Sprint / Nextel has finally launched its "XOHM" Mobile WiMAX service into revenue operation in Baltimore, Maryland.
Note that this isn't the first Mobile WiMAX network to commence revenue operation in the US. That honor belongs to some innovative smaller carriers... and AT&T Mobility very quietly launching Mobile WiMAX service in some cities in Alaska.
But now... it starts getting interesting.
Hopefully we'll see some of the national press doing the hard work of going to Baltimore, developing a test routine, and then trying XOHM against the wireless telephony Broadband Internet Access of Verizon Wireless, AT&T Mobility... and yes, Sprint / Nextel.
If such reportage happens, what I expect to see is that much of the hype about Mobile WiMAX will be validated, because Mobile WiMAX is fundamentally better at providing Broadband Internet Access. Because...
- Mobile WiMAX is a communications network designed for Broadband Internet Access system that accommodates voice as just another service; wireless telephony Broadband Internet Access is a communications network designed for voice that (grudgingly, haltingly) accommodates data.
- Mobile WiMAX was designed from inception to provide Broadband Internet Access - it's designed to accommodate (though, not exclusively) the TCP/IP protocol used within the Internet.
- The Radio Frequency (RF) technology used in Mobile WiMAX is several generations ahead of that used in CDMA / 1xEV-DO (Sprint / Nextel, Verizon) and GSM / EDGE / HSPA (AT&T Mobility, T-Mobile, most of rest of world). Generally, Mobile WiMAX connections will work better, in more places, more reliably, at faster speeds. It also helps that, again, Mobile WiMAX is designed for data; with that, the Mobile WiMAX RF subsystems can do a lot of "tricks" that can't be done by the legacy wireless telephony networks.
- Sprint / Nextel was able to build out XOHM's network in that rare set of circumstances - building a new network, doing it right, planning it right, but doing so with full access to any RF communications site through the legacy wireless relationships.
- XOHM was built for Broadband Internet Access - their engineers know what it's going to be used for - lots of fast Internet Access, and they built it for that, especially those oh-so-critical backhaul links that are usually measly T-1's on the wireless telephony networks. XOHM's network took a longer than expected to build in part because Sprint / Nextel couldn't get the high-capacity backhaul links (usually wireless backhaul) in place in time... and kudos to them - they knew that they'd need them.
- Mobile WiMAX has much lower latency - it can set up and tear down a connection in milliseconds (accounts vary as to just how many mS).
- Mobile WiMAX can truly accommodate "always on" devices - seamlessly, continuously, because it can set up and tear down connections so blazingly fast, making the network very efficient, while giving users and devices the experience of being seamlessly connected.
- I doubt that XOHM is going to do transfer limits... at least as clumsily as the wireless telephony companies have done.
- Sprint / Nextel is really going to try some new business models - no subsidy on devices, highly flexible pricing plans, etc.
I'm impressed, to date, that Sprint / Nextel really does seem to understand that XOHM is a classic Isenberg Stupid Network, and they seem to be OK with that. So far they seem to be staying out of the way of their customers.
Wish I was there to try it out for myself.
Now to see if Clearwire is capable of launching a Mobile WiMAX network into revenue operation.
By Steve Stroh
This article is Copyright © 2008 by Steve Stroh except for specifically-marked excerpts. Excerpts and links are expressly permitted (and encouraged).
This article was written and posted via Broadband Wireless Internet Access (BWIA) ; Sprint Mobile Broadband service using a Sierra Wireless 595U USB modem - 1xEV-DO Rev. A on my MacBook Pro laptop... while sitting in Starbucks with "free" (with onerous terms and conditions, including allowing AT&T to spam you) Wi-Fi available.
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