While Baltimore was lit up about a week ago, Sprint Xohm held their official WiMax launch event earlier today at the harbor. I didn’t come away with much new info, though did encounter plenty of new WiMax-enabled hardware – including a USB WiMax modem and Lenovo X301 Thinkpad. In addition to the stationary demos you’d expect, we were also treated to mobile web surfing… on the road and on the water.
I still haven’t discovered why the home broadband package, with presumably more data usage, runs more than mobile service. Though during the presentation it became quite clear that they’re focused on cornering the mobile market. Regarding blogosphere coverage of throttling, CTO Barry West stated that they “don’t want to limit anybody” though must “manage congestion in a fair way” – and healthy demand will lead to increased Xohm capacity.
Apparently, it took only 180 antennas to blanket about 70% of Baltimore with WiMax. However, I’m more interested in my DC region. Xohm reps were a bit cagey regarding the progress they’ve made here and if I’d be able to utilize WiMax service prior to an official launch. Guess we’ll find out…