Nokia today announced that Sprint Nextel has awarded it the four Texas markets of Dallas, Fort Worth, San Antonio and Austin for the initial build-out of Sprint Nextel’s mobile WiMAX network.
Nokia will deploy their Flexi WiMAX Base Station, at sites throughout the four Texas markets. Service is expected to begin in the first half of 2008. Sprint Nextel’s mobile WiMAX network intends to cover 100 million people nationwide by the end of 2008.
The Nokia Flexi WiMAX Base Station allows operators to optimize the costs of siting and operating WiMAX infrastructure equipment through its small, modular size. Nokia says its compact size and lightweight, weather-proof design minimizes the space, power consumption, and physical effort required to install and run high-quality WiMAX networks. It features easy capacity upgrades as traffic increases. Nokia will also supply its Access Service Network (ASN) Gateway and NetAct network management platform as well as planning, deployment, and care services.
Nokia will showcase their mobile WiMAX infrastructure solution and demonstrate mobile WiMAX technology at CTIA Wireless 2007 in Orlando, Fla. at the end of March.
In addition to supplying Sprint Nextel with WiMAX network infrastructure, Nokia will also develop WiMAX-enabled mobile devices, including multimedia computers and Internet tablets, which are expected to be available in 2008.
Sprint claims it will cover some 100 million U.S. citizens with their “4G” mobile WiMax service by the end of 2008. This year Sprint will provide Mobile WiMAX service in Chicago and Washington D.C. Motorola WiMAX gear will be used in Chicago while Samsung Mobile WiMAX gear will be used in Washington D.C..
In other Mobile WiMAX news, CallMax says it is the first to launch Mobile WiMax in the Netherlands. Located in Eindhoven, CallMax expects speeds above 4 Mpbs and several kilometers of coverage with minimal costs in comparison to UMTS and HSDPA. CallMax expects to provide this service to commercial clients in 2008.
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