High Speed Internet Access (HSIA): Mobile Internet

Amazon are releasing an International version of the Kindle which up until now has been available in the US only. APC mag have the first one in Australia and have reviewed it. An interesting development from a mobile broadband perspective is the way in which the Kindle connects to a wireless network.

The International Amazon Kindle is reported to have an AT&T SIM card in it allowing users to connect to a wireless network using global roaming with Amazon footing the bill for the roaming charges.

This means that you can download and buy books with no extra cost for accessing the Internet to do so. It makes sense for Amazon. Anything that makes it easier for consumers to complete a transaction increases Amazon’s profits.

It’s not known which network Kindle users will connect to in Australia. It’s possible that the connection will be via whichever network has the strongest signal in a particular location or Amazon may have negotiated a deal with one or more of the Australian mobile broadband providers.

Either way it’s an interesting business model and it will be interesting to see it in action and also whether we’ll see more examples like this.

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