Cingular announced Tuesday the launch of its nationwide 3G wireless broadband network, BroadbandConnect, in 16 major metropolitan areas.

“Wireless users want the speed and services they’ve come to expect from their wired connections,” said Stan Sigman, president and CEO of Cingular Wireless.

Cingular’s 3G network is the first widely available service in the world to use HSDPA (High Speed Downlink Packet Access) technology. HSDPA is the high-speed evolution of GSM/EDGE (Global System for Mobile Communication/Enhanced Data Rates for Global Evolution), which shares a common core network. GSM is the world’s most popular wireless technology, which is used by more than one billion people in 210 countries.

Cingular will initially launch the service in Austin, Dallas and Houston, Texas; Baltimore, Md.; Boston, Mass.; Chicago, Ill.; Las Vegas, Nev.; Phoenix, Ariz.; Portland, Ore.; Salt Lake City, Utah; San Diego, San Francisco, and San Jose, Calif.; Seattle and Tacoma, Wash.; and Washington, D.C., under the name BroadbandConnect.

“We’re giving customers the ability to securely access information and applications at broadband speeds in the office, on the road or at home.With our 3G service, almost any spot in a city is a hot spot,” said Ralph de la vega, COO for Cingular. “BroadbandConnect complements our national high-speed EDGE data service, offering customers the flexibility and ubiquity required to be more productive as the world continues to go wireless.”

BroadbandConnect combines a laptop modem card, Cingular’s Communication Manager software and a Data Connect plan for use on laptops. Customers can use their laptops to access the Internet or e-mail, download large files and attachments, and run corporate business applications at broadband speeds in areas covered by BroadbandConnect.

BroadbandConnect does not drop a session when the user is outside the coverage area. Instead, the laptop card will transfer the session to Cingular’s EDGE network or a GPRS network of one of its roaming partners.

The Cingular EDGE network is available in more than 13,000 cities and towns and in areas along 40,000 miles of highways, providing average data speeds between 70-135Kbps.

Customers can purchase either a Sierra Wireless AC860 or Novatel U730 laptop modem card for $99.99, after rebate, when they sign up for a qualifying voice plan and introductory two-year $59.99 Unlimited Data Connect plan. The Sierra Wireless card is available now, while the Novatel card is expected to be available in the next few weeks. A variety of monthly data plans are available starting at $19.99 for 5 MB.

For more information about Cingular BroadbandConnect, customers can call +1-866-429-7222, visit online or by contacting a business sales representative. The laptop modem cards will be available at select Cingular Wireless retail stores in December and in all stores in January.

Cingular is a joint venture between AT&T Inc. and BellSouth Corporation.