LOS ANGELES–Sprint Nextel Corp. unveiled a pair of CDMA2000 1x EV-DO Revision A laptop cards last week–including one that consumers can get for free after rebate–and has more device and network announcements in the works, according to company officials.
The two PC cards included the PX-500 from Pantech Group, and the AirCard 595 from Sierra Wireless Inc. The carrier late last month announced the availability of the Merlin S720 Rev. A card from Novatel Wireless Inc.
The Pantech card has a retail price of $200, but is available for free after a mail-in rebate, so long as the customer signs a two-year subscriber agreement. The Sierra Wireless card will be available later this year for $250, or $100 with a two-year agreement; the Novatel Wireless card has the same price structure.
Sprint Nextel recently announced its plans to begin implementing Rev. A across its network in the fourth quarter and plans to launch a high-speed data network using WiMAX technology over its extensive 2.5 GHz spectrum holdings by 2009. Barry Tishgart, director of marketing for Sprint Business Solutions, added that in light of Verizon Wireless’ announcement that it will begin upgrading its network to Rev. A in the first quarter of 2007, his company has a chance to gain a network advantage.
“It does show that we have a window of opportunity,” Tishgart said.
He added that Sprint Nextel’s work on EV-DO Revision 0 and Rev. A will lay the foundation for WiMAX.
“We’ll make the two interoperable and seamless, and a lot of what we’re learning from EV-DO will transition into WiMAX,” Tishgart said.
Sprint Nextel also added another international device, the Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. IP-830w smart phone that uses both CDMA and GSM technology for voice and can access EV-DO, plus GPRS networks for data. According to Tishgart, the IP-830w will be able to roam in more than 100 countries after it becomes available in early October. The device runs Microsoft Corp.’s Windows Mobile 5.2 operating system and comes with an international SIM card.
The company has other handset announcements in the works, as well as additional details about its Rev. A roll-out, such as specific markets where the service first will be available. Sprint Nextel expects to have Rev. A coverage in at least 10 major metro markets by the end of 2006.
Sprint Nextel also announced that it has made improvements in capacity and coverage to its iDEN network in central and south Florida, including the Orlando area and Miami-Dade and Broward counties.
Analysts have noted that Sprint Nextel has been impacted by network congestion issues on its iDEN network in certain markets due to its ongoing spectrum rebanding initiatives.
Tishgart added that the company is “very execution focused” and is working to make improvements in areas such as customer care and satisfaction, as well as gearing up for major network investments and introducing a new marketing campaign that emphasizes wireless data services and entertainment.
