Sprint Continues Down It’s Stupid Plan For WiMax
This post was published 2 years 3 months 20 days ago and its content may not be valid anymore.Continuing to show its insane commitment to WiMAX, Sprint confirmed today that it is working with Clearwire to build out a nationwide WiMAX network.
The first dose of sanity comes in that the network will primarily designed just to provide mobile broadband access. Sprint also said it will offer dual-mode roaming between its CDMA network and the new WiMAX network. I think it is beyond logical to build yet another standard in the US market. GSM is clearly leading both in US and worldwide adoption, but CDMA is nothing to sneeze at.
Sprint made some very strategic moves to sign data and voice roaming agreements with Alltel and Verizon and these agreements promote a healthy second national standard. But for Sprint to fork in their own direction and promote WiMAX could be the nail in their coffin (iDen anyone?!).
Agree? Disagree?
Well, of the three major providers in Canada, only one has GSM. If WiMax brings a high(er) speed data network to CDMA carriers, that’s fantastic. Am I wrong to assume this would be the case?
EVDO – 1-2 Mb/s, WiMax – 50-100 Mb/s
Which one do you want?
This is Sprint’s hail mary pass. They have bet heavily on WiMax’s success. Considering the lead in connection speeds, it should be huge.
Are you kidding me? Did you research this at all?
WiMax is a primarily a wireless replacement for cable, and DSL (and wifi). Not cellular voice networks. Please read the wikipedia entry. Money quote: “The Wimax forum describes WiMAX as “a standards-based technology enabling the delivery of last mile wireless broadband access as an alternative to cable and DSL.” It’s a DATA protocol, not VOICE, and it’s primary usage is not in the cellular networks.
So, think of Wimax as WIRELESS cable or DSL. It’s range is in miles, not feet, like wifi. (So let me say that again. WIRELESS broadband with huge range and huge throughput. Yeah, you’re right, why would anyone want to work on that?)
If it eventually gets implemented to give a huge data boost to cellular networks, that’s just a bonus. (Kinda like the wifi chip gives a huge data boost to the iphone? Are ya’ trackin’?)
Don’t you understand why Google is so interested in buying spectrum? Eventually data and voice networks will be one, and Voice, data and VOIP will be blurred. And Google will have their foot in each door.
But I digress. Please do some reading: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wimax#Mobile_WiMAX
Hey Pete,
I agree with on the fact that GSM is leading the technology and the evolution path to LTE seems very logical to many global carriers including some of the key CDMA operators. In fact, SK telecom, Vivo, KTF, Reliance, Telstra are all swtiching to HSPA as their next generation network from their existing CDMA network. That alone explains 25% of the CDMA global subs switching to GSM party. WiMax will most likely become a niche stardard going forward; however, there is some chance for Wimax. Despite aggrresive road map for LTE launch date, realistically speacking, mass market for LTE will be some time 2011 to 2013. Some carriers might lose significant market share for this delayed LTE deployment. EVDO rev A and HSPA+ are desiged for a closed network and system. In deed, EVDO Rev A and HSPA should be fast enough to support many data intensive servies including VDOs and Radio services. On the other hand, WiMax is designed for a Open system; therefore, it is not only celluar phones that will be using the Wimax network, but rather it will be a notebook computer, desktop, UMPC, PDAs, portable Multimidia devices. You can use any applications, any device, etcs. No more ringtone and download services tied to Telco, but you can install any applicatons in your mobile device.
It opens up a new value chain for non telco oriented business models. That is exactly why many Telcos would not support WiMax initiatives.
Therefore, Mobile WiMax definetely has a time to market advantage; but its use of 2.5 GH spectrum and its support for TDD modulation would not gain much support from major carrers in the globe. Verizon currently does not have any TDD spectrum and favors FDD spectrum. LTE supports both TDD and FDD modulation. Verizon recently joined the 3GSM associaton. Hm…
Google and Sprint Alliance may boost up the deployment for Mobile Wimax. Who knows who will win?
I can tell you who won’t lose. Google. They’re pushing for a bid for the 700 Mhz spectrum. They’re partnering with Sprint for Wimax, and plan to roll out services starting in 2007. http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,1697,2162852,00.asp
They’re partnering with Apple in a big way. That partnership is only going to get sweeter with time.
Google is the disruptive force here. They will use whatever network gets people to their services. And they want to break the monoplies, and give cheap access to everyone. Google won’t lose, but I guarantee a couple of the cell networks will get a bloody nose. Because they can’t imagine a world that doesn’t depend on a cell tower every couple miles.
In 10 years technologies like WiMax, and whatever gets developed in the new 700Mhz spectrum will make the old short-range cell networks obsolete.
Remember what cell phones were like 10 years ago? How about 56k modems? See many today?
Good times.
Oh, by the way. For those that still insist Sprint’s WiMax plan is stupid, here’s an eweek article that tells that Intel is also a strong partner and will start building wimax chips into their notebook chipsets next year.
http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1895,2165070,00.asp
Stupid indeed.
If it’s OK with everybody, I think I’ll hold onto my Sprint stock, bokay?
EVDO/WiMax/WiFi and possibly bluetooth all in one chipset is what Intel is envisoning in Future. It allows true convergence of WAN/MAN/LAN/PAN network.
WiMax/WiFi dual mode is almost complete. Of course this chipset will consume too much power for handset; therefore, the first target market will be the notebook as always. But once, WiMax notebook is readily available and handset manufacturers figure out how to solve the battery life problem with WiMax chipset. WiMax will explode.
I used to work for a Wireless chipset company, and the biggest challenge for WiFi/Celluar dual mode handset was battery life. WiMax will face the same issue. Nokia, Ericsson and Qualcomm do not have a good Intellectual patent ownership in WiMax technology unlike Samsung and LG. That is the reason why Nokia, Ericsson, and Qualcomm are all pushing LTE technology. For operator’s perspective, LTE is a smooth upgrade to its HSPA network.
Both LTE and WiMax requre hardware upgrade from incumbent operators and they are essentially very similar technology. They both use OFDMA, MIMO, and others. This is not about which technology is better. It is all about politics. At the end of the day, whatever standard China and India adopt for its future 4G standard will immensly influence the decision. If I recall correctly, Korea, Japan, and China all want to standardize their 4G standard for seamless roaming in PAN Asian region. All three countires are betting on both Mobile WiMax and HSPA/LTE. Korean already has both networking running commercially. Japan and China are running HSPA network right now, but they are wokring on WiMax initiatives as well. Let see which technology they ultimately pick. 802.16m (the latest mobile WiMax Standard) is the one to watch. Watch out LTE folks.
D