AT&T; to Begin Mobile Data Service in L.A. County This Week

AT&T; Wireless is launching this week its mobile data service in Los Angeles County, filling what has been a huge hole in the company’s nationwide data network for more than five years.

AT&T; Wireless, which recently took over management of L.A. Cellular and changed the provider’s name, will primarily target public safety and government users as well as business customers with its Cellular Digital Packet Data service.

The CDPD technology, although introduced years ago and first deployed by AT&T; in late 1993, has only recently begun to take off because of lower prices and more aggressive promotion.

CDPD can carry data at speeds up to 19.2 kilobits per second--faster than many competing services. Special CDPD modem cards allow customers to use the service with devices ranging from laptops to personal digital assistants. Users can buy a “PocketNet” phone to use the network for voice calls. Although the phones have used analog signals in the past, AT&T; Wireless in Los Angeles will launch service with a digital version of the PocketNet phone. The company has not released the price of the phone.

Service prices vary widely for government and business customers, but the CDPD service generally includes a monthly fee ($8 to $55 for local users), plus additional charges for each kilobyte of data transmitted (generally 5 cents to 10 cents each). Because the CDPD service charges by the kilobyte transmitted instead of by the minute of connection, users can maintain an “always on” connection.