Newer handsets will continue to function without disruption on Sprint's growing LTE network
Sprint Corp. (S) this week finally announced a death date for its defunct WiMAX network. While it hasn't sold WiMAX devices to subscribers since about mid-2012, the news may come as a bit of a shock for the handful of holdouts that are clinging to older devices. They will now be forced to either live with 3G data speeds, or accept Sprint's offer of a free LTE upgrade.
I. WiMAX: Once I Was a Contender
The story of WiMAX in some regards mirrors that of HD-DVD and other standards of days long past, which have since faded into the hazy nether realm of forgotten memories. Much as HD-DVD was quickly forgotten by much of the public in the wake of Sony Corp.'s (TYO:6758) resounding Blu-Ray format victory a half decade ago, many are already forgetting the cellular WiMAX standard.
But things were very different a half-decade ago. At that time WiMAX looked as if it could be poised to dominate the U.S. cellular market as the fourth generation cellular network standard of choice. Instead, its history was fated to be marked by occasional highs, but mostly, with disappointment.
In the U.S., the first carrier to embrace 4G was Sprint, which committed to the Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX) in 2008 with the help of Clearwire. (Sprint initially gave WiMAX a gimmicky relabeling, calling it XOHM).
[Image Source: How Stuff Works]
By 2009 the network was available in a handful of cities and served customers with WiMAX-capable PC card or wireless hotspot connections. And in 2010, with the launch of the HTC Corp. (TPE:2498) EVO 4G, Sprint finally was able to offer a smartphone that took advantage of its network.
The HTC EVO 4G for Sprint was the first WiMAX handset available in the U.S.
In Dec. 2010 Verizon Wireless launched America's first network to use the rival fourth generation cellular standard -- Long Term Evolution (LTE). As with Sprint, the initial network launch did not feature any smartphones or tablets. But unlike Sprint, Verizon made up for its late start with a much more aggressive rollout. In March 2011 Verizon announced its first LTE-capable smartphone, the HTC Thunderbolt.
At this point it still remained to be seen whether the two competing standards would fight each other to a draw, as GSM and CDMA did in the prior third generation rollout (with Verizon and Sprint backing CDMA and AT&T, Inc. (T) and T-Mobile U.S., Inc. (TMUS) committed to GSM, the more widely used global standard).
In 2010 WiMAX looked like it might stand a fighting chance against LTE. [Image Source: Sprint]
Verizon quickly gave LTE a good name by fulfilling its promise of fast data speeds on LTE devices across a quickly growing array of major U.S. cities. Sprint's WiMAX network disappointed, though, as coverage remained limited. And its speeds were hindered by lack of base stations, such that even in some supported cities it was getting beat by AT&T's HSPA+ network, an advanced third generation wireless technology sometimes referred to as "3.5G".
II. 2011 and the Death Knell of WiMAX
What was perhaps the straw that broke the metaphorical camel's back came in mid-2011 when AT&T committed to an LTE network rollout. As Verizon and AT&T were the two top carriers in the world's most lucrative market, most OEMs and chipmakers subsequently focused their high-end efforts on LTE devices that could operate interchangeably on both networks. And on the low-end they focused their efforts on HSPA+ devices, which could operate on both T-Mobile and AT&T.
Already starting with a small sales base for WiMAX devices, sales were further hindered by the fact that Sprint tacked on a $10 USD "premium data" fee on in order to have access to 4G. For many the fee was a deal breaker, given the network's limited coverage and poor speeds. It was made even more of a questionable value given that Verizon wasn't charging extra for its LTE access versus a normal plan.
Perhaps the worst news for Sprint came not in AT&T's decision to back LTE, but rather its decision to be "less stingy" and increase spending on its LTE infrastructure rollout. AT&T's spending also helped to shore up its struggling 3G network, particularly in voice service reliability. As a result, AT&T's network -- so long a whipping boy in terms of poor service -- started to look like a true challenger to Verizon (if a bit behind in coverage). With AT&T's improvement Sprint's slow data and poor coverage began to look increasingly glaring.
These factors led to limited WiMAX device availability and slow sales for most of the devices that were available for Sprint's struggling 4G network. Sprint continued to launch WiMAX devices through June with the launch of Motorola Photon 4G and the HTC EVO 3D.
The HTC EVO 3D
By July 2011, a little over a year after the launch of its first WiMAX smartphone, Sprint bowed to reality. Eyeing AT&T's imminent launch of LTE and its own WiMAX network's floundering sales, Sprint changed gears and pledged to launch an LTE network.
The plan left the still active WiMAX network in a state of purgatory. Sprint continued to sell WiMAX handsets throughout late 2011, but it would only launch one more new WiMAX capable device; Samsung Electronics Comp., Ltd. (KRX:005930) (KRX:005935) Galaxy II Epic 4G Touch. After the launch of that device in October Sprint confirmed that no new WiMAX devices were expected.
The Samsung GSII Epic 4G Touch edition was the last new WiMAX device from Sprint.
Sprint reaffirmed in December that it would soon be rolling out LTE. But its plans would soon hit a nasty snag. In Dec. 2011 its partner LightSquared was accused of crippling GPS interference and "bribing" politicians to try to gloss over the glaring technical flaws. Sprint had been counting on LightSquared's satellite LTE to supplement its limited ground-based coverage. Instead, LightSquared went belly-up in embarrassing fashion, and Sprint was left navigating the LTE waters on its own.
III. WiMAX's Deathgrip Will End in Nov. 2015
In 2012, Sprint was placing last place in comprehensive nationwide cellular data speed tests, and plans to shutter the WiMAX network were delayed. But to its credit Sprint managed to roll out limited LTE coverage in 15 cities by July 2012, and this time around was more on the ball launching compatible smartphones that could tap this high speed conduit.
After initially warning that it could be Q3 2012 before LTE smartphones were ready, Sprint surprised subscribers with an April launch of Samsung's Galaxy Nexus handset, its first true LTE device.
The Galaxy Nexus by Samsung, was a surprise, launching early in April 2012 as Sprint's first LTE handset.
A month later the HTC EVO 4G -- once the face of Sprint's WiMAX push -- received an LTE makeover as well. Sprint network SVP Bob Azzi in early May confirmed the seemingly obvious -- there would be no more new WiMAX handsets at Sprint.
In 2012 Sprint shifted the WiMAX network to primarily serve 4G customers on its prepaid subsidiary Boost Mobile and wound down WiMAX sales on the Sprint network. Boost Mobile continued to sell WiMAX devices until 2013, when it stopped as well.
With Sprint midway into its LTE push last year, the question of when it would shutter its defunct WiMAX network became more frequent. Sprint was tight-lipped on when it would flip the switch off, but in Spring 2013 it updates its terms of service quietly to state that it "expressly reserves the right to migrate" customers from WiMAX to LTE with "reasonable advance notice." It added that it would provide WiMAX holdouts with a free LTE device as an incentive to switch, and indicated it would try to extend their current plan to the device, although it offered no definitive guarantees.
As of early this year Sprint said WiMAX service would be guaranteed until 2015. But this April it pledged to begin turning off 6,000 of its WiMAX towers at a cost of $50-100M USD, effectively killing the network. The question was when in 2015 the axe would fall.
Over the weekend we got the answer, unofficially. Sprint began circulating an email memo to employees warning them that the deactivation would occur on Nov. 6, 2015. Predictably, the email leaked to a blog -- Android Central.
[Image Source: Android Central]
The report was subsequently confirmed by Sprint spokesperson Adrienne Norton in a comment to Fierce Wireless and other publications. And with that, the date for WiMAX to join BetaMax, HD-DVD, and other forgotten standards has been set. Soon WiMAX as we once knew it in the U.S., for better or worse, will be no more.
Sources: Android Central, Fierce Wireless
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