Sprint Business announced Monday the
launch of its all-in-one voice and data service product to the small
business — nearly two years overdue — in 10 cities nationwide.
The Integrated On-Demand Network
and business
DSL service, until now a service available only to large enterprise
companies, gives small businesses the opportunity to roll up its telephone
and Internet services on one line, in one convenient bill.
For local businesses, this means getting services normally reserved for the
companies that have thousands of employees — services like videoconferencing
and multiple phone lines.
Todd Townsend, Sprint assistant vice president of small business marketing,
said small businesses need the convenience of one company providing all its
telecommunication needs.
“Unlike large businesses that frequently integrate and use advanced
technologies, for small businesses, integrating advanced communication
technology into their everyday business activity can be complex and
time-consuming,” Townsend said. “At Sprint, we have a dedicated sales force
that is trained to help small business customers identify and select the
business tools they need to simplify their communication and gain a
competitive advantage.”
For the time being, Sprint’s business-class Internet service runs off
asymmetric digital subscriber line, a high-speed option particularly
unsuited to advanced Internet applications like videoconferencing and
virtual private networking.
It’s ADSL service promises speeds up to 1.5 Mbps downloads and 384 Kbps
uploads, depending on the businesses distance from the central office. To
sweeten the pot, Sprint is throwing in a free ADSL modem kit, free
installation, one static IP address, five 6MB Web pages, one personal start
page and a 90-day money back guarantee.
Until Monday, Sprint has been offering a variety of options to small
businesses in the U.S., including frame relay and fixed wireless Internet
connectivity. This is the first time, however, that the company has offered
its local and long distance telephone services over the same line.
Sprint ION to the small business was originally slated for U.S. deployment
in mid-1999. Slow acceptance by large enterprise companies and financial
difficulties has slowed the company’s rollout date, however.
The program is available in the following cities: Austin, Dallas, Houston
and San Antonio, TX; Denver, CO; Kansas City, MO; Los Angeles, CA; Phoenix,
AZ; and Seattle, WA.
Sprint expects to reach 86 markets by the end of 2002.