Carrier News

With the meteoric rise in popularity of social networking websites like mySpace, and especially Facebook, it seems like the move Sprint announced this week – plans to partner with ANTHEM and move into the social networking realm – was a smart one.

ANTHEM will allow Sprint’s cell phone customers mobile access to LiveJournal, Rabble, Vox and Xanga, where they will be able to view photos, send and receive messages, post comments and search profiles. The new service rolls out next week on select Sprint cell phones. We imagine a FaceBook app can’t be far behind.

Coupled with the revelation that Sprint and loopt are about to start working together, this kind of functionality points to the carrier’s commitment to social media. With the myriad of Internet-based options now available for your cell phone, it may be time for that data plan.

Sprint announced today that a series of previously scheduled WiMAX trials later this year will be followed by the commercial implementation of the network by the second quarter of 2008. This confirmation solidifies Sprint’s commitment to providing WiMAX connectivity, and was received by the wireless industry as an indication that the company is moving forward aggressively on this front.

The trials planned for Chicago, Baltimore and Washington, DC, are set for later this year, and, upon successful completion, Sprint plans to roll out full WiMAX coverage to as many as 100 million customers by the end of 2008.

Sprint is set to invest approximately $2.5 billion in the project, which carries with it the promise of a fully mobile, “Internet everywhere” experience for subscribers within the network.

Everyone claims to have the best coverage, but we all know it only matters who has the best coverage where you spend most of your time. Who really cares if they cover the rest of the world if you can’t get a signal in your house or office? I know several people who bought phones they loved but ended up breaking their contracts because they couldn’t make calls most of the time.

Now you can check the coverage of Sprint, Nextel and Sprint Nextel PowerSource side by side on a street level detail map. Happily, a quick check shows good coverage in my neighborhood. Well, other than around the Pentagon, but I suppose there’s nothing to be done about that.

If you’re like me, you have one or two friends (or clients) who will just keep calling your cell phone, but you don’t want to turn off or silence it completely because you’re waiting for another important call. Now Sprint allows you to “silence” just those one or two people – by changing their ring tone. With a new Sound Effects ring tone called Silent Ringer, Sprint lets you still receive those calls but not be interrupted by them.

The best part? The ring tone is free – just visit the Sprint Digital Lounge to download.