Sprint PCS selling wireless Internet access

Lisa Levenson

Friday, Aug. 13, 1999 | 12:04 p.m.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Sprint Corp., the No. 3 U.S. long-distance telephone company, said it will offer World Wide Web access through its Sprint PCS wireless network, as it looks to the draw of the Internet to boost phone usage.

Customers nationwide will be able to browse the Internet and exchange e-mail with the new Neopoint Inc. NP1000 "smartphone," a combination wireless phone and electronic organizer that will sell for $399. Older Sprint PCS phones also will be able to get the service, dubbed Sprint PCS Wireless Web, though some may need a software upgrade.

Wireless carriers are racing to add data services to their offerings, hoping to seize on the Internet's explosive growth and the increasing popularity of cell phones. In May, national wireless carrier Nextel Communications Inc. got $600 million from Microsoft Corp. to help develop its Nextel Online service. Last month, Vodafone AirTouch Plc said its AirTouch Cellular unit will offer wireless Internet access in Seattle, Salt Lake City and Michigan.

"We think this is a real catalyst to sales of both voice and data," Andrew Sukawaty, president of Sprint PCS, said in announcing the plans this week. The company is using so-called microbrowser software from Phone.com Inc., based in Redwood City, Calif., to allow its customers to access the Internet.

Starting in September, customers who spend at least $29.99 a month on Sprint PCS voice service will be able to add Web access for $9.99 a month, the company said. Sprint PCS also will sell a kit to enable laptop users to connect to the Internet using wireless phones. The kit will cost $29.99 to $199.99, depending on when it's purchased and what service plan customers choose with it.

Sprint PCS has also partnered with Yahoo! Inc., which will send news alerts and stock quotes to Sprint PCS subscribers with data-enabled phones. Yahoo also will make its My Yahoo personalized Web pages available to Sprint PCS subscribers over their wireless phones.