Will Sprint Become the Wireless Company of Choice?

The likes of Research in Motion (RIMM), Apple (AAPL) and Nokia (NOK) are going to prefer Sprint's (S) new network for their web-enabled phones.

Sprint, Clearwire (CLWR) and cable companies Comcast Corp (CMCSA) and Time Warner Cable Inc (TWC) are set to announce a joint venture using WiMax, a technology that promises to support Internet access at speeds up to five times faster than traditional wireless networks, and can support a range of mobile and video applications.

Contribution to the JV are expected to be: Comcast - $1 billion, Time Warner Cable - $550 million, Intel (INTC) - $1 billion, Google (GOOG) - $500 million and Bright House Networks, the sixth-largest U.S. cable provider, $200 million.

Sprint has created a preferred network for the makers of web phones, clearly the future of devices. For users of the products, Sprint ought to see a migration to the network as the incrementally faster speeds will trump any past issues the company might have had.

Until we know how the JV is formed and the timing of any release of it, investing in Sprint simply because of the announcement is very premature. There still is that nagging Nextel issue. It just may be that Clearwire is the way to go. Without knowing details, it is a guess.

One thing is for sure though. Sprint has gone from the scrap heap of history to potentially the industry leader in a very, very short time...

Disclosure: No position.

Comments

[Nextel Acce...:]

Yes it has! Go Sprint!

2008 May 08 06:50 AM

[Philly Jim:]

Want an idea of where we are going? Take a trip to Seoul, South Korea - check out this article : afp.google.com/article...

2008 May 08 08:52 AM

[pochovilla:]

Just need to involve Circuit City and BlockBuster in this deal to make it near perfection.

2008 May 08 09:17 AM

[billddrummer:]

The WiMax technology finally provides effective competition for smartphone aficionados, and with AAPL bringing out G3-capable unlocked phones soon, the potential for the JV will bring a smile (finally) to Sprint investors.

Let's hope it doesn't take too long. Clearwire has been slow to penetrate the northern NV market because of poor coverage. Perhaps this technology will solve that problem.

2008 May 12 03:40 PM

[Geddy:]

Yeah right, Sprint the company to wireless company of choice! Good god, almost made me choke on my coffee by laughing so hard!

2008 May 25 10:43 AM