Leveraging its parent company’s strength as a landline and Internet service provider, U S West Wireless said it expects to roll out commercial mobile text-based Internet access during the fourth quarter.
“Our service will be different than what our wireless competitors are deploying,” said Jamey Mills, U S West’s project manager for wireless data services. “We have an ISP, so we already deliver Internet services through a number of access points … What we are doing is allowing those same Internet services to be accessed through the PCS phone … Landline and wireless access will have the exact same set of services.”
With the built-in Wireless Application Protocol browser, users will be able to access text-based information from various Web sites. A growing number of Internet sites are becoming WAP accessible, said Mills.
Users also will have access to features such as an e-mail service that can receive, display and store e-mail as well as a fax mailbox that will be able to receive and store faxes, allowing wireless customers to forward the data to any fax machine for printing.
Customers using business or personal Web sites designed by U S West subsidiaries will be able to use their wireless handsets to access their own company intranet or personal Web sites. U S West plans to offer Qualcomm Inc.’s Thin Phone this month for $140. The handsets already have Internet-enabled technology built in.
“There are a lot of business users today looking for a full service offering with voice and data,” said Mills. “We think data services will get us to large enterprise accounts that are already involved on our wireline side. We will have a full-service bundle-wireline, voice and data service-all on the same bill.”
U S West, a subsidiary of regional Bell operator U S West Communications Inc., is testing the 14.4-kilobit-per-second Code Division Multiple Access data service internally today, with plans to launch commercial trials in Denver and in other markets during the third quarter. The carrier has not announced how it will price the service, though Mills said prices will be higher than landline Internet access, knocking out the general consumer as a target for the service.
“We are very much interested in creating mobile IP services compatible with corporate networks,” said Mills. “Strong segments at launch will truly be the large businesses. They have a strong understanding of these services, they are willing to pay and they want it now. We’ll be pursuing this market heavily.”
Enhanced specialized mobile radio operator Nextel Communications Inc. announced in February plans to roll out limited mobile Internet access service to six East Coast markets in the fourth quarter.