Sprint Nextel Announces 4G Wireless Broadband Initiative with Intel, Motorola and Samsung

Sprint Nextel Corporation [S] announced it will deploy WiMax as its 4G technology platform across its network, with first availability in Q4 2007. While IEEE 802.16 has been an evolving technology, commercial deployments for mobile connectivity - as opposed to last-mile, fixed wireless connections - are definately on the bleeding edge of progress. Sprint Nextel is deploying IEEE 802.16e-2005 in the 2.5GHz spectrum. It has enlisted Intel, Motorola and Samsung to make chipsets available; the end user devices will have to be developed in tandem with the network.

WiMax is fast, and its large cells are suited for blanketing metropolitan areas. But this stuff is new, which means expensive. The technology requires lots of new infrastructure on top of the merged Sprint and Nextel's existing network, and the company will spend up to $3B in 2007 and 2008 rolling it out to a predicted footprint of 100 million people. This is a large investment in an unproved market, but Sprint Nextel hopes to capitalize by being the first operator to enter it. They predict the user cost will be lower, however, assuming a critical mass adopts it.

For more information on WiMax, check out the WiMax Forum, the industry body that promotes IEEE 802.16 and ETSI HiperMAN standards. From their site:

In a typical cell radius deployment of three to ten kilometers, WiMAX Forum Certified™ systems can be expected to deliver capacity of up to 40 Mbps per channel, for fixed and portable access applications. This is enough bandwidth to simultaneously support hundreds of businesses with T-1 speed connectivity and thousands of residences with DSL speed connectivity. Mobile network deployments are expected to provide up to 15 Mbps of capacity within a typical cell radius deployment of up to three kilometers.

Q. Will WiMAX live up to its promise being a fast and affordable Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access?

Photo source: Sprint Nextel. Sprint Nextel President and CEO Gary Forsee giving presentation.