Sprint and Telespree Communications today introduced Mobile Broadband on Demand, a new wholesale prepaid data solution for Sprint Wholesale partners.
The new offering, sold through Telespree, means a variety of enterprises can add wireless broadband to their portfolio, from traditional MVNO partners to companies that cater to more casual mobile data users, such as car rental companies, airport kiosks, hotels and retail stores.
In the car rental example, a company could work through Sprint and Telespree to offer its customers a data plan for a day or a week. A family renting a car for vacation might want to get mobile broadband for the length of their vacation just to keep the family peace.
Sprint Wholesale customers can get set up to provide prepaid mobile broadband services based on the day, week or month – or they can offer it by the megabyte, says Telespree CEO Bill deKay.
The car rental example is not too different from GPS services that are offered at car rental places, says Ben Vos, vice president of service management in Sprint’s Wholesale Solutions business. Telespree’s solution is flexible enough that if an airline or hotel wanted to tie the service into loyalty points, it could be set up that way.
In the retail space, Telespree already is offering a program through Sprint wholesale partner iWireless so that people can earn free minutes when they shop at Kroger stores, deKay notes.
The service will be plug and play for the end-user. Telespree also can monitor usage, so if the end-user exceeds a threshold, a notification will be sent.
Sprint’s previous data offers in the MVNO segment were postpaid-driven. The model could also easily extend into the M2M space, deKay says. 4G is not currently part of this solution set today, but customers’ needs will drive that, Vos says.
In a press release, Mark Lowenstein, managing director of consulting firm Mobile Ecosystem, said there is a need for more flexible business models and pricing structures as the industry moves into the next phase of mobile broadband consumer adoption, which will include new market segments and myriad devices.
Sprint and Telespree will be showcasing the Mobile Broadband on Demand product at the International CTIA Wireless 2010 Show in Las Vegas next week. Demonstrations will be done at Sprint’s booth.
