Sprint: calls for 3G this summer

Sprint Chief Executive William Esrey is set to unveil details of the service in a keynote presentation during the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas on Thursday. A Sprint representative confirmed the new initiative, but could not give details about a more specific launch date.

The new 3G, or "third generation," technology will provide more bandwidth for faster text messaging, enhanced graphics and other new applications, according to Sprint.

"Unlike our competitors--several of them have announced 3G services market by market--we view this as a race to the finish line, not to the start line," said Larissa Dills, a Sprint spokeswoman. "When we launch our 3G service this summer, it will be nationwide."

Wireless carriers have been racing to deliver the higher-speed services. AT&T Wireless said it plans to offer 3G services sometime this year, and Cingular Wireless said it will have a 3G network in early 2004.

At CES, Esrey is expected to demonstrate services Sprint can offer using 3G technology, such as watching videos on a cell phone, sending and receiving e-mail with attached files to wireless devices, and even turning a mobile phone into a digital camera.

Esrey isn't expected to reveal one crucial factor, however--how much the services will cost--nor to say exactly when each of the new services will be available.

Analysts had mixed reviews about Sprint's plans, pointing out that some of the same services it plans to introduce in the United States are available elsewhere in the world, while other services need more time to mature or don't address a real market need.

Sprint "is covering a huge scope," said Paul Dittner, an analyst with Gartner Dataquest. "Some of these things are a ways off, like the streaming video."

"I would consider the taking-pictures thing a nice thing to have. But the streaming video, who is going to do that?" said Roger Entner, a wireless analyst with the Yankee Group.

The technologies and where they stand:

• Using a Sprint phone to take a digital photograph and send it to a personal computer. Japanese carrier NTT DoCoMo, which launched a new telephone network in October, offers a similar service.

• Viewing e-mail with a file attachment on a wireless device. Owners of some phones can send and receive e-mail, but only if there are no attachments.

• Watching videos on phones. Several European carriers plan to offer the same type of service when they launch their new networks.

• Playing multiple-player video games with moving images. Current cell phone games are usually text-based, best for a series of questions in a trivia game. The images are static.

Sprint, AT&T Wireless, Verizon Wireless and most of the nation's major wireless carriers have been building new phone networks for at least a year.

The networks, when they are launched, will be able to handle more cell phone calls at once, which could mean fewer dropped calls or failed connections. But coverage areas--a major sore spot with cellular users--will likely remain a sticking point.

The networks cost billions of dollars to build. Wireless carriers hope to earn more revenue by introducing advanced services such as delivering driving directions to a phone, whether or not the phone owner knows his or her current location. Esrey plans to demonstrate a similar service Thursday.

Esrey also said Sprint will introduce a "push to talk" feature later this year. It will be similar to Nextel Communication's Direct Connect service, a digital two-way radio feature that allows a consumer to push a button to have instant access to another person.

Esrey said the "average experience" on Sprint's 3G network will be at speeds of 72kbps, or about half the maximum the network is capable of delivering. In a move to leapfrog competitors, Sprint plans to launch a high-speed wireless data service nationwide this summer.

Sprint Chief Executive William Esrey is set to unveil details of the service in a keynote presentation during the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas on Thursday. A Sprint representative confirmed the new initiative, but could not give details about a more specific launch date.

The new 3G, or "third generation," technology will provide more bandwidth for faster text messaging, enhanced graphics and other new applications, according to Sprint.

"Unlike our competitors--several of them have announced 3G services market by market--we view this as a race to the finish line, not to the start line," said Larissa Dills, a Sprint spokeswoman. "When we launch our 3G service this summer, it will be nationwide."

Wireless carriers have been racing to deliver the higher-speed services. AT&T Wireless said it plans to offer 3G services sometime this year, and Cingular Wireless said it will have a 3G network in early 2004.

At CES, Esrey is expected to demonstrate services Sprint can offer using 3G technology, such as watching videos on a cell phone, sending and receiving e-mail with attached files to wireless devices, and even turning a mobile phone into a digital camera.

Esrey isn't expected to reveal one crucial factor, however--how much the services will cost--nor to say exactly when each of the new services will be available.

Analysts had mixed reviews about Sprint's plans, pointing out that some of the same services it plans to introduce in the United States are available elsewhere in the world, while other services need more time to mature or don't address a real market need.

Sprint "is covering a huge scope," said Paul Dittner, an analyst with Gartner Dataquest. "Some of these things are a ways off, like the streaming video."

"I would consider the taking-pictures thing a nice thing to have. But the streaming video, who is going to do that?" said Roger Entner, a wireless analyst with the Yankee Group.

The technologies and where they stand:

• Using a Sprint phone to take a digital photograph and send it to a personal computer. Japanese carrier NTT DoCoMo, which launched a new telephone network in October, offers a similar service.

• Viewing e-mail with a file attachment on a wireless device. Owners of some phones can send and receive e-mail, but only if there are no attachments.

• Watching videos on phones. Several European carriers plan to offer the same type of service when they launch their new networks.

• Playing multiple-player video games with moving images. Current cell phone games are usually text-based, best for a series of questions in a trivia game. The images are static.

Sprint, AT&T Wireless, Verizon Wireless and most of the nation's major wireless carriers have been building new phone networks for at least a year.

The networks, when they are launched, will be able to handle more cell phone calls at once, which could mean fewer dropped calls or failed connections. But coverage areas--a major sore spot with cellular users--will likely remain a sticking point.

The networks cost billions of dollars to build. Wireless carriers hope to earn more revenue by introducing advanced services such as delivering driving directions to a phone, whether or not the phone owner knows his or her current location. Esrey plans to demonstrate a similar service Thursday.

Esrey also said Sprint will introduce a "push to talk" feature later this year. It will be similar to Nextel Communication's Direct Connect service, a digital two-way radio feature that allows a consumer to push a button to have instant access to another person.

Esrey said the "average experience" on Sprint's 3G network will be at speeds of 72kbps, or about half the maximum the network is capable of delivering.