“Sprint’s new 3G/4G handset is a milestone in the mobile industry, and could
help Sprint slow and even stop its subscriber losses,” Mike Roberts, an analyst
at Informa Telecoms & Media, wrote in a March 24 research note. “It’s a
milestone because it’s the first dual-mode 3G/4G device launched in the U.S.
and one of the first in the world. It could also give Sprint an edge in
attracting and retaining high-value smartphone customers, although every
operator is targeting that segment.”
Sprint is losing postpaid subscribes at twice the rate of Verizon and
AT&T, Roberts added, placing additional pressure on Sprint’s lineup, headed
by the HTC Evo 4G, to retain and attract
them. Key to that, he believed, is creating software that will leverage the
smartphone’s capabilities in unique ways for both consumers and businesses:
“Sprint’s new 4G Mobile WiMax device will only really come into its own when it
has a variety of applications that take advantage of the faster speeds of 4G,
and that will take time.”
On March 24, Sprint CEO Dan Hesse told
the audience during his CTIA keynote address that the company’s decision to invest
in WiMax for its 4G technology, instead of LTE, allowed the company to be first
to market with a 4G-enabled device.
Whether that move will continue to pay dividends was something that Hesse
himself called into question, by suggesting LTE could become the dominant 4G
standard in years to come.
“WiMax was a tried, true, tested 4G technology,” Hesse
said. “LTE will likely be the larger of the two 4G standards, but for us, we
couldn’t wait. Because of our spectrum position, we have the option to add other
technologies later, but this allows us to get into the technology quickly.
“Time to market was very important,” Hesse said.
“That is our competitive position.”
Sprint currently offers 4G capability in 27 markets, with plans to expand to
Houston, Boston,
Washington, D.C., New
York and San Francisco
by the end of 2010. To build out that network, Sprint has invested some $1
billion in WiMax technology, despite steady customer and revenue erosion over
the past few quarters. In the fourth quarter of 2009, the carrier lost some
148,000 subscribers, noticeably less than the 545,000 lost during the third
quarter.
Enterprise Mobility News & Reviews 
