Telecom carriers Sprint and Verizon have said they will ensure all key cellphones from the two companies in the future will have Wi-Fi capability, a feature that has been missing in many of its recent devices.
Sprint will “embrace” Wi-Fi in all its “major devices”, Jeff Clemow, director of business product marketing for Sprint told Fierce Wireless. The feature is a requirement for all of Sprint’s equipment suppliers now, says Clemow.
Verizon has also indicated that all devices the company releases, after the BlackBerry Tour next week, will include Wi-Fi.
Last year, Verizon baffled customers with its decision to offer the touchscreen BlackBerry Storm without Wi-Fi capability. The move became a sore point among reviewers who criticized it in reviews of the Storm.
Sprint has faced similar questions. The company’s BlackBerry Tour phone, when it launches Sunday, will not include Wi-Fi. Sprint has said it hopes to change that with an updated version of the device that will be available next year.
Cost has been cited as one of the reasons for the lack of Wi-Fi in CDMA handsets from Verizon and Sprint. CDMA handsets with Wi-Fi capability are reportedly more expensive for the service providers compared to their GSM peers.
With consumers increasingly turning away from phones that don’t have Wi-Fi, Verizon and Sprint may have had little choice but to do what it takes to offer this feature to users. Another possibility could be that these telecom carriers were hoping that without Wi-Fi capability more buyers would sign up for expensive data plans from the companies.
Meanwhile, rival AT&T has been expanding it Wi-Fi network. In November the company bought Wi-Fi services provider Wayport for $275 million and added about 10,000 hotspots. AT&T now has more than 20,000 domestic hotspots that allows it to claim the title of having the nation’s largest Wi-Fi network.
Clearly now both Sprint and Verizon see the lack of Wi-Fi in cellphones as a bet that they can’t afford to make.
Photo: (qviri/Flickr)
