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BellSouth yesterday kicked off the first RBOC convergence trial, announcing it would begin a Wi-Fi/cellular integration trial in Atlanta. The carrier also revealed that it would expand its broadband wireless trials to several more cities this year.

The first guinea pig is Grey Worldwide's Atlanta office. Employees will be issued dual-mode Cingular phones that access the office LAN at work and the Cingular GSM network outside of the office. BellSouth announced no timeline for expanding the trial beyond its initial customer. Nor did it give any details about what convergence solution or handsets it would use.

BellSouth said it would launch additional broadband wireless services in Athens, Ga., in August and expand into several new Florida markets later this year. The launches represent the first activity with BellSouth's fixed wireless service since it ramped up its second trial network in Palatka, Fla., 14 months ago.

BellSouth has been exploring the use of its wireless communications service frequencies as a way to bring broadband to areas DSL can't reach and in higher-density suburban areas, but until today, BellSouth hadn't committed to any commercial launch. The RBOC is using Navini's pre-WiMAX non-line-of-site gear