Sprint To Start WiMax Trials

Sprint and Motorola said Thursday that they will work together to trial both fixed and mobile WiMAX services.

The trials will occur later both in laboratory tests and specific locations later this year and into next year, the company said in a statement. Sprint said it is specifically eyeing wireless multimedia services and mobile WiMAX services.

It pointedly noted, however, that it has not necessarily selected WiMAX as its future wireless broadband technology.

"Sprint is fostering a number of strategic partnerships and investigating multiple technologies in support of future wireless interactive multimedia services," Oliver Valente, Sprint's chief technology officer, said in a statement. "WiMAX is one of the technologies Sprint is investigating for services which would be considered for deployment in the 2.5 GHz band of spectrum."

Nextel, which is in the process of merging with Sprint, said earlier this week that it will trial a competing technology, UMTS TDD, in the Washington, D.C. area. Nextel previously trialed FLASH-OFDM technology in North Carolina.