Baltimore WiMAX launchSprint’s new citywide network for wireless service launches in Baltimore
By JASON GERTZEN
The Kansas City Star
Thursday, Oct 9, 2008
Sprint Nextel began selling its Xohm-branded high-speed wireless service in Baltimore on Monday.
Subscribers can buy special-connection cards that allow laptop computers to connect to the Internet over a citywide network running with WiMax technology.
Baltimore is the first major U.S. city to receive the service, but Sprint is working with another company called Clearwire to launch a national WiMax network reaching 40 million to 60 million people by the end of 2009.
Sprint executives used sweeping terms to describe the significance of Monday’s launch.
“Wireless consumers will experience WiMax device and Xohm service innovation on multiple levels as the computer, Internet, telecom and consumer electronics industries converge to redefine wireless mobility,” Barry West, president of Sprint’s Xohm business unit, said in a prepared statement.
Sprint Nextel has a dominating swath of a certain type of radio wave spectrum that gives it an advantage in building a new ultra-fast wireless network.
The company has been losing subscribers for the services it sells over its current wireless network, so the new technology has been seen as an opportunity for Sprint to regain a much-needed advantage.
Building a new national network, however, would require massive spending. At one point, Sprint executives said they intended to spend $2.5 billion on the project initially and $2.5 billion more by 2010.
Investors weren’t wild about those prospects. Sprint fashioned a plan to share the risk and expenses with Clearwire, but then that deal stalled.
Sprint executives initially said they would launch WiMax service in trial markets by the end of 2007 and offer the service to as many as 100 million possible customers in 2008.
A deal is back on with Clearwire, awaiting regulatory approval and other needed actions. Sprint executives say they are on track to spin off their WiMax unit and merge it to create a new Clearwire by the end of the year.
Intel, Google, Comcast, Time Warner Cable and Bright House Networks all have agreed to invest a total of $3.2 billion into the new company.
Although many analysts on Monday noted delays from the initially announced schedule, the Baltimore launch is an indication of Sprint keeping its promise to launch commercial service with its WiMax or so-called fourth-generation technology.
“To be where we are at in 2008 is an incredible milestone,” Todd Rowley, Sprint’s vice president for 4G and WiMax, said in an interview.
Many consumers regularly connect laptop computers to Wi-Fi connections known as hotspots in their homes or around town at coffee houses, libraries, restaurants and other spots. Instead of a connection that is limited to a confined area, however, the WiMax technology offers what Sprint has called “a hotspot the size of a city.”
With Xohm, customers can choose daily or month-to-month service. A day pass is available for $10. Monthly “on-the-go” service is $30.
Customers also must purchase an air card for $59.99 or a modem for $79.99.
To reach Jason Gertzen, call 816-234-4899 or send e-mail to jgertzen@kcstar.com.