AT&T Boosts Hotspot Count for Global RAS and Enhances Client

On March 7th AT&T announced expansion of its global WiFi footprint to a total of 48,000 hotspots, including 15,000 in the U.S. AT&T also announced improvements to its value-added services for global MNCs, including: expanded support for wireless devices from Cingular; enhancements for endpoint security, a “traveling recall” capability, and the ability to establish a WiFi connection from a third party within a hotspot.

Recommended Competitor Actions

► iPass should note that it remains the undisputed leader in global WiFi hotspots, with over 76,000 access points. It should also note that a key differentiator in its access portfolio is its Virtual Office service, which leverages fixed broadband services for home, branch offices, and the retail sector. iPass has also enhanced its capabilities with a device lockdown service and a partnership with Lenovo.

► Fiberlink should note that it is less concerned about keeping up with what it views as the rapidly commoditizing access market, and that it remains a leader in managed security and policy management services. It also offers services regardless of which access network is being used.

► Orange Business Services should tout its own rapidly growing access footprint, which includes close to 50,000 WiFi hotspots, and say that it is also rapidly growing in terms of European 3G cellular access arrangements.

► Verizon Business should move to more effectively leverage its stake in Verizon Wireless with announcements on 3G access partnerships abroad, and joint offerings with its wireless offspring targeted to global MNCs.

Nokia 5300 XpressMusic Brings Music to the Masses at T-Mobile

T-Mobile held its Nokia 5300 XpressMusic launch party on February 27, anticipating an in-store launch the next day. However, actual placements and Web availability were delayed a day. The Nokia 5300 XpressMusic is a 1.3 MP sliding cameraphone with extensive music capabilities including 1 GB of storage on an included microSD card, stereo Bluetooth, and dedicated media controls on the outside of the case. It is available for $99 with a two-year contract.

Recommended Competitor Actions

► Cingular has been selling the Sony Ericsson W810 with just a 128 MB Memory Stick Pro Duo. Instead, it should offer three bundles: 1 GB, 2GB, and 4GB. The 4GB bundle would make it the highest capacity musicphone on the market in the U.S., and it could still be priced under $200. Indexing 4GB of music on the W810i is a bit sluggish, but we have tested it, and it does work.

► Sprint and Verizon Wireless mandate the specifications on their musicphones; both carriers need to embrace sideloading. While it is technically possible to sideload tracks on the Sanyo M1 at Sprint, there is no documentation on how to do so. While it is technically possible to sideload tracks on V CAST Music phones at Verizon Wireless, the carrier has placed numerous hurdles in the way of easily doing so.

► Motorola was off to a fine start with iTunes on its ROKR E1 – at least from a usability perspective – but other than a pair of overpriced fashion phones at Cingular, there has been no follow-up. Where is the second generation of iTunes phones? If Apple is no longer licensing iTunes, why hasn’t Motorola brought its mobile Linux musicphone to the U.S.?

► LG and Samsung have dozens of phones that play music, and a few that are specifically touted as musicphones such as the Fusic or SYNC, but none have provided a complete music experience. Sony Ericsson’s Walkman line, and now the Nokia 5300, proves that it can be done, and provides a reasonable blueprint to emulate.

Recommended End User/Customer Responses

► Consumers looking for an inexpensive, easy to use musicphone should consider the Nokia 5300 XpressMusic.

► Carrying a separate Apple iPod or SanDisk Sansa along with a cell phone is still a perfectly reasonable solution set. The combination provides better song navigation (particularly with the iPod’s scroll wheel control), a lot more capacity, and a dedicated battery for the phone.

► Consumers waiting for the iPhone will not be swayed by the 5300’s value proposition. Enthusiasts with large music collections will still want to purchase a hard drive music player in addition to a musicphone (iPhone or otherwise).

Cingular’s Unlimited Intra-carrier Messaging: Good, but It Could Be Better

On March 4th Cingular launched an unlimited messaging add-on option at $5 per month for its postpaid customers. Cingular customers subscribing to the carrier’s messaging package or MEdia bundles will now have the option to send unlimited text, pictures, and video messages to fellow Cingular subscribers for an additional $5 per month.

Recommended Competitive Responses

► Alltel should point out that it offers a wider array of messaging options to its consumers at different price points, providing more messaging units than Cingular, and its $20 Axcess Data Pack includes unlimited generic messaging plus Axcess Web.

► Sprint should gear up to meet its competition and launch message bundles featuring text, instant, and multimedia messaging to boost message usage and enhance its offerings.

► T-Mobile should highlight that its messaging options are by far the best value in the industry for both individuals and families. No other carrier provides an unlimited messaging plan comparable to that of T-Mobile.

► Verizon Wireless, having already made a messaging move, should note that it came out with intra-carrier unlimited messaging in 2005; with Cingular following nearly two years later, this validates Verizon Wireless as the thought leader for data messaging.

Recommended End User/Customer Responses

► Customers should take stock of where they predominately message to before opting into the new $5 add-on. If the majority of these messages are outside Cingular, it does not make sense.

► Cingular customers who are existing or potential messaging users and have friends and family who are also Cingular customers should welcome this move. More importantly, all senders and receivers should consider opting in for M2M messaging to enjoy unlimited message exchange.

► New subscribers who do not wish to worry about any picture and video messaging limitations should consider T-Mobile’s individual unlimited messaging pack for $15 or the family pack for $20, covering all family lines. These packs provide for unlimited text, picture, video, and instant messaging.