Sprint this week said it will use network access control technology from Bridgewater Systems to control access to its planned Xohm WiMAX network.

Bridgewater provides so-called authentication, authorization and accounting (AAA) services for Sprint’s existing CDMA network; the new deal will extend the solution to Xohm. The security controls will be particularly important for the WiMAX-based network, which, at least in theory, is offering more open network access.

In addition to providing basic network access control functions, Bridgewater’s technology will help enable over-the-air provisioning of new devices, subscribers and services.

Bridgewater’s AAA Service Controller features a common policy and subscriber profile repository that can simultaneously serve multiple access networks, giving service providers a unified view of their wireless subscribers. Sprint will use the security platform to concurrently support both its 3G and 4G networks from a common infrastructure.

Leveraging Bridgewater for both Sprint’s existing CDMA and upcoming WiMAX networks is “extremely cost-beneficial,” Douglas Smith, chief technical operations officer at Sprint Nextel, said in a statement.

Bridgewater said it has been selected by nine WiMAX operators to provide a range of service control solutions. Its AAA Service Controller is compliant with the WiMAX Forum’s Network Working Group Stage 3 specifications. It also features concurrent support for RADIUS and Diameter, as well as broad supplemental authentication protocols such as EAP-TLS and EAP-TTLS.