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Monday, October 30, 2006
Wireless Data Card: Round the World in traffic Jam
Today, data or PC cards as they are known as, are sending new signals into the wireless space. Creditcard-like devices, these are inserted into your laptop to get a broadband-like speed you require to work efficiently outside the office or home. Most of the cellular service providers are excitedly sniffing revenue coming out of these wireless datacards —especially, when you are held up on roads due to int e r m i n abl e traffic jams or are commuting 2-3 hour distances by car.Using these cards you can connect to the Internet, corporate intranet, and access all your emails and attachments while you’re on the move. Most of them have actual download speeds of about 40-50 kbps though theoretically the speeds are they offer range from 356 kbps to 144 kbps.
Pricing for wireless data cards is still prohibitive for casual users ranging from Rs 14,000 to Rs 17,000 per card apart from monthly bills but it is coming down now. “Hardware prices are coming down and today cards which used to cost Rs 17K are now Rs 13K.’’ Currently, though no breakup is available, industry estimates the data card base to touch around two lakhs. This is increasing each day because the laptop penetration is up — over two lakh units were sold in 2004-05, a 100% growth over the previous year. “
