In particular, the vendors Sprint chose to provide the infrastructure for its mobile WiMax network -- Motorola Inc., Samsung and Nokia Corp. -- also are developing phones and other mobile devices that will work on the network. In addition, Tabassi said, there is a lot of interest from consumer electronics vendors about embedding WiMax capabilities into their gadgets. And Intel, a major WiMax backer, has said it plans to combine WiMax and Wi-Fi capabilities in its chips for laptops.

The question, however, is how soon those products will appear. Tabassi didn't have a definitive answer about that.

"At a minimum, there will be PCMCIA cards and modems when we launch in the two markets [later this year]," he said. He also said it's possible that Samsung, which is providing the equipment for a WiMax system in South Korea, will have a dual-mode cellular/WiMax phone available by the end of the year, although he wasn't sure.

Even a skeptic like Kerton agrees that Sprint's strategy in creating an ecosystem of products and services is sound.

"They have partners helping them with the risk," Kerton said. "So if they fail, they won't suffer alone. And if they succeed -- jackpot."