Juno and Metricom Expand High-Speed Wireless Internet Service to Seven New Markets - Brief Article

ISP Business,  Nov, 2000  

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Juno Online Services and Metricom announced that Juno's high-speed mobile wireless Internet service is now available in seven additional markets, including Baltimore, Dallas/Ft. Worth, Houston, Philadelphia, Phoenix, San Francisco, and Manhattan. The service, Juno Express powered by Ricochet, offers speeds up to 128 Kbps and is part of Juno's suite of high-speed Internet access options. The service launched in Atlanta and San Diego in July.

Metricom Inc. is a high-speed wireless network operator. Juno is the nation's third-largest provider of dial-up Internet services, after AOL and EarthLink, with more than 3.38 million active subscribers.

"This service, which we'te rolling out with Metricom, offers subscribers a taste of the next generation -- anywhere, anytime Internet. It's an amazing experience," said Charles Ardai, Juno's president and CEO. "Suddenly, you can surf the Web, check your e-mail, or do anything else on the Internet at high speed, whether you're at home, in a car, or even relaxing at the beach. The combination of broadband and wireless opens up fantastic new possibilities for the Internet, and we're very excited to enable our subscribers to be among the first to explore and enjoy it."

Metricom's Ricochet service uses a network of microcell radios that are typically attached to streetlight or utility poles to deliver a mobile information solution at more than twice the speed of a standard 56K dial-up connection. Users simply attach a small wireless modem to their laptop; the Ricochet radio network will then detect and route signals coming from the laptop into its microcellular meshed network, and then out to the Internet. The service is currently priced at $79.95 per month after an initial charge for the Ricochet wireless modem.

Juno Express is designed to offer subscribers a range of broadband service options. Currently, subscribers can choose between DSL service, provided through Juno's relationship with Covad Communications, and high-speed mobile wireless access, provided in collaboration with Metricom. Juno has announced plans to offer satellite-based broadband access through an alliance with Hughes Network Systems, a unit of Hughes Electronics Corporation, and the company also plans to participate in cable broadband access trials with Time Warner Cable and AT&T Broadband.

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