The slower original version was available only in San Francisco, Seattle and Washington, D.C., with service recently launched in Atlanta and San Diego as well.
All cities now receive the faster service.
Launching the service in the new cities makes Metricom more competitive. Its original Ricochet service drew a small, but die-hard customer base. While most of the hype surrounding wireless Internet access concerns Web content for cellular phones and handheld devices, Metricom focuses on the laptop PC market. Instead of cramming a Web page onto a tiny handset display, the Ricochet service allows customers to use their computer desktops as they would in the office or while connected at home. Metricom's systems use shoe box-sized wireless transmitters typically placed on top of streetlights and other municipal utility poles to deliver data to wireless PC modem cards.