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Some cellular companies are evaluating WiMAX as a means of increasing bandwidth for a variety of data-intensive applications; Sprint Nextel announced in mid-2006 that it would invest about US$ 5 billion in a WiMAX technology buildout over the next few years.[2] As of Friday, November 9, 2007, this project in partnership with Clearwire has been shelved, but the project could be revived with or without Clearwire once Sprint hires a new CEO. On December 5, 2007, Bin Shen, Sprint's VP of Product Management and Partnership Development, announced that Sprint's WiMAX network will go live in a soft launch in Chicago, Baltimore, and Washington DC. Full commercial launch is still expected to be approximately spring of 2008.[3] In line with these possible applications is the technology's ability to serve as a high bandwidth "backhaul" for Internet or cellular phone traffic from remote areas back to an Internet backbone. Although the cost per user/point of WiMAX in a remote application will be higher, it is not limited to such applications, and may be an answer to reducing the cost of T1/E1 backhaul as well. Given the limited wired infrastructure in some developing countries, the costs to install a WiMAX station in conjunction with an existing cellular tower or even as a solitary hub are likely to be small in comparison to developing a wired solution. Areas of low population density and flat terrain are particularly suited to WiMAX and its range. For countries that have skipped wired infrastructure as a result of prohibitive costs and unsympathetic geography, WiMAX can enhance wireless infrastructure in an inexpensive, decentralized, deployment-friendly and effective manner.