ZTE USA, a subsidiary of the Chinese ZTE Corporation, announced that it has entered into a master purchase agreement with Sprint Nextel to supply the carrier with WiMAX PC cards in express and USB form factors, as well as supplying advanced modem solutions for in-home networking.
Sprint plans to make its WiMAX services commercially available to 100 million people in the United States by the end of 2008. "We chose ZTE because we found the company to be a cutting-edge innovator backed by the engineering resources of an established, leading global brand," said Barry West, president of 4G Mobile Broadband at Sprint, in a statement.
As part of the agreement, ZTE's express and USB cards will equip Sprint subscribers with anywhere wireless data access, while the home modem can serve as a replacement networking solution for the cable modem, enabling service providers to roll-out fixed broadband wireless service access via their networks. ZTE's modem is also equipped to enable carriers to offer VoIP-based voice services.
With the current economic climate, wireless operators face shrinking marketing budgets and reduced consumer spending.
Globally, the credit crunch is very much alive, and operators will be tightening their belts into the foreseeable future by putting off capital purchases.
