When it comes to the wireless Internet, distinguishing reality from hype can be a challenge. Visionaries describe the wireless web as a whole new world in which wireless devices will help consumers find parking spots, maneuver through traffic, buy and trade stocks, and even shop for the best bargains.
Meanwhile, wireless operators, Internet companies, infrastructure conglomerates and handheld device makers are all spending millions to make anywhere, anytime access to the Internet a reality. And with all that money flowing into this area, there's a lot riding on its success.
Despite what the advocates say, technological challenges currently limit wireless web access. Wireless networks, originally designed for voice transmission, are unable to deliver data speeds higher than 19kbps, and most web-enabled devices can't actually display websites in their original format. Instead, many use a system called wireless application protocol (WAP), which reformats the web content so it will fit on a small screen.
Nonetheless, during the past year, several U.S. operators took the wireless Internet plunge, and their offerings are attracting early adopters.
Sprint PCS Leads the Way
In August 1999, Sprint PCS (www.sprintpcs.com) debuted its Wireless Web service for $9.99 per month to existing customers with rate plans of $29.99 per month or higher. The service includes e-mail and access to content from such partners as Amazon.com Inc. (www.amazon.com), Ameritrade Inc. (www.ameritrade.com), Bloomberg LP (www.bloomberg.com), Cable News Network (www.cnn.com), FOXSports.com (www.foxsports.com), GetThere LP (www.getthere.com), InfoSpace.com Inc. (www.infospace.com), MapQuest.com Inc. (www.mapquest.com), The Weather Channel Enterprises Inc. (www.weather.com) and others.
Originally, the service was available only if subscribers also invested in one of two web-enabled handsets: the NeoPoint Inc. (www.neopoint.com) NP1000, which was priced at $299.99, and the $199.99 Denso Touchpoint.
But since its wireless Internet debut, the carrier significantly improved its offering. Competition from other carriers, such as AT&T Wireless Services Inc. (www.attws.com), prompted some of the changes, particularly on the pricing front. The service now comes as a free option for any subscribers with "Free and Clear" plans priced at $49.99 or higher, and users can choose from at least 15 web-enabled handsets. On the content side, the company added online leader America Online Inc. (www.aol.com) to its portal play in June, giving AOL's 26 million members access to their e-mail and other content over the Sprint PCS network.
Sprint PCS vice president of consumer marketing Chip Novick says that news, sports, weather, stock quotes and e-mail tend to be the most popular applications, but he sees other services gaining in popularity as they become better. "We are at the early stage of this, and I think we are seeing an evolution of services."
Other Early Starters
Following Sprint's lead, AT&T Wireless, Verizon Wireless (www.verizonwireless.com) and Nextel Communications Inc. (www.nextel.com) also released their own variations of a wireless web service. Taking a cue from its highly successful Digital One Rate plan, AT&T Wireless devised a flat-fee wireless web plan. Called Digital PocketNet, the service provides existing Digital One Rate subscribers with Internet-ready phones (either an Ericsson R280LX for about $99.99 or a Mitsubishi MobileAccess T250 for $199.99), with free access to more than 40 wireless-enabled websites. For an additional $6.99 per month, users receive e-mail access and fax service; for $14.99 per month, they get the premium service, which includes calendar access, contacts and to-do lists.
Kendra VanderMeulen, senior vice president of product development and mobile Internet strategy at AT&T Wireless Services, says her company's unlimited usage pricing strategy has paid off. "We have a very active user base. Our page-view click numbers are very strong ... our customers are getting addicted."
Verizon Wireless also is angling for a piece of the wireless Internet pie. Verizon's Mobile Web service gives customers the option of adding the service to any $35 per month or higher digital wireless calling plan for $6.95 per month. The service includes access to 32 branded sites, plus hundreds of other wireless-enabled sites and up to 100 messages per month.
Verizon Mobile Web subscribers will have a choice of about a half-dozen web-enabled phones, including QUALCOMM Inc.'s (www.qualcomm.com) QCP-860 and Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.'s (www.samsung.com) Samsung 850.
Like the others, nationwide carrier Nextel also offers a wireless web service; however, Nextel targets only corporate users.
Nextel Online uses Motorola's i1000 and i550plus web-ready phones, and integrates the carrier's Direct Connect two-way radio feature with digital cellular, text/numeric paging and wireless Internet service. For an additional $14.95 per month, customers with nationwide Nextel rate plans receive unlimited access to MSN Mobile (www.mobile.msn.com) and Nextel alliance websites. The myNextel.com portal lets users personalize news and content.
Like Sprint, Nextel slightly revamped its offering about five months after its debut. In September, the company added content from Amazon.com, Ameritrade, CNETnews.com, Expedia Inc. (www.expedia.com), MSN Money Central (http://moneycentral.msn.com), MSN Sports (www.msnsportsnet.com), MSNBC (www.msnbc.com), Travelocity.com LP (www.travelocity.com) and others, and dropped the price. In addition, company executives plan to introduce two or three new Nextel Online handsets sometime this year.
Warming Up to the Web
Despite the technology hurdles, consumers are definitely testing the wireless web waters. With nearly a year of experience under its belt, wireless web innovator Sprint PCS reported about 720,000 wireless web users as of third quarter 2000.
Likewise, AT&T Wireless, which only introduced its consumer PocketNet service in May, reported about 300,000 users at the end of September 2000. However, latecomer Verizon Wireless appears to have garnered the most wireless web subscribers in the shortest amount of time. The company, which launched its Mobile Web initiative in July 2000, attracted about 400,000 web subscribers as of September 2000.
It also looks like business-focused Nextel experienced some early success with its Nextel Online web service. The company, which launched Nextel Online in April 2000, reported just 40,000 users as of the end of June, but that figure shot up dramatically, and by the end of September the carrier reported more than 200,000 data subscribers.
Although the wireless web's first Christmas may now be just a memory, it's still too soon to determine how significant a role the holiday season played in sales of these early wireless web initiatives. The fourth quarter is typically the strongest quarter for wireless sales, causing many wireless carriers to be optimistic about wireless Internet sales during the 2000 holiday season. According to Sprint's Novick, "The consumer is ready for the wireless Internet because it's one of those environments that gets better by the day."
Sue Marek is a Denver-based free-lance writer. She can be reached at smarek@earthlink.net.
