Sprint's Announces WiMax Plans

Chicago and Washington, D.C. will be the first WiMax markets deployed by Sprint. The WiMax network will cover at least 100 milion people by the end of 2008. The initial WiMAX markets are supposed to be online by the end of this year with additional markets selected based on market-readiness estimates. Sprint is in the midst of building out its EV-DO Rev A network, which currently covers more than 60 million pops. Sprint is the first and only carrier who has commercially announced Rev A service.

Nokia Corp. will provide the network equipment for the WiMAX network, and Motorola Inc. will be developing chip sets for devices. According to Sprint Nextel, Samsung Corp. will develop chip sets and has also committed to producing half a dozen WiMAX-capable devices, including “ultra mobile” PCs and personal media players. LG Electronics Co. Ltd. intends to develop “an infotainment device that would work on the Sprint Nextel WiMAX network.” Intel Corp. has already completed the design of a single-chip, multi-band WiMAX/Wi-Fi chipset that the company says it will “sample in card and module forms in late 2007.” The WiMAX network technology and future applications are being demonstrated this week at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.