OVERLAND PARK, Kan.-Just over a year after launching its Wi-Fi
initiative, Sprint Corp. reported that it will enable customers to access both
its CDMA2000 1x-based wide area network as well as its Wi-Fi Zones local area
network using a single client interface. Sprint said it will include Sprint PCS
Connection Manager Software with Wi-Fi on its Novatel Wireless Inc.-supplied
Merlin C201 PC Cards.
Sprint added that customers accessing its Wi-Fi Zones
service would need to use either third-party Wi-Fi cards or laptop computers
embedded with Wi-Fi technology.
Sprint explained that the NDIS drivers now
bundled with the $180 Novatel card automatically establish a connection with the
network once the device is powered up or following a suspend-and-resume session.
The software, which was originally available with the Airprime PC3200 PC Card
that the carrier offered when it first launched its Wi-Fi initiative, is also
available as a free upgrade to older C201 PC cards from either Sprint’s or
Novatel’s Web sites.
“Wi-Fi is an integral part of Sprint’s remote access
strategy, and we are fostering customer productivity by providing multimegabit
wireless data speeds at an ever-growing list of venues that are frequented by
mobile employees,” said Wes Dittmer, general manager of Sprint’s WLAN
services.
Sprint claims its Wi-Fi Zones service is available in thousands of
locations across the country, and its 1x network covers 99 percent of the
nation’s largest cities.
