Editor’s Note: In our monthly Retail Snapshot feature, RCR Wireless News talks to retail managers across the country to get a first-hand view of what’s hot in wireless.
As Sprint Nextel Corp. and Clearwire Corp. officially begin their joint WiMAX effort, an independent retailer in the Baltimore area has been selling Sprint Nextel’s Xohm-branded WiMAX service for a few months. RCR Wireless New talked with executives at Arundel Computers, a family-owned full sales and service computer store. Arundel, located in Glen Burnie, Md., has been in business since 1985.
When did Arundel begin offering Xohm services from Sprint Nextel?
Arundel has been selling Xohm since the initial launch of the Baltimore WiMAX network.
What devices do you carry? Can customers sign up for Xohm service there as well?
We currently carry all available Xohm products, the Xohm Modem, Xohm ExpressCard by Samsung, Xohm USB TU25 by ZTE, as well as the Nokia N810 WiMAX Edition Internet Tablet and some other product offerings such as notebooks with embedded WiMAX cards in them. A customer can come to our store and pickup everything they need to be up and running on the Xohm network within minutes.
What are customers’ main questions about Xohm and/or WiMAX? What are their overall opinions about the new technology?
The majority of our customers ask what the features and benefits of the Xohm services are and how will it benefit them. The overall opinion on the technology is good, most people like that it is faster than your average DSL connection and other wireless services that are available from Xohm’s competitors without your typical long-term service agreement.
What is most popular among Xohm customers? Devices, modems, plans, etc?
Most of our customers purchased the Xohm Desktop Modem. We were initially surprised that the most stationary of all the Xohm devices was the biggest seller. We expected the more mobile devices to be popular for a wireless service but it turned out that people may have been interested in an in-home replacement for DSL or other broadband internet services. Most of our customers seem to go with the month-to-month plan over the daily pass because they are looking for long-term solutions at a reasonable price.
Does Arundel work with any other wireless carriers, selling other products independently besides Sprint Nextel?
Currently we are not working with any other wireless providers but we are open to other technology that is a good fit for our company and that we think will benefit our customers.
Does Arundel currently offer any other WiMAX products/services?
Currently we are only selling the Xohm service and related products, however should something become available that is a good candidate for our customers we would certainly look in to offering that to them as well.
Any plans to offer products or services for Long Term Evolution technology?
Arundel would certainly consider selling the Long Term Evolution Technology once it becomes available, if we feel that it is a good fit for our company and customers.
Independent Baltimore reseller seeing Xohm desktop modems sell
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