Birch Communications Competes for Mobile Internet Market Share

Atlanta-based CLEC Birch Communications has jumped into the mobile Internet fray. 

The company this week launched Birch Breeze, a wireless USB modem with Sprint Nextel Corp. as the underlying 3G provider. Ideal users are the usual suspects: road warriors who need to stay connected no matter where they are.

For agents, selling points include on-demand connectivity, ease of installation and flexible data-plan pricing. To the last point, 500MB costs $29.95; 2GB goes for $39.95; and 5GB is priced at $49.95. The USB itself which works with any Windows, Mac or Linux-based computer with a Type-A USB port is free with a 24-month contract.

Birch wouldnt reveal commissions structures publicly, asking instead that agents interesting in selling Birch Breeze contact Brad Smith, vice president of sales.

Birch is getting into the mobile broadband market using a method other CLECs started implementing three and four years ago. Now, many of those same companies have started offering smartphones and netbooks with built-in mobile wireless-access cards. For its part, Birch hopes to capitalize on business users’ need for simple anywhere/anytime wireless.

Birch Breeze is perfect for businesses seeking an extremely compact, plug-and-play USB modem to support their mobile work style, said Vincent Oddo, Birch’s president and CEO.