Sprint Prepares Its Mobile WiMAX Expansion

By Joseph Palenchar -- TWICE, 3/30/2009

OVERLAND PARK, KAN. — Sprint announced a timetable for extending commercial Mobile WiMAX service beyond Baltimore, and the timetable closely follows previously announced plans by Clear, the WiMAX network operator partly owned by Sprint.

Clear operates the 4G Mobile WiMAX network whose airtime Sprint is reselling. Other Clear investors are cable operators Comcast, Time Warner Cable and Brighthouse Networks, all of which also plan to resell Clear's WiMAX service under their own names.

The 2.5GHz network offers peak downlink speeds of up to 12Mbps in Baltimore today and average downlink speeds of 2Mbps to 4Mbps, Sprint said. The speeds are three to five times faster than current 3G services, the company said.

In 2009, Sprint said, it will market 4G service in “many markets,” including but not limited to Atlanta; Charlotte, N.C.; Chicago; Dallas-Fort Worth; Honolulu; Las Vegas; Philadelphia; Portland, Ore.; and Seattle. In 2010, Sprint will launch in multiple markets, including Boston, Houston, New York, San Francisco and Washington.

Earlier in March, Clear announced that it would follow up its Baltimore and Portland launches in mid year in Atlanta and Las Vegas. In the second half, Clear said it would launch Chicago, Philadelphia, Dallas-Fort Worth, Charlotte, Seattle and Honolulu. In 2010, those markets will be followed by New York, Washington, Houston, Boston and the San Francisco Bay area, the company said at the time. Other undisclosed markets will bring the total count to 80 by the end of 2010, Clear said.

As part of the Sprint rollout, the company said it plans “several” new WiMAX devices in 2009 and 2010, including a single-mode 4G data card, WiMAX-embedded laptops, a SO/HO broadband modem and a tri-mode phone, which will incorporate 1900MHz 3G, w.5GHz WiMAX, and WiFi, a spokesperson said..

“Sprint 4G-enabled smartphones have the promise of delivering processing power, applications and now the network connectivity to replace the laptop paradigm,” the company noted.

The carrier already offers laptops embedded with 3G CDMA 1x EV-DO.

The new products would join a dual-mode 3G/4G USB Modem U300.

The U300 is available nationwide through Sprint telesales as well as through Sprint retail stores, Best Buy stores and local retailers in Baltimore, where Sprint launched 4G service in September 2008. The price is $79.99 with a $50 mail-in rebate.

Definitive's Sandy Gross To Retire

Baltimore — Sandy Gross, who co-founded Definitive Technology in 1990, will retire from the company on March 31.

Gross, who is president, and other co-founders sold the company to Directed Electronics in 2004.

He said, “For decades I've worked 24/7 running my businesses, and I saw the time approaching when I would want to slow down, take a break and contemplate my future plans. But I didn't want to leave before there was a management structure in place that could continue Definitive's legacy of quality and success.”

In 2007, Gross promoted long-time Definitive executive Dave Peet to executive VP and hired Polk Audio veteran Paul DiComo as marketing VP. Peet and DiComo have been running Definitive's business on a day-to-day basis while Gross transitioned out of daily management, the company said. DiComo and Peet will assume Gross' responsibilities.

Like the late Henry Kloss, Sandy Gross has the distinction of having founded two major speaker brands, the company said. In 1972, Gross teamed with Matthew Polk, George Klopfer and Craig Georgi to create Polk Audio.

In an email to dealers, Gross said:

“When, Ed, Don, Anne and I started Definitive Technology in 1990, little did we know what we would build (both literally and figuratively) and how our small project would develop into one of the world's leading loudspeaker companies. Clearly, all of your help and support was the magical catalyst that made our dream a reality and I sincerely thank you for helping to make my dream come true. I have personally had a blast over the last 19 years working together with my team here at Definitive and with you and all my friends in the industry. I know that it is a challenging time for our industry but I am confident that Definitive, under the guidance of Dave Peet and Paul DiComo and with your support, will grow and prosper.”