By Heather McLean, 15 March 2002 15:43
NEWS Verizon Wireless, the biggest wireless operator in the US is catching up with the mobile culture in Europe by finally launching a pay-by-volume pricing plan for business users of its high speed data network, instead of charging by the minute. The move comes almost one year after Europe made the billing move for users of the always-on-internet GPRS network. Verizon's high-speed data service - the Express Network - is an advanced version of Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), the US equivalent to GSM which is the European basic mobile network technology. However, Verizon - half owned by Vodafone - will find out its network is unpopular because the billing method does not allow the operator to differentiate between levels of service required by customers according to Bernt Ostergaard, telecommunications analyst at Giga Web. Ostergaard said: "This billing move illustrates that the US is six to nine months behind the European market. Packet switched data over CDMA doesn't make much sense because you can't offer customers differentiated services." Ostergaard explained the need for differentiated services: "If I'm a teenager downloading MP3 files, I don't have much money to spend and I won't notice if a couple of data packets are lost. But if I'm the CEO of a major company and I want to send documents I don't want any glitches and I'm willing to pay a lot of money to ensure they get through." Verizon's Express Network service currently covers 20 per cent of its network but it plans to cover 30 per cent at the beginning of April.
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