Sprint to Roll Out WiMAX By Year's End

Sprint elaborated on its WiMAX plans Tuesday, saying it was already in discussions with several manufacturers about producing compatible devices, as well as naming nineteen markets in the US where it would initially offer service.

Initial launches of WiMAX will begin by year's end, with commercial services available in "a number of markets" by April of next year. Sprint hopes to have service available to 100 million consumers by the end of 2008, it said.

Samsung has been tapped to produce both WiMAX and dual EV-DO/WiMAX PC cards; ZTE Corporation has been selected to produce both PC cards in both express and USB form factors; and ZyXEL would assist with various modem products.

Nineteen markets have been chosen for the initial rollout, split among its three infrastructure partners. Additional locations would be named at a later date, Sprint said.

Motorola will build out service in Chicago, Detroit, Grand Rapids, Indianapolis, Kansas City and Minneapolis; Samsung in Chicago, Detroit, Grand Rapids, Indianapolis, Kansas City and Minneapolis; and Nokia in Austin, Dallas, Denver, Fort Worth, Portland, Salt Lake City, San Antonio and Seattle.

"Sprint has taken a leadership role in the WiMAX network development arena and is working with other technology leaders to quickly bring advanced mobile broadband services to reality," 4G president Barry West, said.

The company is also working hard to promote the development of WiMAX devices, creating a program called the WiMAX Device and Chipset Ecosystem. Sprint says it hopes the initiative will help spur a dialogue among chipset and device makers.

So far, the wireless provider is the only major carrier to commit to WiMAX as a data technology in a significant way. However, the company holds extensive licenses in the 2.5GHz range, so using the technology is a logical step for Sprint.