Sprint's WiMax dilemma

Sprint's WiMax dilemma
Sprint Nextel's ousted CEO may not be the only casualty as unhappy investors pressure the company to dump plans for a next-generation network.

By Marguerite Reardon Staff Writer, CNET News.com -->
Published: October 10, 2007, 4:00 AM PDT

If Wall Street pundits get their way, Sprint Nextel's next CEO will put the brakes on plans for a new, high-speed wireless network.

But such a move, while no doubt cutting costs, could condemn the struggling company to also-ran status.

After months of declining subscriber numbers, Sprint Nextel announced Monday that CEO Gary Forsee had stepped down as chairman and chief executive officer. Forsee's departure had been a long time coming, as investors, upset over the company's poor performance, had been pressuring the company's board of directors to make a change at the top.

Among investors' biggest concerns is Sprint's plan to build a next-generation wireless network using a technology called WiMax. The company has committed itself to spending $5 billion in the next three years to build the network, with about $2 billion of that money earmarked to be spent in the next year to get WiMax coverage to about 100 million people by the end of 2008.

Complete article.