• SIP
Broadband & Mobile Featured Article
March 24, 2008
Will CLECs "Get" Wireless?
By Gary Kim Contributing Editor
One can debate whether a mobile voice and data offering today is an essential ingredient in a consumer or small business offering. It probably is the case that mobility will achieve that status at some point in the future.
And though for the most part, competitive local exchange carriers have stuck to the broadband access plus voice pattern, some providers now are tackling the mobility suite.
Cbeyond (News - Alert) Communications operates the BeyondMobile service, creating a single bucket of calling minutes across wired and wireless access methods.
That single bucket includes outbound long-distance wireline, inbound toll-free wireline and mobile wireless calls.
When Cbeyond started in the business, it had one core handset (LG's LX-225) and one wireless plan ($40 a month, which added 500 monthly minutes to the “bucket," plus options for unlimited Internet access and text messaging, says Brian Washburn, Current Analysis research director.
In a possibly more-important move, Cbeyond added BlackBerry (News - Alert) support, plus unlimited mobile-to-mobile and night and weekend minutes, a single voice mail box for wired and wireless devices.
Most recently Cbeyond has added hosted Microsoft Exchange fixed and mobile access. At a cost of $10 per user, per month, the hosted application extends Microsoft Exchange email, calendaring, and contacts to Cbeyond customers' personal computers and mobile devices.
Separately, Granite Telecommunications, a national provider of telephone and broadband services, added BlackBerry and Treo mobile services and EV-DO wireless data cards to its packages.
Granite Telecommunications also supports options such as mobile email, GPS applications, and the push-to-talk feature.
Deltacom (News - Alert) also is offering mobile services. The Simpli-Mobile service supports the Motorola RAZR wireless handsets and Motorola Q devices, as well as Sierra Wireless EV-DO wireless data cards, says Washburn.
Washburn says XO Communications also is looking at a fixed-mobile convergence offer that allows mobiles to function as extensions to a business phone system.
XO launched its trial with Sotto Wireless in fall 2007 in Seattle, and the service features PBX
extension to both cellular and dual-mode handsets from Nokia (News - Alert), says Washburn.
"It seems a foregone conclusion that mobility solutions are necessary for some – not all – SMB customer segments, and that these segments probably will prefer a one-stop bundle with integrated plans and features," says Washburn.
Gary Kim is a TMCnet Contributing Editor.
Don’t forget to check out TMCnet’s White Paper Library, which provides a selection of in-depth information on relevant topics affecting the IP Communications industry. The library offers white papers, case studies and other documents which are free to registered users. Today’s featured white paper is Best Practices for Deploying a Virtual Call Center: Tips, Techniques and Best Practices, brought to you by LiveOps (News - Alert).
And though for the most part, competitive local exchange carriers have stuck to the broadband access plus voice pattern, some providers now are tackling the mobility suite.
Cbeyond (News - Alert) Communications operates the BeyondMobile service, creating a single bucket of calling minutes across wired and wireless access methods.
That single bucket includes outbound long-distance wireline, inbound toll-free wireline and mobile wireless calls.
When Cbeyond started in the business, it had one core handset (LG's LX-225) and one wireless plan ($40 a month, which added 500 monthly minutes to the “bucket," plus options for unlimited Internet access and text messaging, says Brian Washburn, Current Analysis research director.
In a possibly more-important move, Cbeyond added BlackBerry (News - Alert) support, plus unlimited mobile-to-mobile and night and weekend minutes, a single voice mail box for wired and wireless devices.
Most recently Cbeyond has added hosted Microsoft Exchange fixed and mobile access. At a cost of $10 per user, per month, the hosted application extends Microsoft Exchange email, calendaring, and contacts to Cbeyond customers' personal computers and mobile devices.
Separately, Granite Telecommunications, a national provider of telephone and broadband services, added BlackBerry and Treo mobile services and EV-DO wireless data cards to its packages.
Granite Telecommunications also supports options such as mobile email, GPS applications, and the push-to-talk feature.
Deltacom (News - Alert) also is offering mobile services. The Simpli-Mobile service supports the Motorola RAZR wireless handsets and Motorola Q devices, as well as Sierra Wireless EV-DO wireless data cards, says Washburn.
Washburn says XO Communications also is looking at a fixed-mobile convergence offer that allows mobiles to function as extensions to a business phone system.
XO launched its trial with Sotto Wireless in fall 2007 in Seattle, and the service features PBX
extension to both cellular and dual-mode handsets from Nokia (News - Alert), says Washburn."It seems a foregone conclusion that mobility solutions are necessary for some – not all – SMB customer segments, and that these segments probably will prefer a one-stop bundle with integrated plans and features," says Washburn.
Gary Kim is a TMCnet Contributing Editor.
Don’t forget to check out TMCnet’s White Paper Library, which provides a selection of in-depth information on relevant topics affecting the IP
Communications industry. The library offers white papers, case studies and other documents which are free to registered users. Today’s featured white paper is Best Practices for Deploying a Virtual Call Center: Tips, Techniques and Best Practices, brought to you by LiveOps (News - Alert).
