Nextel this week quietly started paving the way for delivering fast wireless access to mobile users.
The wireless operator started soliciting both businesses and consumers in the Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina area to participate in trials for its Nextel Wireless Broadband. The trials will start in February and will last as long as six months, the company said at its Web site.
According to the site, the service is based on Flarion Technologies' FLASH-OFDM, which uses IEEE 802.20 technology to deliver speeds that the company claims is as fast as cable access. Nextel said that typical downstream speeds for the service are 1.5 Mbps and typical upstream speeds are 375 Kbps.
By contrast, Verizon's Wireless' EV-DO service, currently available in San Diego and Washington, D.C., has typical downstream speeds in the 500 Kbps range. Verizon said it would start rolling out that service nationwide this summer.
Nextel's choice of 802.20 technology is at odds with widely-discussed technology based on the 802.16 standard, which is being championed by vendors such as Intel. That company has pledged 802.16 products, also known as WiMAX, will be available later this year.
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