Subject: [NEXTEL-1] PLATFORM TO HELP CARRIERS NAVIGATE HOT SPOT MARKET

From: [email-masked]
Date: Wed, 14 May 2003 16:33:34 -0400

PLATFORM TO HELP CARRIERS NAVIGATE HOT SPOT MARKET

By Dan O'Shea

Telephony, May 12, 2003

Mobility Network Systems is announcing a Wi-Fi hardware/software product suite this week
that gives carriers some flexibility in
how they enter the confusing public hot spot market. The company also advises carriers to
stick with their current mobile users if
they want to make any money off Wi-Fi.

In recent months, mobile carriers such as Nextel Communications and Cingular Wireless have
said they are having a hard time
finding a Wi-Fi business case that makes sense. However, MNS said it expects most carriers
to get involved with strategies that
range from cautious and minimalist to aggressive and comprehensive. The vendor is pushing
carriers to use predominantly existing
assets and sell only to existing users, thereby spending little from their capital and
operational expenses budgets and earning more
for their revenue coffers as they enter the wilds of the Wi-Fi market.

The San Jose, Calif.-based company is introducing its ipRAN-1500 product family,
consisting of the MLC-1500 Unifying Client
Software, the RAC-1500 Radio Access Controller, the RLM-1500 Radio Link Manager and the
OMC-1500 Operations and
Maintenance Center.

The components can be deployed together or separately depending on how aggressively a
carrier wants to enter Wi-Fi, said
Bob Conner, vice president of product management at MNS. “They can be deployed for a
phased-in approach, whether
carriers want to start by re-selling Wi-Fi and billing it as a bundled service, begin
integrated hot spots into their existing network
coverage, or building out large-scale hot spot networks,” he said.

The client software is a “one-click” Wi-Fi connection manager that also can manage the
handoff from a wireless LAN to a
mobile network, Conner said. The RAC-1500 hooks into a carrier's existing home location
register (HLR) to manage the
administrative aspects of Wi-Fi usage. Those products would help carriers get started in
the business, while the radio link
manager and operations center software would be more appropriate for a broad network
buildout. Conner said MNS is working
on testing interoperability with a large number of deployed HLRs, as well as newer
wireless LAN security switches that are being
positioned for deployment in corporate enterprises.

Conner pointed out that the hot-spot installation business is booming, with tens of
thousands of Wi-Fi hot spots being built within
the next year or two. Still, the low cost of equipment — and the low price expectations
being planted in users' minds by an
increasing number of hot spots offering free access — are creating a tense competitive
environment.

“Wi-Fi is still highly price-elastic,” said Conner. “Charging a premium for access will be
short-lived, but offering it to your current
users as an add-on makes sense and responds to the carrier motivation to keep average
revenue per user high.”

Several industry analysts said they were unfamiliar with MNS' new products, but they
generally see at least a modest revenue
benefit for carriers that keep market-entry costs and services prices in check. John
Yunker, analyst at Pyramid Research, said
carriers also would do well to package Wi-Fi services around specific customer segments
and share networks with other service
providers to reduce risk. “With prices falling and coverage still spotty, it's not going
to be easy [to compete in the Wi-Fi market]
in the short term,” he said.

http://telephonyonline.com/ar/telecom_platform_help_carriers/