From DailyTech: When the 4G wars first started, there was a bit of competition between WiMAX and LTE to become the standard moving forward. Sprint went “all in” with WiMAX and released a number of smartphones and wireless hotspots that used the standard. However, rollout delays across the U.S. ultimately meant that WiMAX held no advantage over LTE in most areas.
Sprint later reversed its decision on WiMAX and initiated a nationwide LTE rollout. The first 15 Sprint LTE cities went online in July of 2012 and plenty more have gone live since then.
Sprint is now talking about its plans for the old WiMAX network. Sprint will close down about 6,000 towers by the end of 2015 as it shutters that WiMAX network. Sprint noted that shutting down the towers would cost $50 to $100 million.
Sprint promised WiMAX subscribers that it would continue to offer access to the network until 2015, but what will happen after that date remains unknown.
The company has also promised reasonable advance notice will be given to any users of the WiMAX network that will be affected by the change. Customers that move to the LTE network after WiMAX connectivity is shutdown will get a free LTE capable device and maintain their existing plans if available.
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