Staffordshire University’s Faculty of Computing Engineering and Technology has opened a lab at which businesses, large and small, can test the next generation of mobile technology.

Using funding from Advantage West Midlands the university has kitted out a lab with PCs, application servers, simulated mobile location data, access to GPRS and SMS data transfer and a WAP gateway provided by O2.

Staffordshire University was the first place in the UK to offer degree courses in mobile computing, and now offers and MSc in the subject.

Khawar Hameed, principal lecturer at the Uni, said he is particularly keen that local businesses and entrepreneurs take advantage of the facility.

The university charges a "nominal" fee for use of the lab, hoping to attract smaller businesses that might not otherwise be able to test and develop ideas.

The facility has been set up under the Try 3G initiative, a scheme designed to develop expertise in mobile and wireless computing in the West Midlands. Other services include professional support, product concept evaluation, training, product appraisals, and professional updating in mobile computing.

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