Sprint just can’t get enough variety when it comes wireless technology, spectrum and network equipment. The carrier’s history of banding together disparate, incompatible technologies is repeating itself barely six years after it merged with Nextel. Then it was iDEN and CDMA, now it’s WiMAX and LTE.

Today the company announced plans for an aggressive LTE network build that will bring a new 4G service to its customers in some initial markets next year and nationwide by 2013.

Sprint is late to the LTE party, but it’s jumping in head first as it tries to play catch up with the likes of AT&T and Verizon. The carrier committed itself to WiMAX more than five years ago and ever since then has been forging a completely different path from its competitors — standing all alone as the determined, if not stubborn, LTE holdout. Read more

**As published in RCR Wireless News**

LAS VEGAS — The only thing missing from the Consumer Electronics Show is connectivity. Trying to find a signal of any kind during this geek fest has become more frustrating with each passing year. Today has been no different. In fact, it seems to be even worse.

While AT&T Mobility made all kinds of noise about 4G this morning at its developer conference, my AT&T devices were barely holding on to a 2G signal. Sure, the event was deep inside the bowels of the Palms Casino Resort, but that just begs the question: If AT&T’s coverage sucks there, why did it choose to hold an event for press, analysts and developers there? Read more

*As published in RCR Wireless News**

A first-to-market advantage for WiMAX over LTE was supposed to help differentiate Sprint Nextel Corp and Clearwire Corp. from its competitors. But if you live in the metropolitan areas of Los Angeles or the San Francisco Bay Area, not so much.

Los Angeles and the surrounding area finally got its first official look at WiMAX earlier this week. San Francisco is still waiting.

Although the companies launched their first WiMAX market almost two years ago in Portland, Ore., scale is what matters most. A so-called fourth generation network without service in San Francisco or Los Angeles (until just this past Monday) is no network I want to pay for. Read more

**As published in RCR Wireless News**

LAS VEGAS – As the official spring-time gathering of the wireless industry came to a close, RCR Wireless News met with the No. 1 and No. 2 WiMAX chipset manufacturers to check the temperature of the space and learn more about their progressive plans for LTE.

Both Beceem and Sequans started in 2003 to make a play in the emerging WiMAX space, but one got an early and definitive lead. Now, as both continue to try to out-maneuver one another in the fast-growing WiMAX market, each is readying its war chest and industry heft in a much-more crowded and competitive landscape in LTE.

Lars Johnsson, VP of marketing and business development at Beceem, pegged the Silicon Valley-based company’s share of the WiMAX chipset space at about 65% while his counterpart at Sequans, Craig Miller, VP of marketing and business development, pegged the Paris, France-based company’s share at upwards of 25%. Read more