Europe
: KPN will start providing services over its new UMTS network in July.
Laptop
users will be the first to benefit with the introduction of the KPN
Mobile Connect Card on July 15. KPN will begin marketing the first
UMTS handsets and services for consumers in September.
By
integrating Wi-Fi into its services, laptop users are always sure
of having the best connection. KPN is the first operator in the Netherlands
to offer unlimited use of UMTS and GPRS with the KPN Mobile Connect
Card for a single flat fee of EUR 75 per month. KPN gives customers
convenient and economical 'mobile broadband everywhere' access in
the Netherlands.
KPN Mobile Connect
Card
KPN is going to make working on the move more pleasant and more productive
by introducing the first services for business users over the new
UMTS network. The new KPN Mobile Connect Card will be available from
15 July 2004. The plug-in card will give laptop users mobile access
to the Internet or their company network at transmission rates up
to 384 kbps, over six times faster than the present GPRS network.
E-mail messages – even those with large attachments –
can be exchanged at extremely high speed. Websites appear quickly
on screen and users will be able to view documents, presentations
and spreadsheets or other applications on their company's network
far faster than used to be possible.
Video telephony
and improved i-mode services
UMTS will also enhance the services provided to consumers. Services
will become faster and therefore more convenient and will furthermore
gain an extra visual dimension. The introduction of video telephony
will enable callers to see each other while talking. Thanks to advanced
integration of the mobile handset with the Internet, it will even
be possible to hold a video conversation with someone with an ordinary
PC with a web cam – wherever they are, at home or abroad. UMTS
enables users to quickly send and receive high-definition photos and
videos. Thanks to the higher transmission rates, i-mode™ is
going to be even more user-friendly and compelling. Customers will
be able rapidly download high-quality video and music clips, as well
as watch live television on their handset. It will also be possible
to make a voice call and use i-mode simultaneously. Selected customers
are already using UMTS, extensively testing handsets and services
in practice. KPN will market the first UMTS handsets for consumers
in September.
Always the best
connection with UMTS, GPRS and Wi-Fi
Besides the mobile GPRS and UMTS networks, wireless broadband Wi-Fi
access is being offered at a growing number of locations, such as
office buildings and "hotspots" at public places like airports,
hotels, conference centres and city squares. Everybody who uses the
KPN Mobile Connect Card can utilise more than 250 public Wi-Fi hotspots
in the Netherlands and over 3,500 in other countries. Usage charges
are stated on the mobile phone bill. By integrating Wi-Fi in its services,
KPN will ensure that customers always get the best wireless connection
available.
Cees van den Heijkant,
General Manager of KPN Mobile Netherlands, said: "KPN customers
don’t need to get bogged down in technology. Our customers are
free to concentrate on what they can actually do with it. With KPN
you can get broadband access everywhere – at home, in the office
and now on the road as well. Besides greater convenience and comfort
for users, this will enable companies and other organisations to operate
more efficiently and more effectively."
Flat fee
The charges for GPRS and UMTS will be billed according to the volume
of information sent and received, i.e. the number of consumed megabytes
(MB) of data. KPN is going to give customers various options. KPN
is the first operator in the Netherlands to offer a flat fee for mobile
data communication. It will enable KPN Mobile Connect Card customers
to be online as long as they like for a fixed price of EUR 75 per
month, which is ideal for large-volume users. As an alternative to
the flat fee, customers will also have a choice from various data
bundles, varying in size from 5 to 50 MB per month. The larger the
bundle, the lower the tariff per MB. Another possibility is for customers
to pay for the megabytes they actually use without any further monthly
costs. Charges for Wi-Fi connections at public hotspots will be billed
separately per minute. For people who make frequent use of Wi-Fi,
KPN has a "Wi-Fi On the Move" package of 1000 Wi-Fi minutes
per month for EUR 19.95. The KPN Mobile Connect Card will be available
at outlets including KPN’s Primafoon shops and Business Centres
from EUR 185.
UMTS coverage
immediately available to 30% of the population
The KPN UMTS network will be rolled out gradually starting at places
where large numbers of people live and work. On its introduction on
15 July 2004, the network will provide coverage in approximately 50
places, mostly in the Randstad (the highly urbanised western part
of the Netherlands). The network will also provide coverage along
principal motorways and on some railway routes interconnecting the
major cities in the Randstad. KPN will thus immediately offer coverage
to approximately 30% of the population. Outside the UMTS coverage
area, services will automatically switch over to the nationwide GPRS
network. The network will be enlarged continuously, with coverage
of 40% expected by the end of this year. The pace at which the network
will be further expanded will be determined by market demand, whereby
KPN will fulfil its license obligations.
New applications
offer advantages for public services and healthcare sector
Mobile data services have obvious advantages because they enable personnel
to work faster and more efficiently while outside the office or away
from the workplace. For companies and other organisations, this can
improve work processes, reduce costs and generate more income. These
benefits will increase thanks to the bandwidth of UMTS. Van den Heijkant:
"KPN believes that mobile data solutions can increase the efficiency
of companies in the Netherlands and also have advantages for society
as a whole. We are already actively involved in various initiatives
in the healthcare, safety and educational fields". KPN is co-operating
with the AMC hospital in Amsterdam in the MICU project (Mobile Intensive
Care Unit). The purpose of the project is to increase the safety of
intensive care patients in transit between hospitals aboard IC ambulances
by providing extra remote supervision. KPN is also playing a part
in an initiative called SaferesQ, which is aimed at transmitting vehicle
details wirelessly and instantly to the emergency services, notably
the fire brigade. This will speed up the safe release of people trapped
in vehicles after road traffic accidents.
