BT Cellnet aims for top five ISP position

BT Cellnet has vowed to become one of the UK's top five free ISPs, offering high-speed services over enhanced GSM networks.

The company - soon to be wholly BT-owned - said it aims to attract 600,000 users by the end of the year to Genie Internet service. The Mobile ISP (MISP) offering will also be available to users of other networks, even before full GPRS (General Packet Radio Service) technology is adopted.

Peter Erskine, MD of BT Cellnet, said that in two years time, all new mobile phones will be Internet-enabled, with speeds at least matching today's ISDN lines.

By 2003, more people will access the Web from mobile devices than from desktop PCs, he predicted.

Val Jervis, principal consultant at Netcom Consultants, said: "People have been predicting mobile data will take off for the past 10 years. GPRS services will be significantly better than what's available over current 2G [GSM], but a lot will depend on the cost."

Eventually, full third-generation (3G) services will be rolled-out across Europe at least two years after operators win, or are awarded, UMTS licences based on the new WCDMA standard. 3G will allow full video and data services as well as extra voice capacity, but in the meantime technologies such as GPRS are characterised as a halfway house - sometimes referred to as 2.5G.

Netcom's Jervis said 3G will allow real-time services, however, GPRS may rely on data being downloaded at network 'quiet times', as operators will still get most revenue from voice.

BT Cellnet said it has this week taken delivery of its first GPRS compatible handsets, and it will continue trials with help from its partners, Cisco and Motorola.