4G AND DATA A FOCUS FOR SPRINT AND FUTURE

The back page of the WSJ advertisement caught my eye today and really made me think about where the future of the telecom industry is heading.   It simply features its Palm Pre, the 3G/4G USB Modem, MiFi(tm) 2200 by Novatel Wireless, the Blackberry Curve 8350i and the Amazon Kindle.

For a telecom company, the ad only has two phones; the Palm Pre and the Blackberry, the others are data devices.  That illustrates where Sprint thinks the future is heading.  Its not about voice communication anymore.  Actually, voice communication is the least efficient in my opinion, but more about that in another post.  Its about data and its about fast data.

The 3G/4G USB Modem U300 advertisement states:

Today, you can download massive files ad 3G speeds.  In the future, you'll be able to stream HD video on the first wireless 4G network from a anational carrier (where available).

Clearly the National mentioned is clear, a venture in which Sprint heavily invested.   Sprint's 4G network is a wimax network operated by Clear.

The MiFi 2200 is a very tempting offer, although the $59.99 that is offered with this device has some serious limitations.

And Sprint activated over 250,000 kindle plans last quarter, not bad.

This is a great bet on the growth and interest of data services in the future, rather than just sexy smartphones and voice.  It will be interesting to watch to see the new generation (fourth generation to be exact) of devices, modems and software that will run on those emerge.  With ubiquotus data coverage and service, anything can be a communication device, and may no longer have to be tied to your device.  Your car, office or home can be connected and different devices may be used as communication meduim.  

The phone may no longer be the primary player in the telecom world is what I see when i see the WSJ advert.  Pretty cool.