[WiMAX] Sprint Nextel presents its 'compelling' WiMAX strategy
01-09-07
"Open systems will drive subscriber growth"
[FAC: This release is interesting for its final paragraphs that promise "Open systems will drive subscriber growth." While it's always been assumed that the "Wi" families "could" support all-IP connectivity and applications at the user's edge (such as Skype, Asterisk, user-defined community-nets, etc.), it's not something one often sees established cellular carriers advertising that they "would" do, much less promote. I state this because "user-generated" content and traffic forms that leverage the open Internet, independent of a wireless service provider's centralized application stacks and their attendant control and billing mechanisms, almost always eat directly into their established, vertical revenue flows. Kudos to Sprint for taking the lead, although I submit that they're probably doing so with at least a modicum of additional upside-downside spread in their risk-reward outlook. I would also expect that in addition to the open capabilities that they are now boasting, the company will also support their usual, vertical services over the same wireless fabric, too. Any thoughts on this? Anyone?]
wimaxday.net
RESTON (WiMAX Day). Sprint Nextel announced its WiMAX progress report yesterday (Monday the 7th), offering further insight into the build-out of its WiMAX network.
The company confirmed it will launch its WiMAX network in late-2007, and its intent to first launch in the cities of Chicago and Washington DC. Additional launch markets will be made based on what Sprint Nextel described as “market-readiness estimates.”
A key component of the Sprint Nextel strategy is to assemble a core group of partners to ensure the successful launch of its network this year. Barry West, president of 4G Mobile Broadband at Sprint Nextel noted that the company “is forming a world-class ecosystem around mobile WiMAX technology to deliver unprecedented mobile broadband services to customers.”
The latest partner in this ecosystem is Nokia, which was announced last week as “a key infrastructure and consumer electronic device supplier.” According to a press release from Nokia, it will supply Sprint Nextel with base transceiver stations, develop and market WiMAX-enabled devices, jointly develop services and applications, drive market development and support global adoption.
Sprint Nextel also announced that Motorola will develop mobile WiMAX chipsets for Motorola devices, and Samsung, in addition to delivering six WiMAX-enabled devices, also plans to develop WiMAX chipsets. The Sprint Nextel announcement confirmed that Intel would deliver its WiMAX/WiFi chipset late this year in the form of a card, and LG Electronics also intends to develop an “infotainment” device for the new WiMAX network.
While Sprint Nextel will rely heavily on their blue-chip partners, it is also reaching out to smaller service and application developers to ensure that content will be available for their customers.
Open systems will drive subscriber growth
The most interesting statement by Sprint Nextel is that its WiMAX network will be available for use with far more than simply mobile phone handsets. Indeed, its press release states that Sprint Nextel hopes its partners will “incorporate WiMAX technology in a range of computing, portable multi-media, interactive and other consumer electronic devices. The intent is to wirelessly enable the multitude of stand-alone consumer electronic devices that currently lack connectivity or Internet access, thereby facilitating digital life amid a new era of user-generated content.”
How can Sprint Nextel hope to connect such a broad range of devices and not be concerned about compatibility, especially when most America cellular and 3G networks directly control what devices are compatible with their networks?
The answer, and perhaps the cunning behind the Sprint Nextel strategy, is that WiMAX technology is essentially built upon an open systems architecture. WiMAX supports full IP connectivity, which means that virtually anything can connect to WiMAX. Bin Shen, the Vice President of broadband at Sprint Nextel underscored this idea recently in an interview with Billing World magazine: “We want to extend services to any device, at any time, in any place so that there is ubiquitous access to very personalized services.”
Given these statements, it is apparent that Sprint Nextel is building a true mobile broadband network of the future. With a roll-out planned to reach up to 100 million people by the end of 2008, it should not be difficult for Sprint Nextel to find subscribers for its network, at any time and any place.
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