Sprint Looks to Power Gadgets Beyond Mobile Phones
Wed Mar 25, 2009 9:49 pm
After spending billions rolling out its high-speed data network, Sprint is now in talks with consumer gadget makers such as Garmin, SanDisk and Eastman Kodak about delivering wireless Internet service for their products.
As core business slumps, the Overland Park, Kan.-based company is betting it can outflank rivals by renting out its network and collect fees based on how much data is transmitted to the devices.
Wholesale currently accounts for about 3 percent of Sprint's revenue and 16 percent of its total subscriber base of 49.3 million. While Sprint's overall subscribers have declined nearly four million since 2006, its number of wholesale subscribers has risen 27 percent to 8.1 million in the same period.
Much of that business has come from offering mobile phone service through small wireless resellers like Virgin Mobile and Boost Mobile called MNVOs, or Mobile Network Virtual Operators.
But now, Sprint is targeting the use of its network for a wider array of products.
Sprint's rivals are also looking to expand beyond mobile devices. AT&T is working on ideas such as a location-tracking wristwatch that could help keep track of the whereabouts of pets or even Alzheimer's patients.
Verizon Wireless is in talks with several makers of Kindle-like e-book readers to connect their devices.
Still, Sprint hopes it will have an edge, partly due to its vast reservoir of radio spectrum, which gives it the ability to offer more bandwidth than its competitors.
But some potential applications -- like wireless-enabled video players and camcorders -- require too much bandwidth for current networks and will have to wait for the rollout of fourth-generation networks.
