RIYADH, 23 September 2007 -- Etihad Etisalat (Mobily) doubled mobile broadband Internet speeds yesterday, as it continues to head toward more integrated wireless data products.

The company said in a statement sent to Arab News that the new 7.2 Mbps modems and data service SIM cards were introduced to make it more efficient and customer friendly and even throw in a free e-mail account.

Similar to earlier mobile broadband packages issued by Mobily over the past few months, 7.2Mbps data service is based on high-speed downlink packet access (HSDPA).

The new services come in three modes. First, for a SR1,000, customers get a 7.2 Mbps USB Connect device, one month of data subscription on the 1 gigabyte bundled, a data SIM card, and a free e-mail account.

In the second offer, for an additional SR75 or at SR 1,075, customers get the same high-value 7.2 Mbps USB Connect device, one month of data subscription on the 5 gigabyte bundled, a data SIM card, and a free e-mail account.

The third comes with a price of SR1,200, in which customers get a 7.2 Mbps USB Connect device, one month of data subscription on the unlimited Internet bundled, a data SIM card, and a free e-mail account.

The modem is available separately for SR950, the statement said.

The three competitive offers come as part of Mobily's efforts to increase broadband penetration in the Kingdom.

A month's subscription on the unlimited date bundle is worth SR 350 alone, while monthly charges for the 5 gigabyte and 1 bundles are SR200 and SR100, respectively. The devices are compatible with almost all personal and laptop computers with Windows.

Users only need to plug the devices into their computers, after which the PC will automatically recognize the device in seconds and then allow subscribers to connect to the Internet in minutes, Mobily said in the statement.

Customers who would like to avail of the new may subscribe via postpaid, where they will be billed each month or prepaid, meaning that they will have to recharge the subscription on a monthly basis, it added.

In May, Mobily shifted the data service consumption conversation from kilobytes to gigabytes when it launched the region's first unlimited broadband mobile Internet package in the region, along with the two high-value 5 and 1 gigabyte bundles.

© Arab News 2007