(Associated Press via NewsEdge) Sprint Nextel said it will use an emerging technology called WiMAX to build a new high-speed wireless network.
The company said the new network, expected to launch in some markets by late 2007, will provide customers with wireless Internet speeds on par with DSL and cable TV modems and four times faster than speeds available on current wireless networks.
Gary Forsee, Sprint's CEO said that Intel will be supplying equipment to build the network while Motorola and Samsung will develop WiMAX-compatible phones and mobile devices.
Sprint expects to spend about $1 billion on the initiative in 2007, and between $1.5 billion and $2 billion in 2008.
Forsee didn't specify to what extent the other companies might help offset Sprint's costs, saying those details will come later this year when Sprint provides financial guidance for 2007.
The costly initiative was announced less than a week after the company, formed last summer by the merger of Sprint and Nextel Communications, reported a 38% drop in second-quarter profit.
The WiMAX plan also comes as Sprint is still rolling out its 3G cellular data network, which just last week the company said it planned to upgrade starting at the end of 2006.
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