Sprint to test broadband wireless with Motorola

Sprint today said it will work with Motorola to develop, test and eventual trial broadband wireless equipment over the 2.5 GHz spectrum and collaborate with the vendor on developing and validating future mobile WiMAX solutions.

The trials will involve lab testing of base station gear, smart antenna technology and multimedia handsets and field trials of current-generation equipment at multiple locations in 2005 and 2006. While the two companies did not specify which Motorola equipment would be used in the tests, Motorola plans to develop mobile WiMAX technologies, based on the IEEE 802.16e standard, in two divisions: through its Canopy division for enterprises and businesses, and through its cellular networks division for consumers.

Sprint has been searching for access solutions for its 2.5 GHz spectrum for some time. It launched multipoint multichannel distribution service (MMDS) in select markets at the beginning of the decade only to shut the service down. Like other 2.5 GHz license holders, Sprint has been exploring second-generation broadband wireless solutions, signaling its intent to explore 802.16 technologies by joining the WiMAX Forum earlier this year. Sprint has entered into a collaboration deal with Intel to develop test and develop WiMAX technologies.

This week, fellow 2.5 GHZ license-holder and future merger partner Nextel announced it would test Flarion’s Flash-OFDM technology at 2.5 GHz.