• MOST READ

• LATEST NEWS

Speculation that Nokia Siemens Networks (NSN) will defocus on the WiMAX market has gained new weight, with Sprint Nextel defecting to Samsung to supply the Dallas-Fort Worth build-out for its Xohm service.

The operator insists this is just a practicality, because the Texas city became ready for its equipment ahead of schedule, and there was existing inventory of the Samsung gear, which has been used in the first Xohm territory to go live, Baltimore. Nearly two years ago, Sprint chose three vendors to provide the infrastructure for Xohm, with the surprise third supplier being NSN (then still Nokia), which at the time had WiMAX kit only on paper, unlike the other two, Samsung and Motorola. However, Sprint clearly wanted to sign up companies that could also make innovative devices, and NSN boasted that its flagship 3G range, the Flexi Base Station, could be easily adapted for WiMAX and for low-cost roll-out into the bargain.

Despite the clear competitive advantages of the compact, modular and multi-network Flexi, NSN's commitment to WiMAX remained under question, especially as Nokia is such a fervent champion of, and likely beneficiary from, LTE.

"Xohm's Dallas market was ready for deployment ahead of schedule, so it made sense that they would use existing inventory to accelerate the deployment," said Chantal Boeckman, NSN communications manager. She insisted that Flexi is performing well in Xohm trials and has embarked on the certification process. "We continue to be an active member of the WiMAX ecosystem," she said. "We're confident Nokia Siemens will be part of the new Clearwire deployments moving forward."

COMMENTS

No comments yet. Be the first to add a comment!

Carrier Broadband Performance: Africa & Middle East
Carriers are using mobile broadband as their weapon of choice in the fight against the commoditization of voice and falling ARPU. This...

Voice over LTE: Market Analysis and Forecasts
VoLTE offer unique advantages in lowering a carrier's voice infrastructure economics and promises to improve voice quality, device...