In a recent interview, I posed some questions to Barry West,...

In a recent interview, I posed some questions to Barry West, Sprint Nextel's chief technology officer

Imagine having a little smart phone that you don't have to buy a cell phone plan for -- and you can just use Skype? What would that mean for Sprint's new XOHM network? Could it handle all that voice and video traffic? (You can do video chats via Skype, too.)

So West talked a little about how Sprint will manage high-bandwith users, and how the network they've built will emphasize dedicating their resources to making sure that video and audio is transmitted clearly. But, there's a little catch. If high-bandwith users (i.e. Skype, the company) want their applications to run super-smooth, they might need to pay Sprint a little bit more money to guarantee limited interruptions. Of course, many companies will end up passing such costs on down to the consumer.