CTIA: West Talks WiMax
unstrung.com
MARCH 28, 2007
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ORLANDO, Fla.-- CTIA Wireless -- Sprint Nextel Corp. (NYSE: S - message board) Chief Technology Officer and President of 4G Mobile Broadband Barry West, speaking in an interview with Unstrung TV (UNTV) last night, said the operator's pushing forward with ambitious plans for its mobile WiMax network in the U.S. in 2008.
The Reston, VA-based wireless service provider announced that it will have a total of 19 markets ready by the end of April 2008. These markets include Chicago, Detroit, Grand Rapids, Indianapolis, Kansas City, Minneapolis, Baltimore, Boston, Philadelphia, Providence, Washington, Austin, Dallas, Denver, Fort Worth, Portland, Salt Lake City, San Antonio, and Seattle. (See CTIA: WiMax in the Air.)
West said Sprint will price the service to be competitive with fixed DSL and cable services but with "a mobility premium" of $5 to $15 for access to broadband on run.
Although West stressed that Sprint's service isn't directly intended to compete with fixed services; the company has to hit a cable-to-DSL-like price "curve" with its offering.
WiMax's potential mobility advantage becomes clear, however, when West talks about the devices that will arrive on the network. He says that partners such as Motorola Inc. (NYSE: MOT - message board), Nokia Corp. (NYSE: NOK - message board), Samsung Corp. , and others, are working on everything from PC cards, to tiny mobile computers, and MP3 players.
Want more? The full interview will soon be on Unstrung TV (UNTV). Just keep checking the right-hand column of the site.
— Dan Jones, Site Editor, Unstrung
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