palm and RIM to provide the feature-rich Treo 650 with BlackBerry Connect functionality will address this demand, as enterprise customers are very interested in investing in solutions that support their business, operational and IT objectives.”

With this expansion of the “BlackBerry from movistar” portfolio, Treo 650 smartphone customers can now benefit from many popular features of the “push”-based BlackBerry architecture via BlackBerry Enterprise Server(TM). For corporate customers, BlackBerry Enterprise Server software tightly integrates with Microsoft(R) Exchange and IBM Lotus(R) Domino(R) and works with existing enterprise systems to enable secure, push-based wireless access to email and other corporate data.

The Treo 650 smartphone with BlackBerry Connect supports the following features:

— “Push” Corporate Email delivers messages automatically — and wirelessly — to the Treo 650 smartphone’s inbox. Changes to the inbox, including read/unread status and deletion, can be automatically synchronized between the user’s email account
and the Treo 650.

— Wireless Calendar Synchronization keeps the Treo 650 smartphone’s built-in Calendar up to date remotely, allowing users to receive, accept or decline meeting requests on the go.

— Attachment Viewing lets users view Excel, Word, PowerPoint and PDF documents in original format.

— Remote Address Lookup (RAL) allows users to search their corporate directory wirelessly for email addresses without the need to download every name to the Treo 650.

— Enables centralized device management, including support for IT policies such as over-the-air device disablement and password device lock, as well as end-to-end security with Triple DES encryption.

“Providing email flexibility is one of the key features that makes the Treo 650 a tremendous asset for business customers,” said John Hartnett, senior vice president of worldwide sales and customer relations, Palm. “The addition of an enterprise strength email solution like BlackBerry Connect for movistar customers reaffirms Palm’s commitment to meet the needs of mobile professionals in Europe.”

“BlackBerry has been embraced by millions of mobile professionals around the world because it is a scalable, secure, and proven wireless solution. The Treo 650 with BlackBerry Connect delivers more choice for mobile customers by offering the combined power of the BlackBerry architecture with the feature rich Treo 650 smartphone,” said Charmaine Eggberry, vice president, EMEA at Research In Motion. “We are pleased to work with Palm and movistar to offer BlackBerry Connect on the Treo 650 smartphone to corporate customers in Spain.”