RESTON, Va.-One option for Nextel Communications Inc.’s next-generation wireless data network is set for public consumption as the carrier is planning a network trial in the Raleigh-Durham, N.C., area using Flarion Technologies Inc.’s Flash-OFDM-based technology. The carrier, which refused to comment on the trial, has set up a Web site at nextelbroadband.com providing information for potential users and highlighting the service’s capabilities including network speeds of up to three megabits per second.
The trial is scheduled to begin this month with customers that are approved for the trial receiving a wireless modem for either a personal computer or a PC Card for a laptop and free service for up to the six months the trial is scheduled to last. The Web site notes potential trial customers do not need to be current Nextel customers and that at the end of the trial customers can continue the service on a paid basis.
In addition to the network’s high-speed access, Nextel is providing users up to seven e-mail accounts and up to 70 megabytes of online storage space as well as junk mail filtering software.
Industry analysts have linked Nextel and Flarion for some time noting the Flash-OFDM technology could provide Nextel with a strong next-generation high-speed wireless data network comparable to advanced networks using CDMA2000 1x EV-DO/DV and UMTS. Analysts have also noted that Nextel has been working with a number of CDMA vendors on possibly deploying a CDMA2000 1x EV-DO/DV network and reportedly was close to announcing overlay plans several years ago.
Nextel announced last November plans to roll out Wi-DEN technology on its network beginning later this year. Wi-DEN is a higher-speed version of its currently deployed and Motorola Inc.-developed iDEN network. It is expected to provide data speeds up to four times faster than the carrier’s current network and comparable to CDMA2000 1x and EDGE offerings from other carriers.
