Alltel Wireless launched its Axcess Broadband network in parts of Louisiana, Texas and Arkansas. The service runs over Alltel’s EV-DO wireless network.

Specifically, Alltel is rolling out the high-speed service in Shreveport, Monroe and surrounding areas in northern Louisiana, east Texas and southern Arkansas. The company has been making a push to extend the reach of the network. In the last year alone, Alltel has introduced Axcess Broadband in metropolitan areas such as Tampa, Charlotte, Cleveland and Phoenix. Alltel also has rolled out the service in smaller cities such as Little Rock, Ark., Raleigh, N.C., and Savannah, Ga., and in towns such as Jonesboro, Ark., Dothan, Ala., and Durango, Colo.

The Axcess service delivers average speeds of 400 kbps to 700 kbps with maximum speeds up to 2.4 Mbps. Alltel offers the service at a rate of $59.99 a month, which gives unlimited use for customers with qualifying voice plans.

Alltel recently turned to RealNetworks’ WiderThan unit to give its customers access to WiderThan’s ringback tone (RBT) services. The service, which comes with a 99-cent subscription fee, is designed to give Alltel’s customer base more personalization options.

Ringback tones are designed to replace the traditional ringing sound a caller hears while the call is connecting.

Source-  wirelessweek  Wireless Mobile Telecom