Six months after unveiling plans to build a WiMAX network in the United States, Sprint Nextel Corp. announced Nokia Corp. will be a key infrastructure and device provider for that upgrade.
Other than naming it a “major supplier” to Sprint Nextel’s WiMAX efforts, the agreement doesn’t detail the scope of Nokia’s involvement. However, Sprint Nextel has said previously that it expects to spend around $1 billion on WiMAX in 2007 and between $1.5 billion and $2 billion in ’08. In October, at the WiMAX World Conference & Exposition, the carrier told RCR Wireless News that its WiMAX network will be 10 times cheaper in delivering wireless data services compared with traditional cellular-based data services.
As part of its agreement with Sprint Nextel, Nokia will develop and market WiMAX-enabled mobile devices, multimedia computers and Internet tablets. Nokia will also drive co-marketing efforts to encourage further development and worldwide adoption of WiMAX, a move that could promote global roaming.
Nokia joins Motorola Inc. and Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. in supplying Sprint Nextel with WiMAX gear.
Nokia to supply Sprint Nextel with WiMAX infrastructure, devices
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