Analyst Angle Special Edition: Why Sprint Nextel is Bad For WiMAX

Nobody will deny that Sprint Nextel has done more for WiMAX than almost any entity on the planet. Sprint Nextel’s early commitment to mobile WiMAX boosted the technology’s profile. Its decision to deploy a national network drove new vendors into the space. By engaging three different networks vendors (Motorola, Nokia Siemens and Samsung) and additional device makers (ZyXEL, ZTE)—and making them all play nicely together—the company is actually building a WiMAX ecosystem from the ground up. Against this backdrop, constant messaging of Sprint Nextel’s WiMAX vision—delivered by charismatic execs like Barry West—helps would-be WiMAX players understand the potential of the technology and, frankly, drives further excitement and interest behind 802.16e-2005. It is completely fair to say that without Sprint Nextel, interest in WiMAX as a mobile broadband technology would be a fraction of where it stands today.

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Via maperture via Russ McGuire.