19 September 2006

Vodafone Group says that it allows users of its 3G data cards and laptops with embedded connections to its network to run a VoIP client, although claims that it must monitor this closely as it does not want it being used as a gateway.

Research firm In-Stat predicts that the cellular modem market will see shipments of five million units this year, with 10% of them in the form of embedded, pre-integrated in the laptop rather than on a data card.

There are estimates to suggest that Newbury, UK-based Vodafone already has a million subscribers using data cards across its 26 properties and it is now ramping up the marketing for its embedded offering, in which connections to its network ship in laptops from Dell, Lenovo, HP and Acer.