Sprint, DISH plan high-speed, wireless broadband trial for Corpus Christi

Sprint and DISH Network today jointly announced plans to try out a high-speed fixed wireless broadband service in Corpus Christi, Texas, that would be available in mid-2014.

DISH will install either an outdoor or indoor router, depending on the location, with a high-gain antenna, to receive Sprint’s 4G TDD-LTE signal running over 2.5 GHz spectrum, the companies said in a statement.

Executives from both companies said the trial, if successful, could prove helpful in bringing broadband service to millions of Americans underserved by existing broadband services. Federal regulators have been urging companies to expand use of wireless routers for better broadband services in rural and other underserved areas, but the move by Sprint and DISH shows there’s also a financial incentive.

DISH has 14 million satellite TV customers and Sprint has 54 million wireless cellular customers.

Other major technology companies have sought to expand broadband services to homes and businesses in select cities, including Google and more recently AT&T. AT&T announced on Oct. 1 it had deployed a fiber broadband network in Austin, Texas, to deliver broadband speeds of 1 Gbps. AT&T was set to start delivering Internet and TV services in December.

Google previously announced plans to enter the Austin market with 1 Gbps broadband services, and began such a service in the Kansas City area in mid-2012.

This article, Sprint, DISH plan high-speed, wireless broadband trial for Corpus Christi , was originally published at Computerworld.com.

Matt Hamblen covers mobile and wireless, smartphones and other handhelds, and wireless networking for Computerworld. Follow Matt on Twitter at @matthamblen or subscribe to Matt’s RSS feed. His email address is mhamblen@computerworld.com.

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