Sprint's WiMax now ready for lift-off

Could this really be the green light we’ve been waiting for? It looks like, after all the delays and to-ing and fro-ing with partner Clearwire, Sprint’s WiMax network is finally ready for take-off.

Sprint said that it’s now finished commercial testing of its Xohm network, alongside buddy Samsung, and the WiMax network is now meeting all the necessary criteria on “overall performance, handoff performance and handoff delay” after trials in Washington DC and Baltimore, as well as in Sprint’s labs. The two cities will be the first to get to try the service commercially later this year, according to the operator.

It’s now starting to look like Sprint really is going to bring a WiMax network to the US (it was looking shaky there for a while, especially after the departure of former CEO Gary Forsee) but the fuzziness around the timing of the launch – “later this year” – still hints that there could be some quirks to be ironed out yet.