Sprint WiMAX set to blast off in two US cities by end 2008

Alex Zaharov-Reutt
Sunday, 18 May 2008 20:13

Opinion and Analysis

Intel is planning on releasing a Centrino 2 platform in the not too distant future, and if the initial version of Centrino 2 doesn't include WiMAX, future versions certainly will.

Although building in Wi-Fi was a successful strategy for Intel with the first Centrino systems, this was helped along enormously by the fact network vendors were selling Wi-Fi routers and access points to consumers and businesses.

It's very unlikely that, at least in the short to medium term, network vendors will be selling WiMAX access points to the public, as WiMAX is meant to be an operator offering.

Nevertheless, if WiMAX technology is built into every notebook platform Intel creates in the future, that alone will go a long way to helping WiMAX become the ubiquitous wireless standard it has always promised - and has always been promoted - to be.

So, Sprint is finally getting its WiMAX acts together. If all goes to plan, 2009 will be a very busy year, as Sprint wires up more cities for wireless WiMAX access, as AT&T and Verizon do the same in 2009.

Faster wireless broadband is finally coming to the US in a massive wireless wave.

I just hope, what with all the recessionary talk over there, that consumers can still afford to buy new notebooks and wireless Internet access, and it isn't just a service that only businesses can afford to use, especially as Intel promises WiMAX is meant to be very price competitive with 3G, 3.5G and upcoming 4G services.