Subject: [NEXTEL-1] Colleges Learning The ABCs Of Wireless Revenues

From: [email-masked]
Date: Wed, 18 Jun 2003 10:44:47 -0400

Colleges Learning The ABCs Of Wireless Revenues

Jun 18, 2003

U.S. colleges and universities are interested not only in enhancing students' and
faculties' research and study capabilities by deploying wireless networks across
their campuses, but also in getting a piece of the revenue action from service
providers.

Telecom technology vendors see college campuses as part of a growing market for
converged local- and wide-area wireless voice and data systems. One of those
companies, MobileAccess Networks, is leaving behind its focus on offering
in-building technologies for cellular and PCS systems to get into the business of
helping customers cover their arenas, buildings, campuses and other venues with
local- and wide-area wireless connectivity.

Vienna, Va.-based MobileAccess recently changed its name from Foxcom Wireless and
changed its focus from working with cellular and PCS providers on in-building
coverage to working in the enterprise space, including colleges, on converged
coverage. The company offers technology that combines local- and wide-area
networks to achieve ubiquitous connectivity for voice and data services throughout
a building, multiple facilities or a campus.
"We provide the equivalent of wiring, but in the wireless space," MobileAccess CEO
Asaf Mohr tells Wireless Data News.

With what Mohr describes as "the physical layer of the last mile," MobileAccess
funnels wireless signals from systems operating at between 500 MHz and 5 GHz into
a fiber-optic backbone. It then allocates those signals in their original forms to
the appropriate floors in buildings or other areas on campuses. Its technology
enables a larger footprint for Wi-Fi systems, which Mohr says is necessary because
most businesses need more coverage than do restaurants that offer Wi-Fi access.
"We think hotspots make a lot of sense for Starbucks and McDonalds, but not for a
larger facility like an airport," he says.

College and university information technology directors are convinced that
spreading wireless local-area network access points--predominantly of the 802.11
(Wi-Fi) flavor--will provide ubiquitous, high-speed and much needed Internet
access for students and academic and administrative staff members. These officials
also are becoming convinced that their schools are losing valuable wireline
telecom service revenues because students' use of cellular and PCS phones is on
the rise with no end in sight.

Yankee Group analysts see college campuses as a market cellular and PCS providers
should watch closely. "Students represent an opportunity for higher revenue from
both voice and data services and for this reason, carriers should actively pursue
this market," reports Eugene Signorini, senior analyst for Yankee's
Wireless/Mobile Enterprise & Commerce practice. "The campus environment presents a
captive audience for their services."
Colleges Are Fast Studies

American University (AU) in Washington, D.C., is one of the colleges working with
cellular and PCS providers to improve coverage on its campus. Carl Whitman, the
university's executive director for e-operations and infrastructure, tells
Wireless Data News that the school couldn't afford to lose more of its telecom
revenues.

AU is one of the customers with which MobileAccess has worked to enable ubiquitous
wireless coverage. The university spent $3.2 million working with systems
integrator KPMG and with MobileAccess to add Wi-Fi access points in its more than
40 buildings and across its campus, and to extend wireless signals inside its
buildings. It also is paying for it faculty's Wi-Fi device costs, and it has deals
with several vendors to offer its students discounts on their Wi-Fi device
purchases.

AU, like other U.S. colleges and universities, receives some of the telecom
service revenues generated from wireline phones on their campuses--but wireline
usage on campuses is slowing as wireless usage grows. "Part of our interest in
cellular coverage was that over time we expect our students in the university
residence halls to no longer use university-provided phones at all," Whitman
explains.

Whitman and his AU colleagues determined that they could offer students "good
quality reception for their cell phones" by allowing cellular and PCS providers to
add cell sites on the campus. They also could ask those providers for a percentage
of ongoing service revenues as part of the bargain. The school picked Cingular
Wireless and Nextel Communications [Nasdaq: NXTL] as the preferred wireless voice
service providers for the campus.

"The manner in which we might be compensated could vary based on the carrier and
what their investment is," Whitman says. "So, in exchange for our helping them to
market to the students, we're certainly looking for something in return."

That something in return, though, probably doesn't exceed what service providers
gain. Primarily, their costs for adding new subscribers can drop drastically, with
colleges steering new customers their way. Also, the operators can put to good use
their investment in campus-based cell sites.

"We end up with a very, very high concentration, numbered in the thousands, of
users who are heavy users at that and who are all sitting in one spot," Whitman
says. "Eventually, they would have to come to grips with the need to upgrade the
capacity of their cell site in this part of Washington. Our proposition to them is
put the equipment on our campus, feed it through the MobileAccess system here, and
everybody wins."

The university also uses its wireless prowess as a recruiting tool. "As we bring
in new classes of freshmen every year, they come with new sets of expectations
that they expect us to fulfill," Whitman adds. "Wireless is just one more on the
list of things they're looking for. It's really very much a response to what we
think the market is, as well as being proactive ourselves in trying to push the
envelope and finding new ways to deliver our core product, which is education."

http://search.pbimedia.com/search97cgi/s97_cgi?action=View&VdkVgwKey=%2E%2E%2Fdocuments%2Farchive%2Fwdn%2Fwdn06180307%2Ehtml&DocOffset=1&DocsFound=1440&QueryZip=nextel&SourceQueryZip=%28%28%28ba%2Cbbn%2Cbm%2Cct%2Cecn%2Cfon%2Cis%2Cidtv%2Csatn%2Cst%2Cta%2Ctpr%2Cvia%2Cwdn%29%3Cin%3Epublication%29%3Cor%3E%28%28%27www%2Etelecomweb%2Ecom%27%3Cin%3Evdkvgwkey%29%29%29&Collection=sites&Collection=archive&SortSpec=date+desc&&ViewTemplate=new_tweb_view_wrap.hts

------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor ---------------------~-->
Get A Free Psychic Reading! Your Online Answer To Life's Important Questions.
http://us.click.yahoo.com/Lj3uPC/Me7FAA/ySSFAA/61FxlB/TM
---------------------------------------------------------------------~->

Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/