Nextel's New Flarion-Based Network: The Dawn of a New Era, Declares ABI
Business Wire - February 06, 2004 11:53
OYSTER BAY, N.Y., Feb 6, 2004 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- In a move signaling the dawn of a new wireless era, Nextel Communications launched their Wireless Broadband service in the Raleigh-Durham area this week. Nextel, the Reston, VA-based wireless carrier, launched their commercial network using technology based on Bedminster, NJ-based startup Flarion Technologies. The launch, anticipated by ABI analysts to occur in December, sends a strong message to other wireless carriers and infrastructure vendors: The future of wireless does not revolve solely around UMTS and CDMA2000. Though investment in these technologies is still expected to dominate overall carrier spending, rival technologies, including Flash-OFDM like that of Flarion, could represent about 20% of overall spending before the end of the decade, according to technology market research firm ABI.
Nextel, long the technology outlier of the wireless industry, has a proven business model using proprietary technology based upon Motorola's iDEN. This technology, though only available from Motorola, has been the foundation for Nextel's success. With a core base of enterprise users, the company has enjoyed a high ARPU (average revenue per user), driven mainly by low-churn and "sticky" features, like their push-to-talk technology, a core feature of iDEN.
"Deploying Flash-OFDM or a similar technology enables a wireless carrier to skip a generation, leap-frogging the competitors' service offerings," declares Edward Rerisi, VP of Research at ABI. "With Nextel's history of operating against the grain, they are not committed to either the GSM or CDMA camp, freeing them to make these bold moves."
Nextel is positioning to provide a new unique offering reminiscent of its push to talk service Direct Connect, through which Nextel has enjoyed a monopoly until recent imitations by competing wireless carriers. According to ABI, the potential to create yet another unique service offering may send shivers down the spines of Nextel's competitors and their suppliers.
Other successes with these advanced wireless broadband networks are evident across the world. In Auckland, New Zealand, operator Woosh Wireless has deployed a service using technology based on IPWireless. This service provides wireless broadband access to a large portion of the city. According to a recent ABI study, spending on all "last mile wireless" solutions will reach about $3 billion by 2009. While the largest customer base for these networks will be residential/SOHO customers, some will serve backhaul and enterprise applications. The residential/SOHO segment will represent about 54% of all subscribers by 2009. Early adopters of these networks, including Nextel's trial in Raleigh-Durham, are expected to be high-income individuals or mobile workers, including construction crews, real estate agents or government employees.
ABI's study, "Broadband Wireless - Last Mile Solutions," examines all last mile wireless technologies, including WiMAX/802.16, proprietary broadband wireless access technologies, satellite and mobile broadband. The study examines adoption of these technologies across several regions and customer segments and related spending on infrastructure and CPE.
ABI is a N.Y.-based technology market research firm founded in 1990. ABI publishes market research and technology intelligence on the wireless, automotive, electronics, broadband and energy industries. Details can be found on the web at abiresearch.com or by calling 516-624-3113.
SOURCE: ABI
ABI
Jake Wengroff, 516-624-3113, ext. 20
pr@abiresearch.com
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