Is WiMAX Still On Track for '07?
Robert Strohmeyer
Last month, Sprint announced that it would roll out a long-anticipated wireless broadband network using an eagerly anticipated -- but scarcely seen -- technology known as WiMAX. And even more surprising than the announcement itself was the expectation that we'd actually see the new network before the end of 2007. With Thanksgiving upon us and no WiMAX in sight, is Sprint likely to live up to its promise?
Last week, Sprint terminated its partnership with Clearwire, which had been signed on to help deploy the new WiMAX network, citing an inability to "resolve complexities associated with the [letter of intent]," which could mean a major setback in the WiMAX rollout. Even so, Sprint remains resolute that it will deploy WiMAX under the brand name Xohm in Chicago and Baltimore/Washington before 2007 fades into history.
If Xohm does come to market by 2008, it could ring in an era of more ubiquitous connectivity for businesses of all stripes. By covering vast metro areas with easily accessible, high-speed wireless, WiMAX might just live up to the hopes its creators have pinned to it since the dawn of this decade. And that could spell cheap connections for your business before 2009 rolls around.
But in the years we've been waiting for WiMAX to come around, high-speed cellular broadband has become nearly ubiquitous in metropolitan regions, with major vendors like Dell and HP building wireless broadband support into their business laptops. All this readily available internet connectivity may ultimately have stolen whatever thunder WiMAX had left. So, what do you think? Is it too little, too late for Sprint's WiMAX effort? Let us know in the comments section.
Community Comments
As the data transfer speed is about 4 times to that of 3G, So a delay of 3-4 months is not a big deal. But Sprint should be careful not to delay more, else the complementary products for WiMax like for mobile chips would get delayed and the vendors would be hesistant to invest in WiMax technology. Once WiMax is deployed as being said by Sprint that it would reach 10million people at the end of 2008, then this advanced and the better technology would outcompete 3G for sure. What do yiou think???