Sprint – WiMAX Timeline - What To Look For

Implications: The timeline is a good indicator of the struggle to get WiMAX off the ground.  Hopefully, Sprint will find a buyer for its Nextel business and then they can plow the cash into WiMAX

Analysis: As timelines go, Sprint’s nearly 3 ½ year effort to get WiMAX off the ground is about par for what most carriers go through.  In regard to technology issues, carriers join forums, discuss their issue sin a public arena, and intimidate vendors in private.  Carriers then lobby the FCC for advantageous decisions and to appear saintly (as if the well being of the industry is their chief concern).  At some point the carriers announce their real technology choice.

Now about 2 or 3 years would have passed. This reminds me of the old days of analog wireless, digital wireless, and landline broadband initiatives.

The next step is for the carrier to announce trials and then finally a vendor.  Tack on another year.  Like I said, as timelines go, Sprint’s about on par with what one would expect.

The real timeline that will count is the full deployment schedule of WiMAX.  A question on my mind is how Sprint will coordinate it’s Xohm (I still hate that name) activities with the Clearwire activities.