MVNO Republic Wireless picks Devicescape

Republic Wireless, a Sprint Nextel MVNO, selected Devicescape to manage its Wi-Fi data offloading. The MVNO, which is about to begin the second beta test of its service previously it commercially launches, plans to leverage Devicescape's network of 8 million curated Wi-Fi hotspots as its primary wireless network innovation to deliver unlimited voice, text and data for $19 per month.

According to Dave Fraser, CEO of Devicescape, the company has assembled a network of public Wi-Fi hotspots that it will manage. The company's software will make it easy for Republic Wireless clients to connect to this curated network. "It is all completely automatic," Fraser said. "Our innovation is on the handset and is always looking for an available Wi-Fi hotspot to connect to it."

Division Cary

Republic is a division Cary, N.C.-based VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) and bandwidth service provider Bandwidth.com. Previously this month, Republic said that its first phone, the LG Optimus smartphone, would be available in the near future, and the company said its second phone is being sent to a lab for testing. Once the LG Optimus is certified for Sprint's network, Republic will start the second beta test of its service.

Republic launched the first beta test of its hybrid VoIP/cellular service in November. But, the service was met with several negative reviews, including one from Current Analysis analyst Avi Greengart, who noted the service was unable to switch between Wi-Fi networks and Sprint's cellular service.

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