Sprint Nextel, the carrier who recently launched their WiMax wireless broadband service in Baltimore, are the latest company to come under criticism for restrictive policy which enables them to limit internet traffic on the service.

Free Press, a net neutrality advocate and public interest group, were the first ones who noticed a clause in the WiMax terms of service by which Sprint reserved the right to limit bandwidth for particularly traffic-intensive users and applications such as file sharing. Ben Scott, policy director at Free Press stated that the group is "very troubled by this development and the larger moves across the wireless industry to limit consumer access to the legal content and services of their choice."

Sprint has retorted that their policy is not aimed at specific individuals or programs, and insists upon the open character of the WiMax network. ”We will not police the Internet or the content our customers access," said Sprint spokesman John Polivka. "We do not shape or modify the delivery of data."

Sprint launched their 4G (fourth generation) wireless internet service yesterday in Baltimore, and will expand to Chicago and Washington by the end of this year, followed by other major U.S. cities. WiMax, which proposes to offer a high-speed alternative to other wireless services, or rather a mobile alternative to cable broadband, are proponents of an “open business model” that does not restrict services and customer choices in any way and contends that their Terms of Service, which say that "To ensure a high-quality experience for its entire subscriber base, Xohm may use various tools and techniques designed to limit the bandwidth available for certain bandwidth-intensive applications or protocols, such as file sharing,” have the sole purpose of avoiding traffic congestion, and ensure that no one customer uses up a disproportionate amount of bandwidth to the detriment of others.

Free Press representatives however doubt the sincerity of Sprint’s claims, and warn customers, pointing out that Sprint are promising unrestricted access while at the same time reserving the right to restrict it.

Sprint are merely the latest in the line of companies to be criticized for limiting customer bandwidth, as only last week T-Mobile got pelted by media and bloggers for imposing a 1GB limit on their “unlimited” data plan for the Google/Android smartphone. T-Mobile has subsequently removed the limit but still reserve the right to limit excessive users.

Back in August, Comcast were ruled against by the Federal Communications Committee, who were enforcing their 2005 open internet principles, which Comcast were violating by using what the FCC called “invasive” network management techniques when they limited customers’ access to BitTorrent and other file sharing applications. The ruling set a powerful precedent, which no doubt will affect future legal decisions, as well as raising public awareness on the matter.