O2 are set to launch their latest offering in the line of mobile connectivity. The new “Broadband Modem” is going to offer real Broadband speeds with 80% population coverage by the end of 2007. It will initially be aimed at the business market, offering the opportunity for employees to now get very fast internet connection speeds while out of the office.

With speeds of up to 3.6Mbps it is faster than most home broadband speeds or wireless broadband speeds that you get in airports or hot spots around the country. This speed will be a breath of free air for existing data card users and will offer many benefits to the business community. O2 have invested heavily into their new HSDPA network and aim to increase the speed later in the year to an unprecedented 7.2Mbps.

With the new speeds of up to 3.6Mbps, O2 will now have two products that will provide these connection speeds; the Sierra Wireless 850 data card and the new O2 Broadband Modem. The new modem brings many new features;

• Initial speeds of up to 3.6Mbps, 7.2 later in the year.
  
• It has a USB connection and therefore will work in all new and compatible older laptops.
  
• Its plug & Play and connects in seconds
  
• No software to download from a disc
  
• It is Apple MAC compatible
  
• Works with new Windows Vista
  
• As it uses a USB connection it could also be connected to a PC to offer backup if the internet went down.
  
• Very portable
  
• Fair usage policy of 6GB (old card was 2.5G)

As can be seen on the graph below, broadband take up in Ireland is well below the European average. Many households and businesses can still not receive Broadband connection and it is a possibility that this new offering from O2 will break this mould. When O2 launch Broadband in early July it will have 70% population coverage, with it expanding to 80% population coverage by end of 2007 in line with a COMREG regulation set for the networks.

While the new modem provides very fast Broadband speeds, it is only internet connection that it provides. But it does give an opportunity for businesses to give their employees added working benefits while out of the office. It could be used in tandem with other applications to help your staff work better; the most obvious one is to give employees remote access to the office. Giving employees remote access to the office can open up many new business benefits. Employees could work while travelling, on a business trip or enable them to work more from home.

A product that can offer all this is AccessMyLan, it offers full remote access to data card users wherever they are. Enabling access to important information while out of the office and of course access to emails, calendar and contacts. Many employees call into the office to see emails or refer to important files before a meeting, having AccessMyLan in place would prevent the need for this. Everything on the server (restrictions can of course be put in place) is potentially visible to the employees including many applications like SAP, CRM systems and so on.

AccessMyLan is a hosted VPN (Virtual Private Network) and so does not come with the costs of other hardware based VPN’s. For more information on AccessMyLan and how to participate in a free 15 day trial please contact us using the details below.

The new O2 Broadband modem will be available on the 3rd of July. If you would like more information on prices, tariffs and on AccessMyLan please contact us at info@commercialwireless.ie or 1850-868686