Sprint Joins Rival Verizon in Wireless Broadband Sector

Sprint Corp. announced its arrival on the wireless broadband scene Thursday, more than a year and a half after one of its top rivals, Verizon Wireless, started offering broadband Internet service.

Sprint said its goal was to provide mobile broadband service to about 150 million people by early next year.

The service, using Evolution Data Optimized, or EvDO, technology, will be available in business districts and airports in 34 markets by the end of this month. It has already come online in 17 of those markets, including Kansas City, Mo.

The Overland Park, Kan.-based company said rates would start at $40 a month for a limited-access plan, and unlimited access would cost business customers about $80 a month.

Verizon Wireless, a joint venture of Verizon Communications Inc. and Vodafone Group, began offering its EvDO service in October 2003 in San Diego and Washington, then expanded the service into other regions soon after. It currently offers its wireless broadband service in 43 markets.

Cingular Wireless offers a high-speed service using a different technology in six cities and plans to add it in at least 10 more markets by the end of the year.

“They [Verizon] certainly launched theirs first; there’s no denying that,” said John Polivka, a spokesman for Sprint. “We announced last June we would develop EvDO by this point in time, and indeed we have done so. We will have substantially closed the gap by the end of this year.”

Lisa Pierce, vice president of Forrester Research Inc., said Thursday that Sprint’s announcement meant Verizon no longer had such a stranglehold on wireless broadband.

“It introduces competition into the market, which is always a good thing,” Pierce said.