Do not invest more money than you can afford to lose.
Sprint now has to maintain WiMAX in certain areas for an additional 90 days, as mandated by the injunction, to allow Mobile Citizen and Mobile Beacon more time to migrate their customers over to Sprint’s LTE network. Sprint bought Clear wire in 2013, and soon thereafter announced plans to shut down the aging WiMAXs network.
The two providers say they sell unlimited broadband for US$10 per month to 429 schools, 61 libraries and 1,820 nonprofit organizations around the country using WiMAXs. “We will comply with the court’s decision to delay WiMAX decommissioning where it could affect current Mobile Beacon and Mobile Citizen customers”.
Massachusetts superior court judge Janet Sanders granted a temporary halt Thursday, saying that the groups had demonstrated a likelihood of success in proving their case that Sprint and its Clearwire unit were violating their contracts with the shutdown. The decision’s “intent is to put plaintiffs in that position that they would occupy under their existing agreements with Clearwire”, but does not have any bearing on parts of the network that Sprint has already shut down.
About 14,000 Twin Cities low-income households receive low-cost online access through St. Paul-based PCs for People, a reseller of Mobile Beacon and Mobile Citizen service. That will give the groups enough time to move to Sprint’s LTE network.
The ruling comes in response to a lawsuit filed by Mobile Beacon and Mobile Citizen.
Mobile Beacon managing director Katherine Messier said in a statement, “Today, the courts preserved a lifeline for the communities and families we serve”. Messier added, “We hope Sprint will now work with us to ensure the elderly, disabled, students and other vulnerable populations who rely on our service can transition to LTE quickly and avoid any disruption in service”. The network runs partly on Educational Broadband Service spectrum that they leased to Clearwire for 30 years starting in 2006.
“I think it’s important to note that Sprint has been a leader in providing Internet connectivity for many years, including to schools, nonprofits and the disadvantaged”, Vinge Walsh said. “Sprint’s record of programs to bridge the digital divide proves it cares about ensuring as many customers as possible are connected at all times”.
The low-priced service providers are more than just WiMAXs customers. They say they haven’t been able to migrate the users because Sprint failed to honor its contractual obligations.
The order extends the life of Sprint’s legacy WiMAXs network in a few areas for 90 days, the groups said.
Vinge Walsh said Sprint plans to “continue to protect our rights in this contract dispute and expect to prevail on the merits”. Sprint is now “reviewing the decision and evaluating [its] options”.
Mobile Beacon and Mobile Citizen say they share this goal and dispute that they have chosen not to transition their users.
