THE PARTNERSHIP between Sprint and Samsung Electronics has edged closer to delivering its first WiMax network the firms annouced as they held hands today.

The network hardware hass apparently now jumped through all the relevant hoops of Sprint's commercial acceptance criteria, which checks its overall performance, handoff performance and handoff delay. Apparently they were all fine.

The companies reckon this is a really important milestone for them, clearing the way for a launch of commercial WiMax in both Baltimore and Washington D.C later on this year.

Sprint had been letting Samsung test its XOHM mobile broadband Internet service in the US for compliance with the mobile WiMAX standard.

Barry West, XOHM president, gushed: "This is a major step toward launch readiness and Sprint is extremely pleased with the performance of the mobile WiMAX network and access devices from Samsung".

"The collaboration with Samsung and our other partners has created a WiMAX ecosystem that has now proven that it can deliver this new technology to the marketplace well ahead of any feasible alternative," he trumpeted.

Sprint is using the spectrum holdings at 2.5 GHz, combined in the Sprint Nextel merger, to install mobile WiMAX technology from Samsung and other vendors. µ

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