Samsung Electronics Corp.'s mobile WiMAX infrastructure and devices have passed muster with wireless carrier Sprint's commercial acceptance standards.

The qualifying criteria included overall performance, handoff performance and handoff delay. Extensive evaluation in Sprint's Xohm lab also helped in the decision that will lead to the debut of commercial mobile WiMAX service later this year in Baltimore and the Washington, DC, area.

"It's a major technical milestone -- the building of a brand-new network," said John Polivka, spokesman at Sprint.

Samsung and Sprint have collaborated to test and build Sprint's Xohm mobile broadband Internet service for compliance with the mobile WiMAX standard.

Samsung in April launched a couple of WiMAX-enabled devices: the Express Card and the WiMAX-embedded Q1 Ultra Premium Mobile PC.

The goal is to position Samsung as the leading provider of end-to-end mobile WiMAX network systems.

The Samsung mobile WiMAX systems will go to work for Sprint in Baltimore and the Washington, DC, area to support Sprint's launch of the Xohm service later this year in those two metro areas.

With the testing done, "this means that a WiMAX-certified device should work flawlessly on the WiMAX network once commercial service happens later in the year," Mr. Polivka said.

Sprint's Xohm business unit focuses on developing the WiMAX ecosystem and standards to introduce new broadband wireless technology nationwide, the company said.

The new technology will also generate "opportunity for new [mobile] devices, which will provide Internet access on-the-go and an enhanced user experience," Mr. Polivka said.

"On top of all this is the opportunity for social networking and user-generated content," he said.