LAS VEGAS-The slow rollout of high-speed wireless data networks continues as CDMA-based carrier Verizon Wireless last week said it will expand its BroadbandAccess network to 12 additional markets on top of the 20 metropolitan areas already launched. Rival Sprint PCS reported that it plans to have similar capabilities available in 39 markets by the middle of this year.
Verizon Wireless, which was the first nationwide operator to launch commercial wireless broadband services in late 2003, said its CDMA2000 1x EV-DO network is now available in Chicago; Houston; Boston; Phoenix; Cincinnati; Orlando and Jacksonville, Fla.; Columbus and Dayton, Ohio; Providence, R.I.; and Hartford and New Haven, Conn. The carrier also said it has enhanced coverage in existing markets in New York; Newark, N.J.; Los Angeles; Philadelphia; Atlanta; Miami, Tampa and West Palm Beach, Fla.; Baltimore; Kansas City, Mo.; and Milwaukee.
Verizon Wireless has noted that the EV-DO network offers network data speeds of between 300 and 500 kilobits per second, and it plans to have two-thirds of its nationwide network covered with the service by the end of this year. Lucent Technologies Inc. and Nortel Networks Ltd. continue to provide network infrastructure for Verizon Wireless’ EV-DO deployment, which the carrier had previously announced would involve approximately $1 billion in capital expenditures.
In an attempt to further the adoption of its high-speed wireless network, which to this point has been limited to business-oriented devices and applications, Verizon Wireless also announced it will launch its consumer-focused VCAST multimedia service beginning next month. The carrier claims the service will bring high-quality video, three-dimensional games and music, and access to video on demand, news, weather, sports and entertainment programming specifically designed for mobile phones.
Content for the VCAST service will be provided by MTV Networks’ VH1 and Comedy Central brands, as well as through relationships with News Corp. and 20th Century Fox. That content, which will be available through the carrier’s BREW-based Get It Now virtual store, will also include wireless-specific programs, including “24: Conspiracy,” “Sunset Hotel” and “Love & Hate,” as well as newscasts from NBC.
“With VCAST, we have put together a comprehensive package of multimedia services for consumers that will be immediately available at launch,” said John Stratton, vice president and chief marketing officer at Verizon Wireless. “This robust offering in the marketplace will take wireless to a new level, offering Verizon Wireless customers a wealth of news, sports and entertainment programming in the palm of their hands at an affordable price.”
Verizon Wireless noted that it has been testing the VCAST service to 1,000 subscribers in its Washington, D.C., and San Diego markets, focusing on consumer adoption, usage patterns, content and potential partners.
The service costs $15 per month in addition to a regular calling plan and provides customers with unlimited access to more than 300 daily updated videos. VCAST subscribers also will receive unlimited browsing of Verizon Wireless’ recently updated Mobile Web 2.0 news and information service and can add premium content for an additional cost.
Analysts were quick to point out that while the service would not be a live TV offering and would instead provide prepackaged content that users could access, the service’s overall capabilities are currently unmatched in the market.
“VCAST gives consumers the mobility they’re looking for and leapfrogs anything else that is available today,” said Roger Entner, director of wireless and mobile services for the Yankee Group.
Sprint PCS also offers TV-related services, including live TV broadcasts, as well as a multimedia message service that can deliver more than 600 new streaming audio and video clips per day to subscribers using Samsung Telecommunications America’s MMA700 handsets.
“Rendering TV content for mobile phones is not compelling,” said Stratton. The company also pushed aside comments on Qualcomm Inc.’s TV oriented service called MediaFlo, saying it was too early in the process to comment on the concept.
In support of the consumer-oriented nature of its VCAST service, Verizon Wireless said it plans to launch EV-DO enabled handsets, including the LG VX8000, which includes a 1.3-megapixel camera and video-capture capabilities, as well as handsets from Samsung and UTStarcom Inc. The carrier also continues to offer access to its EV-DO network through PC cards and a recently launched personal digital assistant.
While Verizon Wireless announced expansion plans for its EV-DO service, Sprint PCS said it plans to begin offering commercial EV-DO services in 39 “metro areas” that include 140 strategic markets covering 129 million potential customers by the end of the second quarter. The carrier added that it is trialing the service in Las Vegas; Kansas City, Mo.; and Des Moines, Iowa, and it plans to offer EV-DO capabilities across most of its network by the end of 2006.
Sprint PCS said the launch initially will focus on business customers and will use dual-mode PC cards compatible with both EV-DO and 1x networks. The carrier noted that it would add PDAs and handsets to the mix during the second half of this year.
Sprint PCS surprised many industry analysts last year when it announced plans to spend $1 billion deploying EV-DO services across its network after having previously expressed interest in waiting for the more spectrally efficient EV-DV variation of the technology, which was to be available in the 2006 time frame. Most analysts noted that Verizon Wireless’ rapid rollout of its own EV-DO services likely forced Sprint PCS to go with the EV-DO solution.
GSM-based operator Cingular Wireless L.L.C. currently offers UMTS-based wireless broadband services in six markets that it inherited during its acquisition of AT&T Wireless Services Inc. late last year and said it plans to launch a higher-speed High-Speed Downlink Packet Access variation of the technology on its network early next year. RCR
