Sprint Still Evaluating Wireless Broadband Options
We’ve noted in the past how Sprint Nextel was trying out pretty much every available wireless broadband technology in its search for what to implement in its 2.5 GHz spectrum. Offering service using those frequencies within four years is a regulatory requirement, but also a strategic priority for the company. A Sprint Nextel exec has now said that the company still hasn’t made up its mind, but that whatever technology they choose “will almost certainly be OFDM-based, with backwards compatibility with existing CDMA technologies.” A few historical reference points: Nextel ran a very popular trial of Flarion’s Flash-OFDM technology before shutting it down during the Sprint merger, and CDMA behemoth Qualcomm recently bought Flarion, creating expectations that it would use the company’s technology in some form in the next generation of CDMA. So does the exec’s comment tip Sprint Nextel’s hand as to what they’ll choose?
