Sprint Nextel to Launch First WiMAX Networks by April

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6:10 am on January 11, 2008 | Category: Wireless Technology, Telecom Services, Internet, Wireless, WiMAX

American wireless giant, Sprint Nextel, is on track to bring its next-generation WiMAX broadband network to market by the end of April, said the company’s Chief Technology Officer, Barry West, at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas earlier this week.

The service will make its public debut in Chicago, Baltimore, and Washington D.C., were Sprint has been testing its WiMAX technology since December.

Sprint will offer WiMAX service at reasonable rates, West said, with flexible billing options including pay-per-day, week, or month, as well as longer-term contracts. But unlike typical wireless services, Sprint does not plan to subsidize WiMAX-compatible consumer devices.

“People will be excited about our rates,” West said, but “they won’t be ecstatic about them because we’re not going to give it away.” West expects as many as 10 WiMAX devices to be on the market by the time Sprint launches its service.