AT&T Wireless Chairman and CEO John Zeglis used Comdex as a platform today to announce that the carrier has started offering EDGE capabilities across its national GSM/GPRS network.

Zeglis said the capabilities are available to anyone using the GSM/GPRS network, which covers 6,500 cities and 215 million people. EDGE, which stands for enhanced data rates for global evolution, provides data access at speeds of 100 to 130 kilobits per second.

AT&T Wireless also introduced a Sony Ericsson GC-82 modem card that subscribers can use to connect their laptops via EDGE to the Internet or corporate intranets. The card is being sold for $149.99, after a rebate, to business customers signing a two-year contract. Outside the EDGE coverage areas the modem operates on the GPRS network. The carrier has an unlimited data plan at $79.99 a month.

In addition to the modem card, AT&T Wireless said subscribers could use the Nokia 6200 EDGE phone for wireless laptop connectivity. More EDGE phones are coming, including the Motorola T725 and Nokia 3200, the carrier said.

"EDGE gives customers a much-enhanced wireless experience, providing data speeds dramatically faster than 'so-called' 3G services offered by other wireless companies," said Zeglis, who delivered a keynote address at the Las Vegas Comdex show. "It boosts the efficiency of a business' work force by giving mobile employees fast and easy access to the same business applications they have in their office. EDGE speeds will make it simpler for people to be as productive when they are on the go as they are in their home or office."

AT&T Wireless said EDGE also is available in Puerto Rico and Bermuda, and it plans to deploy EDGE throughout its properties in the Caribbean in the near future. In addition, the company said, Rogers AT&T Wireless has added EDGE capability in the Greater Vancouver area and will deploy EDGE throughout its Canada-wide network beginning next year.