Iyad Tarazi, Sprint Nextel's (NYSE:S) vice president of network development and engineering, said the next phase of the carrier's Network Vision network modernization plan involves integrating small cells and Wi-Fi to create a seamless connection for users. In comments to FierceBroadbandWireless, Tarazi said Sprint's Network Vision 2.0 will integrate the carrier's CDMA network and its LTE networks at 1900 MHz and 800 MHz with picocells, femtocells and Wi-Fi. Specifically, Sprint is ramping up an LTE picocell deployment strategy with an initial focus on indoor deployments followed by outdoor deployments in 2013-2014. Alcatel-Lucent's (NASDAQ: ALU) lightRadio metrocell architecture and Samsung's small cell gear will play a role. Tarazi discusses Sprint's overall HetNet strategy in this Hot Seat.
