Nextel to Trial High Speed Data Service
The US based, Nextel says that it will trial a wireless broadband service in the Raleigh-Durham, N.C. market using Flarion Technologies' FLASH-OFDM technology. The trial will begin later this month and will offer participants highly secure, high-speed, IP-based broadband access with the full mobility of wireless service.
Participants in the trial will include employees from select Nextel enterprise customers, including Cisco Systems, Nortel Networks and IBM. They will be able to take full advantage of average downlink speeds of up to 1.5 megabits per second (mbps) with burst rates of up to 3.0 mbps, making the service comparable to DSL and cable broadband services.
"Nextel is exploring the market for a broadband service with Flarion because we are committed to offering our customers innovative, valuable services that help them to be more effective and more efficient. Nextel is considering a number of interesting technologies and this market trial will help us understand how the wireless broadband service performs, how valuable it is to our customers and what the market is likely to pay for it. With Flarion, we will explore the market appetite for innovative wireless solutions that meet the needs of our customers whether they work in a home office or a large enterprise," said Tom Kelly, chief operating officer, Nextel.
The announcement of this market trial follows recent news that Nextel is deploying WiDEN, which will increase its current packet data speed up to four times for the nominal cost of what is effectively a software upgrade to its iDEN network.
Wireless broadband service provides the freedom to connect without constraints - no wires, no connection time, no need to be restricted or tethered to the home or office and no searching for WiFi hot spots. The wireless broadband service will operate on a specialized network separate from Nextel's iDEN network.
Nextel has seen impressive results with Flarion's wireless broadband technology during extensive lab testing. During the upcoming market trial, Nextel will evaluate its wireless broadband service - including network performance and customer demand and satisfaction - under real world conditions. The trial is scheduled to run for a minimum of six months, and will not have a material impact on Nextel's financial results in 2004.
Cisco Systems and Nortel Networks are also providing infrastructure support for the trial."
Posted to the site on 9th February 2004
