SAN ANTONIO-SBC Communications Inc. is aggressively rolling out plans for a public Wi-Fi network, said company spokesman Michael Coe.
“We know we are going to pursue the public hot spot arena aggressively, and we are now in the final stages of figuring out the fastest, most effective way to do that,” Coe said.
Coe said the company will make its official plans public in the coming months.
SBC reportedly has issued RFPs for public hot-spot equipment, which will allow SBC customers to access the Internet or corporate applications from public places like coffee shops or hotels. According to Albert Lin of technology research firm American Technology Research, Juniper and Cisco are strong contenders among a dozen early candidates for a contract with SBC.
SBC already is selling Wi-Fi access points to SBC Yahoo DSL subscribers and corporate customers, Coe said. SBC also recently named Brooks McCorlce vice president of Wi-Fi, charged with finding the best way to deploy Wi-Fi networks.
Potential competition in the sector includes other telecom and cable companies already offering high-speed Internet access and attempting to cash in on the growing popularity of Wi-Fi technology.
Comcast’s Chief Technology Officer David Fellows said this week that his company will be watching as rivals roll out Wi-Fi, and if they are successful, he is confident Comcast can follow suit. Fellows, however, cited interference, overcrowding and security issues that make him wary of launching commercial service in unlicensed spectrum.
The companies’ comments follow Verizon Wireless’ recent news that it will launch Wi-Fi in New York City, using pay phones as hot-spot nodes. Several European telecommunications carriers, including Deutsche Telekom and France Telecom, are also aggressively rolling out Wi-Fi networks.
