We never wrote up the company's first product, which we thought nobody would buy (we were wrong). Now that the company's second product is on the market, we decided to learn about both.

by Alex Goldman ISP-Planet Managing Editor [October 25, 2005]

Startup City at ISPCON was a bunch of mini booths clustered around a table at which journalists like myself could interview new companies with unusual products. That's where we sat down with Rudy Prince, CEO of Houston, Tex.-based Always On Wireless.

The company's impressive management team works out of both Silicon Valley and Houston, and its vice president of sales (and PR too), Robert Guenther, formerly of SlipStream Data, is still in Toronto, but perhaps that's the price of hiring talent. Much of the team built eFax.com and sold it to J2 Global in 2000.

Why share dialup?
Frankly, when we first heard about the company's first product, the WiFlyer, we thought nobody would buy it. The product is a Wi-Fi access point for a dialup connection. It's bad enough using 11 Mbps Wi-Fi to access a 1.5 Mbps broadband line. We could not imagine anyone wanting to access 56 Kbps using an 11 Mbps technology. But we were wrong.

"People who live in places that have no broadband still want to use the wireless on their laptop," explains Prince. "Also, there's no competition. We're the only company making this product."

The product retails for $129.95 and ISPs can earn a sales commission ($20 at press time) through Commission Junction (for more on Commission Junction, see ValueClick Affiliate Marketers Unite Under One Brand). For more on the WiFlyer see Wi-Fi Planet's review of the product, Dial-Up to Wi-Fi.

VoIP CPE
The company has announced that it will add VoIP service to WiFlyer starting in November (or the first week of December). It's currently in beta trials. The VoIP plus CPE product will be called WiFlyer+v.

Earlier this month Always On Wireless announced its first ISP customer, SBC's Prodigy (see also www.prodigy.wiflyer.com, a site design that looks remarkably like Always On Wireless' own site).

The VoIP component of the service is provided by Austin, Tex.-based Point One (Point One also has a portal for automated DID provisioning [.doc]).

WiFlyer+v has a bridge mode (VoIP) and an access point mode (data). Pont One supports many different kinds of VoIP service, and Always On Wireless has chosen the type of service that allows users to keep their phone—and their phone line.

"The VoIP line rings differently," explains Prince. It's an easy way to conform to the FCC's rules about VoIP and 911 service. WiFlyer+v customers still get their 911 from the RBOC and keep their RBOC line, but get VoIP pricing. And, yes, the $12.95 per month isn't unlimited—there is a maximum number of minutes, but the threshold is set high enough that most users won't break it.

In fact, most VoIP customers—on any service—would probably save money by paying per call, but are accustomed to paying a flat rate. Zoom Technologies, for example (see Modem Maker Launches VoIP Service), offers a flat rate service but suspects that most customers will save money by paying per call.

Pricing and availability
The WiFlyer+v will be available in November or the first week of December. Retail pricing will be $99.95 (volume discounts are available). The VoIP component costs $12.95 per month with a $29.95 activation.

Customers can buy WiFlyer+v without the phone service for $149.95.

—End