US : Broadband Wireless Exchange Magazine announced a new online database of 3G Wireless Internet Access Service Providers that provides a list of cities served and coverage maps for wireless 3G cellular carriers including Cingular, Sprint, T-Mobile and Verizon.  Users can utilize the database to look up wireless Intenret access providers that cover their cities and towns as well as look up coverage maps that show where 3G is available in their area.

The 3G Wireless Internet Access Service Provider directory includes wireless cellular carriers that provide EDGE, EV-DO, GPRS, and HSDPA high-speed wireless internet access service to mobile users with laptops, cell phones or other compatible wireless Internet access devices.

"We've been covering the broadband wireless industry for the past eight years and tracking the expansion of wireless Internet service provider coverage areas in the United States and around the world," said Robert Hoskins, Editor of the Broadband Wireless Exchange. "In the past two years, the 3G wireless Internet service providers have been rolling out new coverage areas and touting new broadband wireless services.   We thought it made sense to add their new coverage areas to our wireless Internet service provider database since the do provide wireless Internet access." 

"As we were building our databases, we discovered two things," Hoskins added. "First, 3G wireless Internet access speeds are significantly slower than competing Wi-Fi access points. The second and more important thing we discovered was that unlike Wi-Fi, which is available at just about every hotel, fast food restaurant and truck stop across America, 3G coverage areas are very limited and only cover areas in the biggest cities in America. If you live in a second tier city or rural area, your only broadband wireless option will be a fixed wireless ISP, a Wi-Fi Hotspot, or municipal Wi-Fi mesh network."

According to the datbases compiled, the most ubiquitous 3G wireless Internet service available to date is Cingular's 3G EDGE service, which offers significantly less than what the 3G carriers offer in their wireless advertisements. EDGE service only delivers around 70-135 Kbps, which is not much faster than a dial-up connection. The good news is that EDGE does have significant coverage areas in large cities.  And, while the service is slow, is available for people who need mobile Internet access.

In second place for coverage, Sprint's EV-DO foot print is much smaller, but the average download speed is in the 300-500 Kbps range, which is pretty good and is comparable to low level DSL speeds. The only problem is that their coverage areas are limited to only the largest cities in the United States.

Verizon also offers EV-DO, but their coverage areas are severely limited and almost not even worth mentioning.  And, while Verizon may have a lot of people behind their network on their TV commercials, their 3G wireless Internet access coverage footprint is the smallest in the industry.

The BWE 3G Wireless Internet Access directory currently covers the following states, but will be expanded to the entire United States by the end of July:

• Californa 3G Wireless Internet Access Coverage Map
• Illinois 3G Wireless Internet Access Coverage Map
• Alabama 3G Wireless Internet Access Coverage Map
• Minnesota 3G Wireless Internet Access Coverage Map
• Iowa 3G Wireless Internet Access Coverage Map

The 3G Wireless Internet Access Provider Directory is the latest edition to BWE's other broadband wireless directories, which include:

• Wireless Internet Service Providers(WISPs);
• Wi-Fi Hotspot Operators;
• Municipal Citywide Mesh Network Operators;
• Satellite Wireless Internet Service Providers.