Microsoft submitted a filing to the FCC this week that suggests the development of a broadband-enabled Zune phone. The original Zune music player offers Wi-Fi, but users complained the functionality was painfully crippled. The filing says the intended use of the new device is "consumer broadband access and networking" utilizing OFDM. While Microsoft could simply be beefing up the Zune's wireless capabilities, some suggest sexier ideas are afoot.

Crunch Gear speculates that because Sprint is planning a WiMax network utilizing OFDM, it could mean a Sprint/Microsoft partnership. However, Clearwire's WiMax service also uses OFDM, as do some Wi-Fi networks.

The website quotes an anonymous source that says the new Zune phone is supposed to hit the street a full month before the iPhone launch. That doesn't mesh timeline wise, since Sprint's WiMax network won't even be commercially available until 2008 -- and even then only in limited markets.

"Our source says that an iPhone competitor has been in the works for a while, and the idea of branding it as part of the Zune ecosystem, from the brown color through the interface, came as a recent decision as a response to Apple’s iPhone. The source didn’t go into details about features, as they don’t know specifics—they’re not yet all finalized. But there is one thing our source says will not only separate it from other music phones, but from iPhone as well."

That would be some beefy broadband connectivity, of course. The Apple iPhone's primary failing is that it's only running over Cingular's AT&T's clunky EDGE network, though we'll assume HSDPA varieties will be inevitable during the life cycle of the five year exclusive deal.