Sprint Launches 4G Service in more Markets
Sprint officially released 4G to our pockets in the following new markets: Los Angeles, Miami, Washington D.C., Cleveland, Cincinnati and Columbus, Ohio. Customers in these regions will be able to take full advantage of Spring 4G and be able to browse up to 10 times faster than 3G service. With the addition of these six markets, Sprint 4G is now available in 68 markets[i] across the country, including Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Houston and New York City. Additionally, the wireless carrier announced that it expects to launch the San Francisco market – home to Silicon Valley and thousands of tech enthusiasts – on Dec. 28.
Since launching their first 4G service in Baltimore in September 2008, Sprint has made large improvements in it’s coverage but still lack sufficient coverage in Los Angeles where we tested this in West Los Angeles and parts of Brentwood. Coverage has been spotty but nevertheless, downtown and other geographic areas where there’s a clear line of sight work just fine.
Sprint is delivering the power of 4G as the majority shareholder of Clearwire, the independent company that is building the WiMAX network.
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Is WiMax worth it for Sprint?
With Verizon claiming LTE (Long-Term Evolution) rollout to be in the later phase of 2010 with 4G like speeds, Sprint is going full speed ahead into the 4G space with its deployment (and sizeable investment) in WiMax with Clearwire. With worrisome fourth-quarter earnings performances from both companies, you sure can tell who’s willing to gamble as carriers lock down on subscribers and reduce churn by introducing deep price cuts to keep their current customers happy. Sprint reported -$1.6 billion in losses and over 1.3 million subscribers lost in the fourth quarter compared to Verizon’s 1.4 million and AT&T’s 2.1 million subscriber gains for the fourth quarter alone. Sprint ended the year with 49.3 million subscribers and is likely to continue this hemorrhaging for many months until new products and lines of services are introduced like WiMax and the Palm Pre.
But here’s the fundamental question… Is WiMax worth it? Does the subscriber model still apply? Do we need these speeds when we have 3G and HSPA nationwide? How can you justify the cost when you travel and it’s only in these two cities? Can hardware manufacturers (LG, Intel) stay in the WiMax business offering WiMax chips when there no one is buying them? Is this too early in the adoption curb?
Let’s see if WiMax can continue its deployment into more cities and expand its footprint nationally going beyond Baltimore and Portland. I would like to see this deployed in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Washington DC. If deployment takes any longer, Sprint may have to reconsider its investment and call this 4G race lost, or else Sprint will have to start looking to cut more jobs and offer steeper discounts.
Offer this in Los Angeles and I’ll be the first one subscribing to it
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