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Mobile & Wireless
CTIA: Sprint/Cable JV Ready To Pivot
Group Brands Name For Integrated Service
by Jim Barthold
The Sprint Nextel joint venture with cable players Comcast, Time Warner Cable, Advance/Newhouse Communications and Cox Communications has put a name to its advanced communications service: Pivot.
While linking Sprint Nextel’s cell phones with some cable-based features such as video and e-mail, Pivot, which is available in eight metro areas—Raleigh, N.C., Austin, Texas, Boston, Portland, Ore., San Diego, Phoenix, Cincinnati and Dayton, Ohio—stops short of true fixed-mobile convergence (FMC) and does not include Sprint Nextel’s pending WiMAX rollout.
“We’re not waiting for WiMAX; we’re not waiting for femtocells or FMC,” said Kevin Packingham, vice president of marketing and product development at Sprint Nextel. “We still think there is value that comes from mobility.”
Pivot, which will roll out in 40 markets in 2007, lets customers watch live and mobile TV, access home TV listings, check home e-mail and voice mail from one source, access the Internet, make unlimited calls between cable phone and mobile phones and get a single bill, as well as a discounted rate on bundled services.
While initially a wireless leg for the wireline cablecos, those partners “have lots of flexibility of that they provide to their customers,” said Packingham, noting that Pivot will give users “access to their stuff” and remove “artificial barriers” that keep them from accessing home-based content on their mobile devices.
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