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Sprint Services Boost Wireless Web

PCS services target business customers with a line into company data.

By James Evans, IDG News   

The business suite will be available in September and accessible at speeds comparable to a 56.6-kilobits-per-second dial-up connection--a boost over the typical 14.4-kbps data speed of its PCS service now. New bandwidth optimization technology on the Sprint PCS Network and Sprint PCS Dialer 2.0 software assists with the wireless data transmission speed, according to Sprint representatives. (See "A Sprint Through the Web.")

You'll be able to access turnkey applications through the browser of Internet-ready Sprint PCS phones. The first applications include Microsoft Exchange and Lotus Notes e-mail, schedules, and contacts; PeopleSoft corporate directory services; Sabre corporate travel services; and Siebel sales and field service applications.

The new service will be available first to business customers that have already committed to a monthly $49.95 bulk rate plan. They can add unlimited access to the wireless Web for $40. Or, for $10 more monthly, they can allocate airtime between voice and data services, according to Sprint.

Sprint PCS will also work with businesses interested in adapting applications the company already uses, so they can be accessed via Internet-ready Sprint PCS phones. That service could support wireless virtual private networks, which enhance security when people are calling corporate networks. Pricing will vary with volume but could cost thousands of dollars monthly, Sprint representatives note.

A Push for Wireless Web

Targeting business needs may be the way to really get the wireless Web into flight, suggest analysts at Zona Research.

"Sprint PCS has teamed with leading application developers to create a suite of device-specific applications that cover the sweet spot of corporate wireless Internet needs like a blanket," says Greg Blatnik, a Zona vice president. "While Web-enabled mobile phones have reached the status of this summer's blockbuster movie, they have been heavily marketed to consumers who may ultimately use them for short messages and to locate the nearest pizza place. We believe the primary value of wireless Internet access devices, including mobile phones, will be for commercial, business usage." (See "Surprise! Wireless Web Set to Boom.")

Sprint also introduced two wireless modems that will provide the faster wireless access. One is a "phone on a card" from Sierra Wireless, which plugs into a notebook PC's modem slot. The other is a $29.99 kit from Socket Communications that connects a phone to a notebook.

Although Blatnik praises Sprint's efforts, he calls it a first step that still leaves too much application integration to the corporate customer.

"The need for and importance of integration of corporate applications with the wireless world is notably under-addressed," Blatnik says. That's not strictly Sprint's job, but it may also be beyond the ken of some companies. Sprint's newest tools will boost the wireless Web, he adds. It also "hints at the significant undertaking this still represents."