GPRS is here, but it's late and it doesn't really work

The long-awaited consumer launch comes nearly a year after BT launched the world's first GPRS services for businesses.

GPRS promised cheaper, faster and easier to use mobile data services, as a bridging technology to prepare for the launch of 3G. The delay of the consumer launch has fuelled widespread speculation that the network is plagued with technical problems.

Stuart Newstead, general manager for wireless data at BT Cellnet, claimed that the company had been "concentrating on offering services to business".

However, the WAP over GPRS services available on the demonstration models did little to allay rumours that the service doesn't work very well.

Of the six demo handsets available, only two seemed to work at any one time, and the GPRS network was often unavailable.

When the network was functioning, it did speed up and improve the WAP experience, but the familiar WAP problems were still there - poor graphics, small screen, and a clunky user interface.

The problems with GPRS have been well documented. BT had to replace the first batch of Motorola T7389i handsets, which were compliant with the wrong version of the GPRS standard - a fault that made them useless in many areas, including central London.

Tech watchers have long known that the 'theoretical' GPRS speeds will not be delivered any time soon, if ever. Speeds of over 100kbit/s have been quoted in early analyst reports and white papers, but BT's Motorola handsets will only be capable of a theoretical 28.8kbit/s downstream and 14.4 kbit/s upstream. Current WAP handsets offer up to 14.4kbit/s in both directions.

However, BT is promoting GPRS on the basis of its "always on" feature. Unlike WAP over existing networks, it shouldn't take 30 seconds to set up a WAP session. However, this feature was not in evidence in today's demonstration.

silicon.com has also documented a range of other problems, including network availability issues, coverage glitches and billing problems.

An undisclosed number of handsets will be on sale in BT Cellnet's own shops and major retailers such as Carphone Warehouse and the Dixons-owned The Link stores.

BT does not appear to be anticipating major demand. The handsets are priced at a not too tempting £199, and BT does not appear to have ordered a large number for the launch. They will be supplied, said Newstead, on a "just-in-time basis".

Only 35 companies currently pay for BT's business GPRS offering, representing around 500 users, according to Newstead.

The only handsets on offer will be the Motorola T260 - an updated version of the Timeport P7389i. Further handsets and other devices are expected to be available "soon".

Two price structures will be available - a £3.99 monthly fee with data transmission charged at 2p per Kb, or £7.99 with a 'free' 1Mb of data and £3.99 for each subsequent Mb.

Roaming with the GPRS network of VIAG Interkom in Germany will be available at launch. Newstead said Blu's network in Italy, Telfort in Holland and SFR in France will be added "soon".