AT&T isn’t the only major U.S. carrier getting in on the action today. Sprint on Wednesday confirmed that it too will soon launch a pair of Research In Motion’s latest smartphones. The touch-and-type BlackBerry Bold 9930 and the full touchscreen BlackBerry Torch 9850 will both become available to Sprint subscribers later this fall. Sprint neglected to specify a launch date or pricing, but we likely won’t have long to wait until these sleek new BlackBerry 7 phones find their way to store shelves. “Sprint’s incredibly loyal BlackBerry customers will appreciate the benefits of the BlackBerry 7 user experience on these two new smartphones – BlackBerry Bold 9930 and BlackBerry Torch 9850,” said Sprint’s product boss Fared Adib in a statement. “BlackBerry 7 is an evolution that extends the ability to support our customers domestically and internationally as they juggle their busy personal and professional lives with one easy-to-use device. We are excited to continue our strong relationship with RIM through these new powerful devices.”
Sprint’s 4G service is taking a turn for the wholesale — the company announced this week that it will be offering up some 4G-packing products to resellers. The list of available products includes the EVO Shift-esque HTC Detail and a data card from Sierra Wireless. More products are expected in the coming months. The model is not a new one for Sprint — the company already offers rebrandable 3G products for companies. At present, Sprint’s 4G coverage is available in 71 markets across the US.
Sprint announced on Tuesday that it is now selling access to its 4G WiMAX network, currently available in 71 markets across the United States, to its wholesale customers. Typically the carrier only sells its 3G network to wholesaler customers and it is now the first U.S. carrier to sell 4G wholesale. Sprint said that it will offer its customers the Sierra Wireless 250U 3G/4G data card as well as the HTC Detail 4G handset and the EVO Shift 4G. Mitel is among the first of Sprint’s wholesale customers to deploy a 4G network.
The rumors were true, but given the long, torrid affair between these two it shouldn’t be a surprise. Sprint and LightSquared have confirmed their intentions to the world, stepping into a whopping 15 year agreement that will be worth $9 billion in cash for Sprint and will save LightSquared an estimated $13 billion. LightSquared will have the right to sell access to Sprint’s burgeoning LTE network, while Sprint can also piggy-back on the other’s existing capacity where needed. Additionally, LightSquared will be able to roam on Sprint’s current 3G network, opening new doors for one while helping the other accelerate its apparent transition to LTE. This is of course good news for Sprint and naturally for LightSquared, which is trying desperately to put the whole GPS fiasco behind it. The loser? Clearwire, we’d say — and WiMAX in general. Continue reading Sprint and LightSquared confirm agreement, 15 years worth of LTE network sharing and more→
Night Hawk Computers Blackberry Alliance 