D-Link To Sell Wireless Broadband Wi-Fi Router

WLAN equipment vendor D-Link said Monday that it will ship a wireless router that will distribute wireless broadband 3G cellular data access via Wi-Fi networks.

The company said its Wireless 3G Mobile Router will be aimed both at consumers and small businesses that subscribe to wireless broadband services such as 1xEV-DO, which is offered in the U.S. by Verizon Wireless and Sprint Nextel, as well as UMTS/HSDPA, which will be offered by Cingular Wireless.

The router also will support FLASH-OFDM, a type of wireless broadband developed by Flarion Technologies, which is in the process of being acquired by Qualcomm.

The router will have two USB ports, one of which can be used with a USB-enabled 3G phone, the company said. The other USB port will optionally work with a print server. It also will have four Ethernet ports, according to the company.

The company said that the device likely will be offered by wireless carriers that sell 3G service, according to the company. It provided no pricing information. Nor did it say when the device would be available.