Nextel Communications Inc. threw its hat into the public Wi-Fi space with the launch of its commonly named WiFi HotSpot service. The carrier has previously stayed out of the public Wi-Fi arena, though it did provide limited campus and in-building solutions with partner RadioFrame Networks Inc. for select enterprise customers.
Nextel said the new offering provides business customers with access to more than 7,000 Wi-Fi hot spots across North America through a partnership with Boingo Wireless Inc. In addition, the service includes wired broadband access in 150,000 hotel guest rooms through an agreement with Wayport Inc.
The service also integrates Nextel’s wide-area iDEN-based Wireless PC Access data network using its Connection Manager software provided by Boingo. The software and user interface automatically connect to the wide-area network if a Wi-Fi signal is unavailable. Customers can access the wide-area network using Nextel’s im240 PC card providing typical throughput speeds of between 20 kilobits per second and 40 kbps.
Customers can choose either unlimited access to the Wi-Fi service for $40 per month or unlimited access to both the Wi-Fi and wide-area network for $55 per month.
“These competitive and differentiated services combine unlimited use, predictable costs and the nationwide reach of Nextel-addressing the key concerns of individual customers as well as IT managers,” said Greg Santoro, vice president of products and services for Nextel.
Nextel’s Wi-Fi deployment also aligns its service offering more closely with Sprint Corp., which is in the process of acquiring Nextel. Sprint has been very aggressive in building out its own Wi-Fi network as well as signing roaming agreements, and currently claims to provide access to more than 19,000 domestic and international hot-spot locations for its customers.
Nextel recently announced plans to halt a network trial of a wide-area wireless broadband network in North Carolina using Flarion Technologies’ Flash-OFDM technology. The service provided network speeds of around 1 megabit per second and was seen by many analysts as a compelling alternative to wireless local area networks as it provided similar speeds and greater range.
Nextel is not expected to gain a competitive advantage from its Wi-Fi plans as most of its competitors have already launched similar Wi-Fi initiatives.
Verizon Wireless is the only nationwide operator to be moving away from Wi-Fi networks. The carrier announced last month that it was phasing out its payphone-based hot-spot service in New York City in favor of its rapidly expanding CDMA2000 1x EV-DO wide area network. The carrier cited superior coverage of its wide-area network as well as seamless roaming capabilities compared with WLANs.
Sprint also has said it plans to launch EV-DO services this summer, but plans to continue offering its W-Fi service as a way of offloading high-bandwidth network traffic.
