Sprint and Samsung: ‘Mobile WiMAX Is Ready’
17 May 2008As we went to press, Sprint and Samsung said that mobile WiMAX, which includes the version for stationary devices, is ready for commercial deployment. The two said Samsung’s mobile WiMAX network infrastructure gear and unspecified Samsung WiMAX devices have passed Sprint’s “rigorous commercial acceptance criteria with flying colors.” The criteria included overall performance, handoff performance as devices move from one antenna to another and handoff delay.
Sprint conducted the test in its XOHM labs and in a network it’s building using Samsung gear in the Baltimore and Washington DC area.
Sprint plans on launching a WiMAX service in those cities later this year.
Sprint did not mention the status of the Chicago tests where it is testing Motorola network gear with unspecified devices.
The testing milestones for the Samsung test were:
- First data session in the lab - June 2007
- First data session on the live network - October 2007
- Successful interoperability testing with multiple other device vendors - April 2008
“This is a major step towards launch readiness and Sprint is extremely pleased with the performance of the mobile WiMAX network and access devices from Samsung,” said Xohm president Barry West, who will become president of Clearwire when Sprint and Clearwire merge their WiMAX operations later this year. “The collaboration with Samsung and our other partners has created a WiMAX ecosystem that has now proven that it can deliver this new technology to the marketplace well ahead of any feasible alternative.”
Last month, Samsung announced the introduction of several WiMAX-enabled devices:
- The Express Card (E100 PC Card)
- The WiMAX embedded UMPC (Q1 Ultra Premium Mobile PC)
Samsung wants to be seen as the leading provider of end-to-end mobile WiMAX network systems.
The full rollout in the Baltimore and Washington DC markets is expected to begin later this year. Sprint has previously said that initially it will be marketed for wireless broadband rather than mobile telephony.
“The wireless subscribers in the United States are ready to step up to the next level of a truly broadband wireless network that surpasses the performance of existing wireless networks today,” said Dr. Hwan Chung, senior VP of Samsung Telecommunications America. “Sprint’s acceptance of Samsung’s WiMAX technology shows Samsung’s strong commitment to meet our customers’ needs for the most reliable, seamless, and fastest wireless network. Samsung’s mobile WiMAX expertise will help Sprint answer the mobile broadband needs of US wireless subscribers,” he added.
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