Aether Systems Inc. introduced an integrated wireless solution for Microsoft Corp.’s Windows CE-based Pocket PC products, sold by a variety of handheld computer manufacturers.
Targeted specifically at large-volume corporate customer accounts, Aether’s wireless Enterprise ISP solution includes the Pocket PC device, Sierra Wireless Inc. AirCard 300 Cellular Digital Packet Data modem and $40 a month of airtime from Aether’s Network Operations Center for wireless connectivity.
Aether will manage all the integration, fulfillment and customer service for the solution. The wireless access fee will cover unlimited usage and access to corporate e-mail and whatever Internet and intranet content the enterprise customers request, customized for each by Aether.
Unlike the OmniSky solution for the Palm V-for which Aether provides wireless connectivity by way of its ownership in OmniSky-there is no basic content aggregation included in the package, an omission Aether officials say is by design.
“As a corporation, Aether is focused on the enterprise and the pipe itself. We haven’t as a company been an aggregator,” said Curtis Davis, Aether vice president of business development. “It’s not a consumer play. We’re not looking at individual consumers for this. It may happen sometime. We’re not excluding it.”
Under the deal, Aether will market and sell the solution, although Microsoft sales agents will refer customers to Aether if they request wireless additions.
Aether is pursuing several resale agreements with handheld computer manufacturers in conjunction with the solution, the first of which is with Compaq for the iPaq device. Aether said it is finalizing similar deals with Hewlett-Packard Co. for the Jordana and with Casio for the Cassiopeia.
The deal marks an expansion for Aether, which to date has been focused on wirelessly enabling specific applications for corporate clients, such as the MarketClip service for Reuters or the PocketBroker service for Charles Schwab. Aether would wirelessly enable those applications and then add some basic Internet access abilities as well.
The deal with Microsoft is exactly the opposite. It is an Enterprise Internet service provider model, under which an enterprise customer goes to Aether specifically for the wireless e-mail and Internet access capabilities, then adds its specific applications on the side.
“This gives us the depth we’ve been looking for,” Davis said. “Now, we’ve extended into a pure enterprise ISP solution.”
He stressed this is merely an expansion of focus, not a switch away from Aether’s traditional model.
“It’s another in our bag of tricks. It’s not some shift in focus. It’s us taking a different approach based on what the customer wants,” Davis said. “We haven’t seen a trend that says one focus is stronger than the other in terms of customer requests.”
The deal also represents a stronger push by Microsoft into the wireless arena. When it introduced the Pocket PC platform, some expressed surprise it lacked a clear wireless solution other than attaching the device to a wireless phone.
