re: GC82 EDGE PC Card from Sony Ericsson & AWS
>> Sony Ericsson Unveils Its First EDGE-Product and Announces Strategic Alliance With AT&T Wireless
Sony Ericsson
AT&T Wireless
London
Business Wire
February 17, 2003
Sony Ericsson today further enhanced its global connectivity offerings with the introduction of its GC82 EDGE PC Card for Dual Band 850/1900 MHz GSM networks in North America.
The GC82 EDGE PC Card will provide fast and easy wireless access to Internet and corporate intranet sites for laptop users.
Sony Ericsson also announced a strategic alliance with AT&T Wireless (AWS) to support the carrier's roll-out of EDGE services in the United States. EDGE products and services will provide heavy data users and mobile professionals with the fastest wireless data speeds available.
The deployment of EDGE in the U.S. marks an early step in taking advantage of real 3G networks, offering efficient and cost-effective mobile wireless services. The GC82 fits in the PCMCIA-slot of any laptop, providing a plug and play, fast mobile connectivity solution.
Combining AT&T Wireless' leading position in wireless services, strong distribution network and expertise in mobile computing with Sony Ericsson's leadership in providing mobile connectivity products, the strategic alliance will enable the companies to offer an attractive solution to corporate organizations, i.e. operators, PC-Vendors and mobile professionals. Under the agreement, the GC82 EDGE PC Card will be jointly marketed and distributed by both companies.
"Our deployment of EDGE will give our company the first true 3G network. The higher speeds this network delivers will enhance our already strong portfolio of data services," said Rod Nelson, chief technology officer for AT&T Wireless. "The EDGE PC card from Sony Ericsson will enable laptops to take advantage of the faster network speed, particularly for enterprise applications. We are pleased to be partnering with Sony Ericsson for PC card products, ranging from the current GPRS products to the new GC82."
"This is an important step for us in expanding our offering of fast wireless connectivity and mobile computing solutions to the North American market, and the partnership with AWS ensures us that we can reach corporate customers and consumers in an efficient way", says Anders Franzen, Corporate Vice President Machine-To-Machine Com at Sony Ericsson.
The two companies are working on a number of initiatives to deliver the benefits of higher-speed wireless services to customers. For example, in addition to the third quarter release of the GC82, Sony Ericsson currently offers the GC75 GPRS PC Card Modem, which is supported and certified by AT&T Wireless for sale in the U.S.
EDGE was developed to enable mobile transmission of large amounts of data at high speeds, delivering up to three times faster speeds than GPRS. This means greatly improved downloading speeds, which are very useful for wirelessly downloading e-mails with large attachments.
About AT&T Wireless
AT&T Wireless (NYSE: AWE) is the second-largest wireless carrier, based on revenues, in the United States. With 20.859 million subscribers, and full-year 2002 revenues exceeding $15.6 billion, AT&T Wireless will continue delivering advanced high-quality mobile wireless communications services, voice or data, to businesses and consumers, in the U.S. and internationally. For more information, please visit us at www.attwireless.com.
About Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications AB
Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications AB offers mobile communications products for people who appreciate the possibilities of powerful technology. Established in 2001 by Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (NASDAQ: ERICY) and Sony Corporation (NYSE: SNE), the joint venture continues to build on the success of its two innovative parent companies. Sony Ericsson creates value for its operator customers by bringing new ways of using multimedia communications while mobile. The company's management is based in London, and has 4,000 employees across the globe working on research, development, design, sales, marketing, distribution and support. <<
- Eric -
