CHICAGO (WiMAX DAY). The big-top act this week at the WiMAX World conference in Chicago was the Xohm WiMAX service from Sprint. With a brand name in place and launch dates imminent, Sprint presented the clearest indication to date of its vision for WiMAX in America.

The principal spokesman for the Xohm WiMAX service is Barry West, Sprint’s Chief Technology Officer and President of Xohm. Mr West is eloquent and lucid as he describes the complicated deployment of Xohm.  His presentation style is honest and without fanfare; he could easily challenge Steve Jobs in his ability to captivate and rally an audience.

This is because for many, Mr West has become not just a representative of Sprint and Xohm, but of the entire WiMAX industry at large, with the pulling power of a rock star.

What becomes clear listening to Mr West is that Xohm will employ a genuinely revolutionary strategy for WiMAX. Moreover, the enormity of Sprint’s commitment to the technology has become more readily apparent, as has its potential.

The numbers are staggering. Xohm will have a pre-commercial launch in two initial markets by the end of 2007, with a multi-market commercial launch in early 2008. This amounts to over 10,000 sites in preparation, 1,750 bases station to be delivered in 2007, with 20,000 antennas to be installed. The first phase of the network will utilise more than 2,000 third-party backhaul links, with another 8,000 Sprint backhaul links in deployment.

The market potential of this build-out is vast. By 2010 Sprint indicates that the Xohm business can reach 48 million homes in America and 4.5 million small offices. It will cover 125 million POPs, and on an ad hoc basis, some 130 million consumer electronic devices.

Herein lies the not so distant Holy Grail for Xohm that West predicts, where we will find WiMAX incorporated in cameras and televisions, household appliances, and security systems, as well as over 50 million hand-held devices and laptop computers.

To the benefit of the entire WiMAX ecosystem, people are beginning to understand the Xohm vision, and not just in America, but worldwide. The seeds that Sprint have planted in their ecosystem have pollinated a global industry that already has enjoyed the benefit of increased knowledge and accessibility to products. 

On a global basis, West said that the Sprint ecosystem “will drive efficiencies and enhance roaming and interoperability, and hasten the day when a customer can seamlessly roam and have a WiMAX experience in other regions of the world.”