During its second quarter earnings call on Friday after the release of its report, NetZero parent UnitedOnline confirmed that it had signed new wholesale data access agreements with Sprint and Verizon Wireless, expanding the reach of its mobile broadband service beyond the initial Clearwire access it began with when launched service in mid-2012 by offering a free access tier for the first year to drive new customer subscriptions and expanding to paid metered access options a few months later. The need for expansion was triggered by the lack of Clearwire WiMax coverage across the country, which only covered 40% of the population at its peak and never expanded beyond that due to a myriad of issues.
With the new deals in place, NetZero Wireless is expected to be available on a fully nationwide basis, as the agreements allow access to both Verizon’s and Sprint’s respective EVDO Rev A and LTE networks with 95% coverage for Verizon’s network and 200 million people on Sprint’s EVDO Rev A and LTE network when the agreements become active next year, though no immediate word was given if customers with current hardware would need to purchase new hardware to take advantage of the expanded coverage.
