Qualcomm and Teleepoch Enter Into a 3G CDMA Subscriber Unit License Agreement, October 6, 2007

MTN chooses Cambridge Broadband Networks for multi-service wireless network in Rwanda, October 6, 2007

Brazilian government to publish 3G bidding rules soon, October 6, 2007

KTF 3G service suffers from technical problems, October 6, 2007

Argentina’s Personal lunches 3G service in Rosario, October 6, 2007

Russia has it's first 3G network, October 6, 2007

AT&T could drop Alcatel-Lucent as 3G mobile network supplier, October 6, 2007

Enea Extends License Agreement with ZTE for 3G Handsets, October 2, 2007

LG to unveil premium handsets in Brazil, October 2, 2007

KTF 3G subscribers doubled in less than 3 months, October 2, 2007

3G policy in India will be non-uniform, October 2, 2007

- previous news

Vodafone UK enhance laptop data services

October 11, 2004

Tatara Systems, a developer of technology platforms for service providers extending their brands to mobile computing devices such as laptops and PDAs, announced that its technology has been chosen by Vodafone UK to help deliver its Wireless LAN Mobile Connect Card Software Upgrade.

Deploying the Tatara Subscriber Gateway has enabled Vodafone UK to enhance its 3G and GPRS laptop data services. By allowing Vodafone customers to access Vodafone's Wi-Fi services initially via BT OpenZone hotspots, the Tatara Subscriber Gateway has enabled Vodafone to become a major Wi-Fi services provider without having to build a single hotspot of its own.

The Tatara Subscriber Gateway brings significant cost benefits to Vodafone, thanks to its seamless integration with Vodafone's existing customer database management system and mobile payment platform. The Tatara product collects data on customer connection durations, and passes that information to the database and billing systems. Vodafone UK can therefore invoice customers for both wireless LAN (Wi-Fi) and wide area wireless services on the same bill.

Vodafone customers, meanwhile, benefit from the ability to connect [through non-Vodafone] hotspots without having to open a separate account. The Tatara Subscriber Gateway provides a high level of security to subscribers, by means of a two-stage secure authentication process which ensures that user credentials are never exposed to the hotspot operator. Additionally, the Tatara Subscriber Gateway allows users who purchase a fixed session duration to disconnect and reconnect during the paid-for session without having to purchase another session.

"Thanks to its Vodafone live! Service and Vodafone Mobile Connect Cards, Vodafone is recognised throughout the industry as one of the world's leading providers of wireless data services," said Steve Nicolle, President and CEO of Tatara Systems. "Adding Wi-Fi to its portfolio is a natural extension of Vodafone's market leadership."

Bena Roberts, analyst for industry analyst group Current Analysis said, "The market for mobile data provision is really heating up, with service providers positioning themselves to capitalise on the revenue opportunities involved. Vodafone is well placed to benefit, by bundling WLAN services with 3G mobile services to provide the sort of connectivity that users expect from a market leader. Vodafone's roaming deal with BT OpenZone, facilitated by Tatara's Subscriber Gateway technology, has given Vodafone a real head start."

The Tatara Subscriber Gateway is part of Tatara's Mobile Services Control Platform, which enables branded mobile providers to extend a combination of connectivity and value-added services to their end users across both Local Area Networks (LANs), including Wi-Fi, and Wide Area Networks (WANs), such as GPRS and 3G. It allows service providers to maintain visibility and delivery of customer service levels to Wi-Fi subscribers and to extend advanced services to those subscribers, no matter whose network they are using, thus enabling the operator to easily strike up mobile data roaming relationships with a broad range of hotspot network operators and aggregators.