PORTLAND, Ore.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 6, 2009--Clearwire (NASDAQ:CLWR) today officially transformed Portland into the fastest unwired city in the West, and home to one of the first 4G WiMAX wireless broadband services in the world, called Clear(TM). With Clear, consumers and businesses can access the Internet wirelessly, at true broadband speeds ─ at home, in the office, around the Portland metro area, and on the go. Read More ...

Seems like all the wireless carriers are rushing to claim top dog status for broadband wireless these days. Sprint claims they lead the pack by way of their present day 4G WiMAX service, currently operating in Baltimore, MD. Verizon recently tried to steal some of Sprint’s glory by announcing their 4G LTE plans were ahead of schedule, promising a late 2009 launch. Not to be outdone, here comes AT&T, now claiming both Verizon and Sprint are under manned with broadband wireless due to deficiencies with CDMA technology, thus their need to boast about 4G capabilities. AT&T says they don’t need to rush to 4G, because their 3G GSM technology can hold the tide for now. To prove it, they claim to have achieved a 7.2 Mbps download speed in a recent Chicago test. For comparison sakes, Sprint is currently claiming average download speeds of “2 to 4 Mbps” for their Sprint 4G product. AT&T Mobility spokesman Mark Siegel tells RCR Wireless, “We have some real advantages with our (GSM-based) technology path.” Siegel went on to say “We still have plenty of room left to increase speeds before moving to LTE.”

The race to broadband wireless supremacy is on, and the stakes are quite high. No one can answer definitively yet, but it’s safe to say that a significant number of households will not only cut the cord for wireline voice, but also for wireline broadband as well. With 4G wireless technologies like LTE promising dramatically higher speeds, with 10’s of Mbps of throughput certainly viable, who needs DSL (although I freely admit, no one really knows what happens when hundreds or thousands of customers simultaneously demand that 4G speed in any given cell site). Recent data by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) indicate nearly 18% of households in the United States have no traditional telephone and rely on wireless services only (by the way, is it just me that wonders why the CDC is collecting and reporting on this data?). Combine that growing trend with recent commentary of the Pew Internet Life Project which recently predicted that the mobile phone will be the primary means of Internet connectivity for the majority of the world by 2020, and one can see the motivations behind the broadband wireless bravado. As I’ve discussed before, we’re at the beginning of a broadband land grab and broadband wireless will increasingly grab more communications wallet spend for both consumers and enterprise. With that much at stake, get used to the bravado.

Sprint announced the launch of a dual mode USB modem that can access both their 4G WiMAX service and their 3G EVDO Rev. A service. The USB Modem sells for $149.99, with a two year service plan. Customers have to sign up for a $79.99/month service plan to access both networks. Unfortunately for Sprint and its customers, their 4G network is only currently available in Baltimore. But I guess they have to start somewhere. Sprint’s WiMAX partner Clearwire announced a while back that they will also offer dual mode devices, allowing Clear customers to roam onto Sprint’s 3G network. The obvious goal is to provide some form of broadband wireless coverage across a wider footprint, until the better 4G network is completely built out. Sprint claims their 4G service will provide “average downlink speeds of 2-4 Mbps,” while their 3G service provides “average downlink speeds of 600 Kbps - 1.4 Mbps.”

PORTLAND, Ore., Dec 15, 2008 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Clearwire and Intel announced today that they will host a press conference on January 6, 2009, in Portland, Ore., introducing the city to Clear(TM) and the "Let's be Clear" campaign promoting the region's first 4G mobile WiMAX network for next-generation communications services. Read More ...

Clearwire announced the official launch of its new company, having completed the transaction with Sprint Nextel “to combine their next-generation wireless Internet businesses.” Clearwire is also in receipt of the $3.2 billion investment from key partners including Comcast, Google, Intel, Time Warner Cable, and Bright House Networks. “With significant spectrum holdings yielding unmatched network capacity, a next-generation all-IP network, and an open Internet business model, Clearwire will deliver a simple value proposition aimed to improve productivity and make the Internet experience more enjoyable, wherever our customers happen to be,” said Clearwire CEO Ben Wolf in a company statement.

Perhaps the biggest news of the day is the launch of the new brand “Clear.” Clear will replace Sprint’s XOHM brand, and will be marketed as Clearwire’s mobile WiMAX product. Clearwire will still be the official company name and will also be used as the brand in existing “pre-WiMAX” markets. But once those markets migrate over to true mobile WiMAX, the Clear brand will be used. Cable partners including Comcast, Bright House, and Time Warner Cable will be able to brand their mobile WiMAX product as they see fit.

Other news of note from today’s announcement:

• Portland, Oregon is the next Clear market, scheduled to go live in 1Q09
• Clearwire customers will be able to roam onto Sprint’s existing 3G network with Clearwire branded 3G/4G dual mode devices
• Clearwire cable partners have a footprint of 100 million potential homes for a wireless broadband product
• Clearwire intends to have an “open” network, allowing any standards based WiMAX enabled device to roam on to it, regardless of service provider

On a conference call announcing the news, Wolf said Cleawire has the “opportunity to reinvent wireless” and he is not concerned about WiMAX’s looming competitor, LTE. He says they’ll explore all options and won’t rule out embracing LTE if they need to. He also cited precedence in multiple wireless standards being able to co-exist, pointing to the success of CDMA, despite the existence of the more globally dominant GSM standard. “Mobile WiMAX and LTE is not a win or lose proposition,” he said.

With the approval from shareholders now behind them, Clearwire is set to embarq on an historic journey to build a national footprint of 4G mobile Internet in the U.S., potentially creating a new formidable competitor for both wireless and wireline broadband. All regulatory and business structure hurdles have been removed, and Clearwire and Sprint can now combine their WiMAX business units into one. They aim to formally close the transaction by the end of the year. "With an unmatched spectrum portfolio, a next generation all IP network, an ever-expanding ecosystem of mobile 4G devices, and the backing of some of the most innovative communications, entertainment and technology companies in the world, Clearwire is ready to redefine mobile Internet services in the U.S.,” said Benjamin Wolf , CEO of Clearwire, in a company statement.

Now it’s time to perform. Talk is cheap in these competitive times. Clearwire has some huge challenges ahead of them. Building the type of network they aim to do has never been done on a nationwide scale. Among the successes they will surely exploit, there will be bumps in the road, missed expectations, and a huge amount of skepticism to overcome. Are they up to the challenge?

The acquisition news of the day is that AT&T will buy Wayport for $275 million. The move adds 20K U.S. Wi-Fi hotspots to AT&T’s network and access to 80K globally. Wayport Wi-Fi hotspots include McDonalds restaurants, Marriott Vacation Club resorts, and Four Seasons hotels. So why is AT&T so interested in Wi-Fi that they’re dropping a cool quarter of a billion for an expanded Wi-Fi footprint. Here’s my multiple takes – pick one and add your own opinion with the comment feature below:

• Silence the iPhone Whiners - The popularity of the 3G iPhone (2.4 million activations last quarter alone) is overwhelming AT&T’s 3G network, and the iPhone masses are pissed. By expanding their Wi-Fi network, AT&T is hoping to offload more iPhone generated broadband wireless traffic from their 3G network and hopefully quiet the whiners.




• Wi-Fi Is Still “Where It’s At” - Despite all the hype of WiMAX (courtesy of XOHM/Clearwire) and pending 4G networks, Wi-Fi will still be the dominant broadband wireless option for many more moons. There are, oh I don’t know, hundreds of millions of Wi-Fi enabled devices in the marketplace today. Contrast that with the ten or so WiMAX devices, and you can only imagine the amount of time it will take WiMAX and other technologies to catch Wi-Fi. AT&T just became the largest facilities based Wi-Fi operator in the country (and maybe the world).




• AT&T is Pre-Empting Cable - AT&T offers access to its Wi-Fi network for free to its premium broadband, iPhone, and BlackBerry Bold customers. This strategy adds value to AT&T broadband subscriptions. Value that AT&T hopes builds competitive advantage over cable companies, who will soon offer a broadband wireless option of their own.

Open Range Communications of Denver, Colorado recently received a $267 million broadband loan from the USDA’s RUS program for the build out of broadband in 500 rural communities. The loan proceeds were held up until the FCC acted on a request from Open Range’s spectrum partner, Globalstar. Globalstar asked the FCC to allow them to offer Ancillary Terrestrial Component (ATC) services over their existing spectrum holdings. The FCC granted that request, clearing the way for Globalstar and Open Range to offer WiMAX services in those identified rural communities. “We expect our partner [Open Range] to initially deploy infrastructure in more than 500 rural communities with the ability to expand the relationship over the next six years to additional markets covering 50 million people or about 15% of the U.S. population,'' said Jay Monroe, CEO and Chairman of Globalstar in a company statement.

WiMAX continues to empower a variety of telecompetitors in both urban and rural markets. The FCC’s recent approval of the Clearwire-Sprint XOHM venture opens the door to a true national WiMAX provider, with the capability to compete against both wireline and wireless broadband providers. Companies like DigitalBridge and Azulstar are doing the same in smaller and rural markets. Fairpoint also recently announced it intends to use WiMAX in some Northeastern rural markets. In its relatively short life, WiMAX is providing significant competitive fuel for the marketplace.

Fairpoint will provide WiMAX service in its Northeast markets using equipment from Nortel and Airspan. Fairpoint’s WiMAX network will operate in the 3.65 GHz spectrum band and will be used to deliver broadband to customers who are outside the reach of broadband from their recently acquired wired networks in Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine. Nortel claims this network is the largest announced WiMAX network in the 3.65 GHz band. Fairpoint will use WiMAX (802.16d) for fixed purposes, as opposed to mobile WiMAX (802.16e). The 3.65 GHz spectrum band is not widely used in the U.S. yet, but it may prove to be an enabler of competitive broadband services, especially in rural communities.

ASHBURN, Va., Oct. 27 /PRNewswire/ -- DigitalBridge Communications Corp., the largest private provider of WiMAX broadband services in the United States, today announced it has completed raising a total of $16.5 million of senior and subordinated debt along with additional capital from its existing equity investors. These funds provide the company with
significant additional liquidity with which to continue to build the enterprise. Read More ...