Being connected is a given for business users, and for most, that means having a cell phone and perhaps a wireless e-mail device. But thanks to expanding coverage areas, faster service, and lower monthly fees, the ultimate dream of wireless communications-broadband-quality Web access nearly anywhere you need to travel-is becoming a reality for notebook users.
 
Mobile broadband (also called WWAN, for Wireless Wide Area Network) services hit critical mass last year, with services from Cingular, Sprint, and Verizon Wireless covering more than 150 metro markets. These 3G cellular networks-EV-DO in the case of Sprint and Verizon, and HSDPA for Cingular-make it possible to connect securely via a compatible laptop or connection card at near-DSL speeds using the carrier's cellular network. There's no need to seek out (or pay for) Wi-Fi access at a hotel or an airport hotspot, or to ask for a wireless network password at a client's office.
 
That flexibility can translate to huge productivity gains for mobile sales reps, field service personnel, executives who travel frequently, and employees who commute by train or bus within a coverage area. Many potential users will balk at the $60 monthly fee for such service, but that may be penny-wise and pound-foolish.
 
"While $60 is nothing to sneeze at, when you figure in the productivity enhancement, wireless broadband becomes a no-brainer," says Roger Entner, a wireless telecom analyst with research and consulting firm Ovum. "If it means one or two hours a month [of] extra productivity, it pays for itself."
 
And if road warriors typically pay at hotels for broadband service when they travel, the savings of going cellular add up even faster. Still, with that sort of monthly bill, mobile broadband is almost exclusively the province of larger businesses and hardcore road warriors. Entner estimates that the three major carriers each have anywhere from 500,000 to as many as two million mobile-broadband subscribers-not bad, considering the technology is just emerging from its infancy.
 
Even as prices for service and hardware fall, the performance of the networks themselves is improving. The original EV-DO networks (called Rev. 0) delivered theoretical max speeds of 2.4 Mbps on the downlink. But Rev. A, the upgrade being rolled out right now by Sprint and Verizon, pushes that to 3.1 Mbps, while improving uplink throughput to 1.8 Mbps. Similarly, the latest HSDPA network, being rolled out by Cingular throughout this year, supports a maximum of 3.6 Mbps on the downlink and 1.8 Mbps on the uplink. The carrier's 3G footprint is smaller than those of Sprint and Verizon Wireless, but Cingular is catching up quickly.
 
Entner recommends not getting too caught up in the speeds-and-feeds when deciding which carrier to choose. "In terms of speed, they are functional equivalents," he says. "And in coverage area, everyone is roughly on par. If you are happy with a given carrier's voice service, you'll be happy with their data service."
 
If you travel overseas, however, you'll need to choose more carefully. HSDPA is more widely deployed overall, with established networks here and in Europe. EV-DO is most prevalent in the Americas, parts of Asia, and Eastern Europe. But EV-DO buyers take note: Be sure to get an access card or notebook equipped with a Rev. A module (or plan on upgrading to one), as our testing showed noticeable speed differences between Rev. 0 and Rev. A equipment.
 
For this special report we gathered WWAN-equipped notebooks of every stripe-business thin-and-lights, ultraportables, a Tablet, and even a pocket-sized Ultra-Mobile PC-and tested their wireless broadband throughputs in three different scenarios. For those who want wireless broadband but don't want to invest in a whole new system, we also tested three of the latest connection cards.
 
Overall, the state of 3G wireless services as we begin 2007 is impressive. If you held off last year to let coverage increase and prices drop, you made a good call. Now, the gating factor is whether the faster 3G services are available where you need them and in the devices you want.