Business travellers and others on the go are being promised a mobile ISP, making Internet access possible through a CDRom.
Having just signed a Memorandum of Understanding with US joint venture partner Strategic Service Alliance, Australian telecommunications player CircleCom anticipates completion of legal agreements in mid January, with pre-paid Net services being rolled out "soon thereafter".
"I don't believe such a facility is available in Australia," CircleCom's Secretary, Peter Sanders, told ZDNet.
By providing pre-paid Internet access via CDRom, CircleCom hopes to improve Internet accessibility for business travellers and address the needs of consumers who don't require customised ISP accounts.
"There's a very definite market in terms of those people who don't have monthly access providers and want to limit [their] Internet access to save money," Sanders said.
The NetValve Prepaid Internet Access set-up software will be available on mini compact disc - similar in size to a phone card.
With the CD programmed to connect to the Net when installed into a PC, all that's needed is a phone connection.
CircleCom, with Headquarters in Singapore and operations in Malaysia, India, Hong Kong, Japan China and US, intends to take the service into the Asia-Pacific region.
The price tag is expected to be "highly competitive," Sanders said.
