Wireless WAN

I’m using a Lenovo Thinkpad T60p notebook. This machine has built-in Wireless WAN — that is, all I should need to do is put in a SIM card (with 3G service enabled, straight out of my mobile phone) and it should go.

 Well, it should, and in theory it does, but only with Vodafone. Absolutely no choice of service provider. No, I can’t use Optus, or 3, or even Telstra (in Australia) though it looks like I can install WWAN services for Verizon and Cingular (both of which I have no hope of using in Australia!)  I would like to be able to choose the appropriate provider, indeed, from a business perspective it is vital. Consider this, if my business were on a contract for mobile services, I’d probably have good commercial (and probably legal) reasons to stay with an existing contract. But if you have the Thinkpad, you’re locked in. Great if you’re already a Vodafone customer. Not so good if you’re with someone else.

I can see the value in a bundle approach — Vodafone and Lenovo have a good partnership I’m sure — and it certainly makes sense to use an embedded WWAN in a notebook. I like the idea, and in Australia I know that HP also have a WWAN-enabled notebook (using Vodafone also). No need to carry around a separate PCMCIA card or silly EVDO dongle. Give me WWAN as I want to use it though, not as the vendor decides for me.