Todd Allcock <elecconnec@AmericaOnLine.com> wrote in news:evhg4m$776$1
@aioe.org:

> At 10 Apr 2007 18:17:20 -0500 Scott wrote:
>
>> And yet Sprint is talking about treating WiMax as a subscription based
>> offering, much like current ISP's. They have publicly stated that
> WiMAx
>> will not be subject to the same rules as current wireless technology.
> Of
>> course, this means the probable end to equipment subsidies, but the
> ability
>> to come and go as you please will be hard to ignore.Cingular ends up
>> looking very archaic and pedestrian by comparison.
>
> So? When WiMax becomes a factor, they (and other wireless carriers) will
> react accordingly. Upgrade if feasable, or adjust their pricing to be
> competitive.
>

WiMax is not an upgrade- it is an entirely different technology requiring
it's own bandwidth and seperate infrastructure. It's not as simple as
tweaking the current towers. Sprint is currently the only carrier with
available spectrum to dedicate to the technology and by the time anyone
else is able to overlay their own network with the technology, Sprint will
have name recognition and market share along the lines of AOL back in their
heyday. They will also have paid for the network by that time which will
allow them to competitively price against the new competition. Because of
the proposed structure of the new technology (no contracts, no carrier
specific consumer hardware, no equipment subsidies), the only
differentiation between providers will be speed, price and coverage. All
of the other things we use to compare wireless carriers go away. If this
is truly the wave of the future, Sprint holds a huge advantage over any
competition in all three areas. If the gamble pays off, Sprint easily
becomes the technology monster of the wireless world.