Paging Network Inc. announced it is offering the Iridium World Page Service commercially in the
United States as the country’s exclusive paging carrier offering Iridium service.
The paging portion of Iridium’s 66
low-earth-orbit satellite system was activated in November, after which PageNet began beta testing the system.
PageNet also has added several applications of its own to the service, beyond the basic features provided by
Iridium.
“PageNet has proved to be an excellent partner for us-they have created a truly value-added set of
features for the Iridium World Page Service,” said Jim Walz, Iridium North America President. PageNet is
Iridium’s exclusive U.S. paging carrier per a May agreement with Iridium North America, Iridium L.L.C.’s gateway
provider for the continent.
The World Page Service is a one-way alphanumeric and numeric offering that allows
subscribers to receive text messages of up to 200 characters and numeric pages of up to 20 digits anywhere in the world
via satellite transmission. Messages may be originated from e-mail, PageNet’s Internet site and by operator-assisted
dictation.
PageNet added several of its own features, including a voice-mail platform, called OneWorx, which it
developed.
With it, Iridium subscribers will be notified of incoming voice mail on their pager, along with several
other features.
The OneWorx platform was created by PageNet before the Iridium exclusivity deal was signed. The
company has been offering a version of the system with different features to its existing non-Iridium customers in
several California markets, as well as in Las Vegas and Phoenix, and plans to expand the offering to other
markets.
Many of the features have been tailored to Iridium subscribers.
“It’s almost like a message
management center,” said Darryl Sterling, wireless analyst at the Yankee Group. “They upgraded it for
Iridium, whose customers are away from their main messaging center, and created a suite of products that allows a
person to manage their messaging.”
When checking voice mail, the user places a call to the OneWorx call
center service bureau, located in Commerce, Calif. Once in the system, callers can retrieve their own voice mail, then
gain access to an outside line to return that call by manual dialing or, if the person leaving the message included a
numeric message, auto dialing.
Once the return call is complete, the user may continue to check additional voice-
mail messages, all without needing to terminate the original call to the service bureau. Additionally, the OneWorx
platform can place calls for the user. For instance, if a returned call results in a busy tone, the user may record a
message to be sent to the original caller and then continue to check other voice-mail messages or make other calls.
Meanwhile, the OneWorx platform will attempt to contact the original caller for up to 30 minutes or until contact is
made. Once successful, the OneWorx platform will play the recorded messages left by the user. The center also stores
up to 99 speed-dial numbers.
PageNet’s Joy Jennings, manager of corporate communications, said these features
were added with the international traveler in mind because getting a phone line in many countries and remote locations
isn’t always easy to do.
Analysts have praised these features as necessary to give the relatively low-tier Iridium
service some stature when placed next to the voice service.
“This is where the real value is,” Sterling
said. “There’s value in the service and the coverage, but as the wireless industry matures, it’s useful to broaden
your offering to make it more attractive.”
Customers calling the OneWorx center will be charged the usual
long-distance rate for the area called from and service provider used. Any call placed by the OneWorx center on behalf
of the user will cost an additional 10 cents a minute.
Both Motorola Inc. and Kyocera Corp. make pagers for the
system, although only Motorola devices are available today. PageNet said it will charge $500 for the device, or a lease-
to-buy option at $25 a month for two years.
Usage plans include $160 a month with a year-long service contract,
$180 a month with a six-month service contract and $200 a month with a three-month service contract. All plans
include a one-time $20 activation fee and no limitations on character count.
“It’s high,” said Sterling
about the pricing model, “but it’s not ridiculous. The bottom line is, if you have that kind of need, it’ll pay for
itself.”
