Sprint Poised to Launch High-Speed Network
Sprint Nextel Corp. is poised for a full-scale launch of its high-speed wireless network, a service that will include the first over-the-air music download store in the U.S.
The newly merged cellphone company was planning a series of major announcements for Monday morning.
In advance of the announcement, Sprint Nextel distributed review units of a cellphone equipped with EV-DO, the technology with which the company’s network is being upgraded to offer faster Internet connections and other data services.
The Samsung handset also featured a menu icon that led to a Sprint Music Store service offering downloads from a wide array of genres for $2.50 a song. The purchase entitles a user to download copies of songs to a computer as well.
There are a growing number of phones that can store and play music -- most notably the Rokr handset introduced last month by Motorola Inc. and Apple Computer Inc. for songs downloaded to a computer from Apple’s iTunes store. But only a few overseas cellular operators have launched services in which the music can be delivered directly to a handset over the air.
Sprint Nextel and Cingular Wireless have stated numerous times that they plan to introduce speedier wireless data capabilities by the end of this year. Both companies have lagged far behind Verizon Wireless in deploying such capabilities for business use on laptops and multimedia services on high-end phones.
It was not known how many markets would have access to the new Sprint service initially. As a prelude to a full-blown launch, Sprint began turning on its EV-DO service at airports and some downtown business corridors during the summer. At last count, those limited services were available in 127 cities.
Cingular, a joint venture of SBC Communications Inc. and BellSouth Corp., provides high-speed wireless access across six metropolitan areas using a technology different from that of Sprint and Verizon but has said its UMTS service will be available in 15 to 20 markets by year’s end.
Verizon Wireless, a joint venture of Verizon Communications Inc. and Vodafone Group, began rolling out its EV-DO service about a year ago and now offers it across 61 metropolitan areas.
Sales of the Rokr have been disappointing, but cellular operators remain optimistic that music phones will generate a lucrative revenue stream.
Napster Inc. has joined with wireless equipment maker Ericsson to launch a mobile music service under the Napster brand.
