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Sprint Nextel Continues Working on Xohm WiMAX “Paradigm Shift”

6:15 am on April 25, 2008 | Category: Internet, Telecom Services, WiMAX, Wireless, Wireless Technology

Sprint Nextel’s forthcoming WiMAX network represents an important “paradigm shift” in the telecommunications industry, according to Barry J. West, who is overseeing the roll-out of the next-generation technology.

“What if consumers could get access to whatever they wanted wherever they were,” West asks. “What if a new technology were to come along that could unleash literally hundreds of new devices? … What if you could walk up to your door and it knew it was you?”

Mr. West, the current president of Sprint’s Xohm WiMAX division, admits that the work involved in launching the service is taking longer than anticipated, but believes that company’s WiMAX plans will ultimately pay off for both shareholders and consumers.

Sprint executives had initially hoped to launch Xohm this month (April), but have revised their plans, promising commercial availability later this year in Chicago, Baltimore, and Washington, D.C.

“Clearly I wanted to hit the April date,” West said. “Having missed that date, I want to make sure we come out with a robust service. Right now Iâ€™m building sites.”

Sprint has pledged to spend $5 billion on the Xohm service by 2010, creating citywide wireless internet hotspots throughout America, and effectively turning the existing mobile data market on its head. Any laptop, cell phone, or mobile device with a WiMAX chipset will be able to access the open network, punching a big hole in the traditional contract-based business model for wireless voice and data services. Sprint has already said it will not require Xohm customers to commit to service contracts.

“We don’t particularly enjoy the things we are required to do to make a return for our shareholders,” West said of wireless contracts. “I’m one person. Why shouldn’t I have as many devices as I want [without contracts for each one]?”

West expects WiMAX chips to become ubiquitous, like Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, in the coming years, and hopes that Sprint can boost its current fortunes by getting in on the ground level of this growing market.

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