AT&T introduces global GPS service for phones

By Peter Svensson

updated 4:30 p.m. ET July 23, 2008

NEW YORK - Is it a long, long way to Tipperary? Don't know if you're on the path to Bath?

AT&T Inc. aims to help, with a new phone service that truly puts the "global" in the Global Positioning System, or GPS.

On Tuesday, it introduced the AT&T Navigator Global Edition, a service that for the first time allows some of its phones to provide GPS navigation overseas. AT&T said it is the only plan of its kind from a U.S. carrier.

The plan costs $19.98 per month and works with seven "smart" phones: four BlackBerry models, plus the Tilt, BlackJack II and Moto QTM 9h.

Its maps cover most of Western Europe (Tipperary is in Ireland, Bath in England), Canada, Mexico and six cities in China that will host the Olympics this summer.

The service uses data connections to download maps, so an international data roaming plan is strongly recommended. It's not uncommon for people who don't have international roaming plans to come home from trips to find charges of hundreds of dollars.

AT&T has a BlackBerry International data plan that covers includes domestic and international use for $64.99. For other phones, international data roaming costs $24.99 per month on top of a domestic plan.

The service doesn't work with Apple Inc.'s new iPhone 3G, even though it has a GPS chip. AT&T spokeswoman Jeannie Hornung said the company is working with Apple to enable AT&T applications, including Navigator, to run on the iPhone.

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