Samsung Electronics has forged an alliance with Intel, Motorola and Sprint Nextel and plans to launch WiBro service in the US. WiBro, portable Internet service developed in South Korea, enables wireless Internet connectivity at the speed of a fixed-line broadband connection.

Sprint (News - Alert) Nextel has plans to invest up to $3 billion to commercially roll out the services in 2008. The company aims to have 100 million people covered by the service by that year, with plans for a test service to be up and running by the fourth quarter of 2006.

Samsung, in cooperation with Intel (News - Alert) and Motorola (News - Alert), will provide Sprint with base station equipment, terminals and chipsets for WiBro. Samsung is developing a WiBro terminal that will be able to double as a cell phone, to boost the viability of the service.

Service was rolled out in Korea in late June through a partnership between KT and SK Telecom. The service is now available in some areas of Seoul and Pundang, Kyonggi Province. KT has plans to expand the service range across the capital by the end of the year before going nationwide.

“This is a milestone decision. I am sure Sprint will play a pivotal role in the worldwide initiative for telecom renovation on the back of WiBro,” said Samsung president Lee Ki-tae. “Sprint’s move will have an impact far beyond U.S. shores - it will help WiBro tap into other nations down the road.”

“It is meaningful that the locally-developed WiBro is being adopted as a backbone network of the U.S., the country that has exported to Korea most of our modern telecom techniques,” said Kim Kyung-mo, an analyst at Mirae Asset.

“Other overseas telecom firms are expected to follow Sprint. In other words, WiBro will be able to enjoy a halo effect in its globalization efforts thanks to Sprint's high profile,” he added.

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Laura Stotler writes about IP Communications and related topics for TMCnet. She has covered VoIP and related technologies for seven years, contributing to Internet Telephony magazine and TMCnet, and as a freelance writer. To see more articles, please visit: Laura Stotler’s columnist page.