Alltel, based in Little Rock, announced Thursday an expansion of its Axcess Broadband throughout Virginia, including Culpeper.
The technology, known as “next generation evolution data optimized,” provides customers unlimited wireless access to the Internet via laptop computers at speeds comparable to wired broadband connections like DSL, according to an Alltel news release.
The new service can also be accessed via cell phone or handsets at average speeds of 400 to 700 kilobits per second up to maximum speeds of 2.4 Mbps. It costs $59.95 per month.
“Axcess Broadband makes it easy to surf the Internet, access e-mail and calendars and download large, graphic-rich files while on the go,” according to the release.
“Alltel Wireless is committed to meeting the growing data needs of our customers,” said Ron Senchak, vice president of business solutions for Alltel Wireless in Virginia, in the release.
Axcess is “unmatched” in the wireless Internet world, he added, and is well suited for “both traveling business professionals and casual users.”
Crystal Silas, sales associate at the Culpeper Alltel in Dominion Square, said their store has been offering Axcess since late November. The way it works, she said, is through an “air card,” a wireless Internet card that plugs into the laptop. Web access using the air card is unlimited, Silas said.
Alltel offers its services in Culpeper via antennas located on several towers countywide. During the recent expansion into wireless broadband, Alltel also updated its towers to provide quicker cell phone and text message connections, Silas said.
“Not a whole lot of people have found out about it yet,” she said of the new Alltel offerings.
Axcess Broadband is now also available in the Lynchburg and Charlottesville areas. It has been offered in Richmond and Norfolk since last year, according to the news release.
“The rural areas have been the bread and butter of our company,” said Wesley Brown with Alltel’s Little Rock headquarters.
