In early April, Telular (News - Alert) Corp introduced a new wireless communications device that expands the power of 3G cell phone voice and data plans. The Wi-PATH SX7 device was initially marketed mostly as a 3G/digital migration solution for users who previously relied on analog wireless and were “cut off” when most such networks shut down in February.

 

But the SX7 also has enabled some creative uses for 3G cell phone voice and data plans.

 

Telular’s device is a portable box with two antennas and three ports (two for analog telephony devices, one for Ethernet). It serves as a bridge of sorts to allow analog and digital communications devices to use a single wireless network for connectivity.

 

“It’s a small office in a box,” Shawn Welsh, vice president of marketing and business development at Telular, told TMCnet.

 

He explained that someone might choose to plug a regular cordless phone into the SX7 to obtain better cell phone coverage in the home. There’s a SIM card slot on the bottom, so the user could add a new line to his/her cell phone plan, and use the SX7 to associate that number with a regular cordless phone. Cordless phones often provide better sound quality than cell handsets, and the powerful SX7 antennas boost in-home connectivity to the 3G cellular network.

 

Likewise, using the Ethernet port, someone with a 3G cellular data plan can plug in a laptop or other device and use the SX7 to surf the Web.

 

Welsh said that at first, many buyers of the SX7 were users who had previously relied on analog cellular networks and wanted a solution that would help them avoid upgrading equipment in order to connect with digital 3G networks. While some rural carriers have kept analog networks alive, for the most part analog connectivity is no longer available.

 

“Public safety was heavily dependant on circuit-switched fax and other types of historical communication mechanisms out of their command vehicles,” Welsh said. “Not only does the SX7 bridge the analog gap, it also provides a new level of connectivity.”

 

What makes the SX7 unique, Welsh told TMCnet, is the inclusion of voice connectivity and data connectivity.

 

“This is a single box that allows both data and voice,” Welsh stressed, comparing the product to laptop cards from some wireless providers that are data-only. “No-one else does voice.”

 

One of the more intriguing applications for the SX7 is voice and data connectivity in travel or recreational settings (e.g. in an RV, on a boat). One family, the Cordells, have an SX7 along with them on a month-long U.S. road trip this summer. The device gives mom and dad Cordell (News - Alert), and their two teenage daughters, 3G wireless voice and data access while they drive. (In areas where 3G is not available, the device automatically steps down to 2G.)

 

“One of the daughters is using her iPod Touch, the other one is using a laptop, Mom is in the front seat using a laptop, and they have a phone plugged into it too,” Welsh said. “People call them, and they get great sound quality out of a normal phone as opposed to the typical quality you get from a cell phone. They have a fully-connected car on a 28-day road trip.”

 

At night in their hotel room, or during the day at rest stops, the Cordells use the SX7 for Internet connectivity so they can update the family blog with photos and descriptions of their adventures.

 

“There aren’t many places you can go these days that are out of cell phone coverage,” Welsh noted.