Sprint and LightSquared are reportedly in talks about a networking agreement and this could mean that the nation’s third-largest carrier could be moving away from Clearwire and WiMax as its choice of technology for 4G services.
A Bloomberg article says that the Sprint, LightSquared negotiations would help LightSquared roll out its infrastructure quicker. As you may know, the company is rolling out a satellite-based 4G LTE network that it will be selling wholesale to operators like Sprint. Just because Sprint and LightSquared are talking, the report is quick to point out that it may not lead to a deal.
Sprint currently gets its 4G from Clearwire with the WiMax technology and the company insists that WiMax is its 4G strategy. While it has rolled out to an early lead, the competition is rapidly catching up, if not surpassing the third-largest carrier.
T-Mobile is calling its HSPA+ network 4G and while this may not have the latency of other technologies, it may soon offer up to 84 Mbps download speeds. AT&T and Verizon are also set to roll out its 4G LTE networks and these have the potential to offer faster theoretical download speeds than WiMax, although real-life speeds are currently about the same.
Sprint has said that it will make its decision on LTE in about six months but switching to this doesn’t necessarily mean ditching Clearwire. The infrastructure company has said that it could switch over to LTE if the market demands it, as it would require something akin to a software update.
Of course, you’d be shit out of luck if you’re using an EVO 4G but I’m sure they’ll maintain some sore of legacy support even if Sprint goes all-in with LTE. Besides, the transition would takes years anyways, so current devices would be old anyways.
[Via Bloomberg]