Xohm: One Has to Start Somewhere

You have to start somewhere: Sprint's "Xohm"  business recently unveiled a number of co-marketing agreements with Lenovo and Acer that will have each of the PC vendors introducing a number of notebooks for enterprise and small business buyers. The ultimate goal, of course, is to have WiMAX capability embedded in new classes of devices such as cameras or MP-3 players. For the moment, though, Xohm seems to be positioning as a "metro-wide Wi-Fi" experience.

That means making it marginally easier for mobile PC users to buy what others might consider a "mobile broadband access" experience using dongles or PC cards. Xohm promises more bandwidth of course, and that is the key distinction for the moment, aside from the ability to buy service at lower prices and without contracts. Users who are mobile in many cities across the United States will have to make judgments about where they actually need wireless broadband access and whether Xohm will have coverage in those locations. 

Where Xohm is today is not where it would like to be in the future, of course, but for the moment it will have to rely on lower pricing and higher bandwidth as the differentiator with existing 3G mobile broadband offered by Sprint, Verizon and AT&T. In due course, more unusual options should be available, and the issues with nationwide roaming should clear up. 

Still, it must be said: as a user of mobile broadband service who is mobile beyond a single metro area, coverage trumps bandwidth or price. Lower prices are nice and higher speeds ultimately will be important. But coverage is king if one has to roam on a continental basis.

Not every use case has that requirement, though. Users who will not require roaming outside their home city will find $45 per month for a Xohm service, without a contract, and featuring 2 Mbps to 4 Mbps throughput, more attractive than $65 a month for 1 Mbps or less and a two-year contract. The issue is what percentage of the mobile PC access market is in the "national roaming" compared to the "metro roaming" category. 

I have used "metro" roaming broadband access, and it is useful as an alternative to Wi-Fi hot spots. It does not fare well when the use case is national roaming, though. 

Lenovo plans to offer five ThinkPad laptops with WiMax, while Acer will roll out two Aspire notebooks for small businesses that have the WiMax technology.

The Lenovo ThinkPad notebooks that offer Intel’s Centrino 2 platform with the optional WiMax technology include the new ThinkPad X301 as well as the ThinkPad W500, W700, SL400 and X200. A consumer notebook, the Lenovo IdeaPad Y530 laptop, is expected to follow later in 2008.

In addition to Lenovo, Acer is also preparing to roll out two notebooks – the Aspire 4930-6862 and the Aspire 6930-6771 – that offer the updated Intel Centrino 2 platform and the WiMax feature. While the Acer Aspire series is geared more toward consumers, these notebooks have found a place within the small business market.

The point is that one cannot yet assess how well WiMAX will fare in its intended markets. The footprint remains limited and device support is limited as well. But one has to start somewhere.