RCC LAUNCHES WIRELESS PORTAL STRATEGY

Rural Cellular Corp. this week will launch a wireless Web portal called Information, Communications and Entertainment that relies on a mix of standard Web-based information delivered via short messaging service.

RCC, which serves about 633,000 retail voice customers in several clusters throughout the country, will use a platform designed by Pinnacor to provide the service. Pinnacor, formerly Screaming Media, is marketing its platform as a way for carriers to set their services apart in a market overcrowded with big-minute bucket plans.

“We're not one size fits all,” said Steven Spencer, executive vice president of Pinnacor. “We have a lot of different Lego blocks, and if you have the right Lego blocks, you can make just about anything.”

In its initial deployment, RCC will offer event-based or scheduled alerts for stock market information, sports scores and weather. In addition, the carrier is offering on-demand information that enables users to receive stock quotes. In the next few weeks, RCC also plans to offer what Pinnacor calls “micro local” content using a variety of local news sources ranging from high school newspaper editors to soccer moms.

“What you build is a viral type of marketing approach,” said Jim Altstadt, project development director for RCC.