Sprint does mention supporting WiMax by continuing to sell WiMax phones through 2012. At 10:24 the pic seems to show that there will be support for current WiMax coverage during 2013 but that seems unlikely if their new multimode antennas will not support WiMax.
This also shows that WiMax will not be expanded beyond its current coverage, therefore the vast majority of customers with a 4g WiMax phone will not be supported at all.
I'm no expert on these technical details and it's possible I have interpreted these pics incorrectly. Perhaps someone here might be able to explain more.
Sprint has been cutting back on features and raising fees for a while now. It's getting out of hand. They're probably doing it all in an effort to make up for the $28B they paid Apple to sell the iPhone. Here is a list of some of the changes.
* Removal of the Sprint Premiere Membership Program and the removal of all its benefits * Using your phone as a Mobile Hotspot no longer has unlimited data but is now capped. It still costs the same $30. * Adding a $10 a month 4g charge to every 4g line on an account regardless of whether you get 4g reception or not. This charge was then expanded to include all smartphones on the Sprint network, even if they weren’t capable of 4g. * No more Billing to Account. * An increase in administrative fees per line. * Raising the Early Termination Fee on an account by $150 to $350 for each phone line. * Changing the arbitration rules for settling customer disputes in a way that heavily favors Sprint. * Stopping people from leaving Sprint because of the arbitration changes without being charged the ETF, even though Federal Courts have ruled that changes in arbitration rules are a material change in the contract. * Eliminating unlimited 4g data from it’s Mobile Broadband plans. * Dropping WIMAX for their new LTE 4g network. This not only means that if you do not have 4g currently, you will never have it for your current 4g phone but also that all Sprint 4g phones being sold today, even if you are within a current 4g area, will stop operating as 4g at the end of next year because they will not work on Sprint’s new network.
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They have never mentioned 5-7 years of WiMax support. The equipment will be replaced by the end of 2013.
Check out this article http://live.thisismynext.com/Event/Sprint_Strategy_Update_live_blog?Page=1 about their recent press conference. Take note of the pics at 9:58 showing the new sites. The pic at 9:59 shows that the new multimode antennas do not support WiMax.
Sprint does mention supporting WiMax by continuing to sell WiMax phones through 2012. At 10:24 the pic seems to show that there will be support for current WiMax coverage during 2013 but that seems unlikely if their new multimode antennas will not support WiMax.
This also shows that WiMax will not be expanded beyond its current coverage, therefore the vast majority of customers with a 4g WiMax phone will not be supported at all.
I'm no expert on these technical details and it's possible I have interpreted these pics incorrectly. Perhaps someone here might be able to explain more.
Sprint has been cutting back on features and raising fees for a while now. It's getting out of hand. They're probably doing it all in an effort to make up for the $28B they paid Apple to sell the iPhone. Here is a list of some of the changes.
* Removal of the Sprint Premiere Membership Program and the removal of all its benefits
* Using your phone as a Mobile Hotspot no longer has unlimited data but is now capped. It still costs the same $30.
* Adding a $10 a month 4g charge to every 4g line on an account regardless of whether you get 4g reception or not. This charge was then expanded to include all smartphones on the Sprint network, even if they weren’t capable of 4g.
* No more Billing to Account.
* An increase in administrative fees per line.
* Raising the Early Termination Fee on an account by $150 to $350 for each phone line.
* Changing the arbitration rules for settling customer disputes in a way that heavily favors Sprint.
* Stopping people from leaving Sprint because of the arbitration changes without being charged the ETF, even though Federal Courts have ruled that changes in arbitration rules are a material change in the contract.
* Eliminating unlimited 4g data from it’s Mobile Broadband plans.
* Dropping WIMAX for their new LTE 4g network. This not only means that if you do not have 4g currently, you will never have it for your current 4g phone but also that all Sprint 4g phones being sold today, even if you are within a current 4g area, will stop operating as 4g at the end of next year because they will not work on Sprint’s new network.
Sprint sucks.