Just as with Wap's launch, there also appears to be a shortage of handsets. But, ironically, GPRS may be something to shout about. It can help Wap finally realise its potential and, perhaps to BT's alarm, provides a viable alternative to 3G for operators who did not bid enormous sums for licences. GPRS is the first mass-market mobile technology to use Internet protocols and pass packets of data across networks. It is always on, so users pay for how much data they transfer rather than how long they are connected.
Customers can talk on the phones at the same time as receiving data.
They can go through tunnels and instantly pick up where they left off on the other side. Speeds will only be about 20 kilobits per second at first around double those possible on existing GSM phones. The main criticism of Wap has been the extreme slowness of connecting to online information services, which has led to many people giving up on the technology. But GPRS cuts this down to 2 to 3 seconds and can make the experience worthwhile. Cellnet's general manager Stuart Newstead says the low-key launch is due to GPRS only being an incremental step.