Gobi Mobile Internet Offers 3G
Wireless Connectivity 'To Go'

Notebook PC users have grown accustomed to hanging out at Starbucks and other coffee shops to check their email and surf the Web when they’re away from home or the office. Now, thanks to Mobile Broadband and Qualcomm’s Gobi mobile Internet technology, they can order their coffee and scones “to go.”

Mobile Broadband – the ability to use the latest 3G cellular networks, rather than Wi-Fi hotspots, to access the Internet – has become one of the fastest growing trends in mobile computing. And as consumers and PC makers come to appreciate the freedom and flexibility of connecting to the Internet as easily as making a cell phone call, both are embracing the new technology with enthusiasm.

Mobile Broadband Growth
More than 55 million people in 91 countries now subscribe to Mobile Broadband services according to the GSM Association (GSMA), a trade group representing mobile phone operators. Analysts at Wireless Intelligence expect that market to be growing by 4 million subscribers per month by the end of 2008. This rapid growth is being enabled by the hundreds of billions of dollars that the mobile phone industry has already invested in 3G network infrastructure. That’s the beauty of Mobile Broadband – it takes advantage of a powerful, nearly worldwide network that is ready NOW to deliver high-speed connectivity wherever you need it most.

“People just want to be mobile, and they want to have access to their data when they are mobile,” says Mike Concannon, senior vice president, connectivity and wireless modules for Qualcomm's CDMA Technologies (QCT) division.

Concannon notes that while less than 10 percent of notebook PCs are currently shipped with built-in Mobile Broadband, the number of models launched has grown dramatically during the past year, from about 150 to more than 400.

Today, 18 of the industry’s biggest PC manufacturers are offering built-in Mobile Broadband solutions, while 34 worldwide mobile carriers are supporting the service with a variety of mobile data plans. User demand is being driven not just by increased availability, but by the steadily falling cost of service, with some U.S. carriers now offering Mobile Broadband plans for less than $40 a month.

Building Momentum
To understand the momentum building around Mobile Broadband, consider the GSMA’s recent announcement that 16 leading PC and chipset providers and mobile network operators have joined together to pre-install mobile broadband into a range of notebook PCs and will spend more than $1 billion promoting built-in 3G during the next year.

To support this initiative, the group has created a simple service mark to identify notebook PCs and other portable devices as Mobile Broadband-ready. “The Mobile Broadband badge will assure consumers that the devices they buy will always connect – wherever Mobile Broadband is available – and that they can expect a high standard of simplicity and mobility,” says GSMA Chief Marketing Officer Michael O’Hara.

Gobi’s Added Attraction
Qualcomm is an active participant in the GSMA Mobile Broadband initiative. But unlike other suppliers, who typically lock users into a single carrier and wireless technology for the life of their notebook, Qualcomm’s Gobi mobile Internet technology is software-defined and has the ability to work with a wide variety of 3G networks, including both CDMA-based EV-DO as well as the GSM-based HSPA systems supported by the GSMA initiative.

That unique multi-mode flexibility allows Gobi-equipped notebooks to be configured for use around the world, and to easily roam between carriers by using their PCs’ built-in connection-manager software. While others are still searching for hotspots, Gobi users can be up and running in seconds.

Gobi also simplifies life for corporate IT administrators, allowing them to manage the wireless access for entire fleets of mobile PCs with a single variety of notebook, while retaining the ability to select different carriers for individual regions. Gobi’s rugged, internal design also eliminates the need for external wireless cards, which reduces loss and breakage and translates into lower support costs.

A New Industry Standard
Gobi technology is well on its way to becoming the new industry standard for mobile notebook access. To date, five PC OEMs, including Acer, Dell, Lenovo, HP and Panasonic, have announced their support for Gobi and are starting to roll out products on carriers around the globe.

PC makers and network carriers see Gobi as a differentiating feature that can increase their product revenue. Notebook users and IT managers appreciate the simplicity, investment protection and hassle-free, global Internet access it provides. From nearly every perspective, it seems, Gobi’s embedded 3G cellular technology is redefining wireless connectivity.