Sprint Will be Shutting Down a Network, But it is iDEN

Sprint and Clearwire have been testing Long Term Evolution as an air interface using fallow spectrum. obviously raising questions about whether Sprint Nextel and Clearwire might ditch WiMAX for LTE.

Sprint CEO Dan Hesse says the only networks that are slated for replacement at some point are Sprint Nextel's legacy networks, ranging from iDEN, used for the Nextel part of the operation, to the older second-generation and third-generation networks Sprint also supports.

LTE isn't necessarily on Sprint's roadmap, Hesse says, though it is conceivable Sprint Nextel might be interested in supporting dual-mode "WiMAX-plus-LTE handsets.

It is a simple fact that each generation of mobile networks gets replaced, about every 10 years, though the transition periods can last longer. Hesse notes that “2G will eventually come to an end; CDMA will come to an end; GSM will come to an end and iDEN will come to an end.”

“Over time, as fewer customers are using our 2G networks, we can use that spectrum for the CDMA/EVDO network.” Even the current iDEN spectrum might eventually be switched over to support CDMA and EVDO on that band of frequencies, especially to support voice services.

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