Sprint could shelve ION

Sprint may cancel all or part of its much-ballyhooed Integrated On-demand Network (ION) service by the end of the month, according to unconfirmed media reports.

A broad commercial launch for the consumer and small-business markets planned for the second half of 2001 was postponed in June, but sources now say the entire project is in jeopardy. The service being used, on a limited basis, by some medium-sized and large businesses.

ION--an packet-switched network designed to provide voice, fax, and Internet service over a single phone line--has been plagued by technical problems, particularly the migration of voice services.

In June, Sprint confirmed it was “re-evaluating” ION and expects to make a decision by the end of August. The company then postponed any action until the fall.

Sprint has spent about $2 billion on the ION project and plans to allocate another $1 billion in 2001, with 90% of that going to packet-switched network enhancements.

--Vincent Ryan, senior editor