SBC plans to deploy more than 20,000 Wi-Fi hotspots in 6,000 venues by the end of 2006 and create an integrated Wi-Fi and 3G wireless service.
The service, called FreedomLink, will be available beginning this fall in SBC-owned hotspots throughout its 13-state region. SBC will augment its deployment through a roaming agreement with Wayport Inc., giving customers access to Wayport hotspots in 565 hotels and 13 airports nationwide.
SBC will also leverage its Cingular assets to bring to market combined Wi-Fi and 3G services. The integrated service will allow subscribers to move between their home or office, Wi-Fi hotspots, and Cingular’s GPRS/EDGE network seamlessly. The integrated service is expected to be available in late 2004 or early 2005.
Initially, SBC’s FreedomLink service will be offered to customers on a transactional basis with a one-time fee for daily sessions. Shortly after the initial service launch, the companies will introduce a subscription service that will offer subscribers unlimited access for a monthly fee, with discounted pricing for customers who combine FreedomLink with other SBC services and packages, including SBC Yahoo! DSL and SBC Total Connections, the company’s flagship bundle, which includes local, wireless, DSL and long distance (where available) service.
Where possible, SBC and Cingular plan to use their public telephone infrastructure to establish access points and use SBC DSL or T1 service to transport data from the access point to the network. That means capital costs and fixed expenses associated with deploying the hotspots are expected to be relatively low.
SBC companies plan to deploy more than 1,000 Wi-Fi hot spots in several hundred venues by year-end, more than 9,000 hot spots in 2,000 venues by the end of 2004 and more than 20,000 hot spots in 6,000 venues by the end of 2006. The company expects to continue deploying hot spots after 2006.
In addition to establishing hotspots at primary venues, SBC companies also plan to provide a turnkey product that enables small-business customers to quickly become a hotspot and differentiate themselves in the marketplace.
