Rocom sells cellular business, moves up to wireless data

2.25pm

Rocom Wireless has ditched its cellular business and moved up to concentrate on the data wireless market.

The company announced today that it had secured the use of Telecom's high speed CDMA mobile data network.

Rocom said it had had been investing in the wireless data market for the past 18 months. The new technology allows compact palm computers and other mobile devices to be hooked up to the internet and more static office computers.

"Everything that you can do on a computer, you can now do on mobile," Rocom's executive director Richard Guy.

Mr Guy said Rocom had terminated its old cellular dealer agreement and sold the $1.2 million business to a Telecom Business Directions franchise.

But many of its customers were adopting the new technology. "We are now seeing our long serving customers, the early adopters of cellular, signing up for wireless data."

"We're at the beginning of a brand new business -- it's so exciting," Mr Guy said.

Earlier today, Telecom announced a partnership with French equipment manufacturer Alcatel to upgrade its fixed network to IP or internet protocol, the standard for merging voice and data services.

The move would provide more sophisticated services and "significant" cost savings, Telecom said.

- NZPA