Today, the next chapter in connectivity is being written, and it's time for IT to get on board. If you're looking for a way to win cheers from the road warriors in your organization, then it's time you looked into the new 3G services available from the major carriers.

"3G" is a collective term for all the next-generation wireless technologies that deliver broadband speeds to devices like smart phones and laptops. Whether it's called UMTS, EV-DO or some other acronym, for users it means one thing: never having to look for a hot spot again while still connecting at broadband speeds on the road. Options range from laptops and smart phones with integrated 3G technology to PC cards to deliver the capability to older machines.

In general, look carefully at what you're buying and do the needs assessment. First, determine which carrier will best suit your company. All the major carriers are either rolling out 3G offerings or plan to do so in the near future. Coverage will help determine your selection, so you need to find out where folks are traveling before making the commitment. There's nothing worse than paying for the service and not being able to use it.

Prices also vary greatly across the board. The same smart phone offered by two different carriers can cost as little as $15 a month in connection fees or as much as $50. Laptop pricing is often different from handheld or smart-phone pricing, and costs can vary if you're using the carrier for wireless voice services as well. Terms of service also vary. Some carriers allow users to tether a 3G smart phone to a PC (either via USB or Bluetooth), enabling it do double duty as a stand-alone device and a modem for the laptop. Others prohibit this explicitly. Read the fine print -- that unlimited service you signed up for may bar you from doing things users take for granted on broadband connections, like streaming audio or video files.

Select devices carefully as well. Integrated radios in laptops mean there's one less thing for users to carry around and lose, but they also mean you're going to be locked into whatever carrier is partnered with the laptop vendor. Also be careful of WAN offerings powered by slower technologies. Some vendors offer so-called 2.5G services, such as EDGE, that operate at a slower speed than 3G networks but at the same cost. Smart phones and devices in that class that are used only for e-mail and light Web browsing might not reap the same benefit as the same technology deployed on a notebook, so think before you invest.