Sprint's got a nice head start in the 4G race over Verizon and AT&T -- a message it's
heavily broadcasting these days -- but with the onslaught of
LTE networks and equipment around the world now just months away, momentum is unquestionably going to shift, giving the carrier every reason to act quickly to build out now and score as many subscribers as it possibly can. That seems to be the gist of a rumor coming out of
AndroidGuys today that says Sprint is working on a deal with Walmart to install WiMAX cells on all (yes, all) of its locations, a move that would give it a significant boost in national coverage while presumably lowering infrastructure costs significantly. As many Walmarts as there are, it seems like this would still leave huge coverage gaps (particularly in rural areas) between locations, but hey -- maybe these guys are going for the parking lot RV crowd, which would actually make a ton of sense. Best part? You'd probably be able to buy the modem right in the store.
posted January 12th 2010 4:09PM
Should have hooked with McDonalds instead; Walmart is an alright second though
@Xoy You don't need that type of density to cover an area with WiMax. The Wal-mart partnership is a smarter for the reasons @TheFlamingoKing outlines above.
@bigjonroberts Additionally, it seems you might run into issues based on franchisees. Either McDonalds corporate would have to mandate that franchises install cells and support Sprint which might cause issues with the franchisees, or you have to get individual buy-in which reduces the number of installed bases as franchises say no.
Walmart owns all the facilities and land outright, I believe. That makes it a lot easier to get traction on installs.
@Xoy
McDonald's locations often lease, they don't always own the roof!
Tsk tsk. Now Engadget themselves are abusing the Engadget logo...
Am I the only one that doesn't see an entrance to that Walmart?!
@Kyle Krcmaric See the roof alllll the way on the right? I believe it is over there.
It's f'in huge and filled to the brim with... stuff.
@Kyle Krcmaric This is a special Wal-Mart! It is closed 24 hours and you need a key to shop there.
If this pan's out, it could become quite a major issue. Go for it Sprint
Look engadget! Walmart has stolen your logo!
@Jeff Lol! sue! sue! sue!
For those wondering what Wal-Mart - WiMAX coverage would look like. "There's a map for that." http://projects.flowingdata.com/walmart/
@DustoMan
So everywhere there are people is what that video tells me.
4G jizz ?
I wonder if they will go ahead and throw a 3G tower in with it as well. I, unfortunately, still live in an area with no 3G sprint coverage. but I do live within a few miles a Wal Mart...
@pomokey
No.
This sounds good to me, got 5 Walmarts within 10 miles of where I live, this will finally give a good reason to have so many.
@Jact walmart right down the street. wow could you see the potential in this? this may just get sprint back in the game, as long as they launch it with an awesome phone, like maybe that rumored htc wimax device;-)
With over 3000 stores, coverage would be epic.
This would have been cheaper if WiMax was used for city/public wireless access points. A few routers, some electricity and bandwidth wouldn't cost the $$ that they will charge.
Sprint and Wal-Mart have a lot in common… They cater to the low income, most popular in the ghetto and if you have bad credit – no worries, Sprint has Boost and Wal-Mart has lay-a-way… Ha!
Last time I was in Walmart, they didn't even sell Sprint phones...
@snowglyder now maybe it is a part of the plan.
I believe you guys mean Clear. Sprint no longer deals with strategy and infrastructure for WiMax.
@Celz Sprint is doing fine? It's not hemorrhaging customers and employees? Really? Are you sure about that? It may not be as rapid as it used to be, but it's still happening. BTW, Nextel IS Sprint. And iDEN is not the center of it anymore. Yes, it still exists as part of their network. However, it's services have mostly been converted to CDMA.
@ljm Your comment about GSM and CDMA is really "lame" because GSM essentially has taken over the world. There are 12 countries that offer CDMA networks. Compare that to the 200+ countries that offer GSM networks. Essentially, GSM already HAS taken over the world.
And, yes, it was a very poor choice to back WiMAX, a technology that's being backed by only a few networks worldwide, compared to LTE which already has about 40 network partners.
Sorry for the double post. Meant to post that as a reply up at the top.
@aschettler The same network gear that has been used build out the WiMax network also supports LTE. WiMax was selected because it was actually available instead of LTE which had not even entered trials when the first WiMax sites went live. If there comes a time when a move to LTE is required by Clear then it will be easy transition to make. Also based on some comments made by VZW execs it already looks like Clear and Sprint will beat VZW on pricing whenever VZW actually has a deployed 4G network.
@cheapinkc That makes sense. I don't think Sprint+Clear (Clear's 4G+ [3G/4G]) is that cheap at $70, so I can't even begin to imagine how badly Verizon will gouge their customers for LTE access, seeing how they already do for everything else. $500 for 5 people on a FAMILY SHARE plan with 1400 minutes, texting, family data, and insurance? That's ridiculous! The same exact thing costs $230 (before taxes) on AT&T, and probably less on T-crap and Sprint.
"it seems like this would still leave a huge coverage gap" ...
YA THINK?.. do they actually pay you guys to write this drivel?
ENGADGET LOOK THEY STOLE YOUR LOGO!
I just spent the last three days driving 1700 miles from NY to TX, and if there's one thing I've learned, it's that Walmarts are staggeringly prominent in rural areas. Where I just moved, for example, is not serviced by a single wired broadband provider, but there's a 24 hour Super Walmart two miles from my apartment. Luckily, we're already covered by Sprint and Clear, but I'm sure there are plenty of other places that would openly welcome this.
Sounds like a good plan to move modems too. But ironically, Sprint is the one major wireless brand that Walmart doesn't actually sell. AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile yes. Sprint no. So not sure how that is going to work. Maybe they will start selling the phones too.
Walmart stores are also ironically one of the few remaining places where I cannot get ANY cell signal. The stores are all built basically the same with metal roofs and metal walls and they're almost always cellular deadzones. It's not a Sprint vs. Verizon issue. I have Sprint for my personal phone and a Verizon for work. Neither of them work in Walmarts and both would roam if they could. But there's no signal.
This is especially annoying because it blocks apps like ShopSavvy. And missed calls. I get more panicked voicemails from people who call while I am in a Walmart and cannot reach me for the hours it seems to take to actually shop in a Walmart. Golly.
I heard from one Walmart worker that they the stores know about the signal issue and could fix it with pico-cells or just skylights, but they like the cell deadzone this way because it keeps employees focused and off the phone, and of course blocks customers from trying to price-check.
I'm pretty sure walmart (or at least their online cell phone business) does sell sprint phones. I remember people advertising dirt cheap deals on palm pre's, a phone that is still, for a few more weeks anyways, sprint only.
As for WiMAX vs. LTE, they are pretty much the same. All the backend equipment can be reprogrammed to support LTE and many of the chips (such as those made by TI) found in consumer equipment can also be reflashed to switch to LTE from WiMAX.
@thehomelessguy Not all Walmarts sell sprint! I always ask them why and they never know. I have had Sprint for about 7 years and am just waiting for them to actually get some good phones, since my contract is up.
Pretty sure wallmart sells sprint products. http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=11084519
Does Clearwire still have a relationship with Comcast? To me one of the appeal of WiMAX was the ease at which femtocells could be deployed. I know at one point there were talks of hiding one in cable modems/boxes to create a seamless network (which would be nice I currently have an airave and love it). ATT was also rumored to be thinking of similar methods of synergy with their U-verse service. Though such seems a little pie-in-the-sky.
" the parking lot RV crowd???"
Let's see, my little 36' Nuwa Hitchhiker "RV" cost 10 times more than my parents' first house and has a basement. It is currently parked between two "RVs" that would probably retail together for over $1million. And, I am using CLEAR and think it is great. It will be even greater when they get more of the network going in more states.
@CallDon Your RV has a basement?
I actually predicted this exact scenario (WiMax and Walmart) in June of 2004. Read my blog post about it from June 21, 2004 here:
http://www.dansherman.com/2004/06/walmart-communications-a-look-into-the-future.html
Cheers!
Will WalMart use this to sell digital downloads from inside the store? Buy music & movies at a flashy big screen kiosk for immediate download to your mobile phone.