Save possibly for Sprint, no one's pushing
WiMAX harder in the US than
Clearwire -- but the commitment doesn't run as deep as you might think. Investing billions in a 4G network that goes brashly against the popular
LTE grain is a huge gamble since Clearwire and its partners won't be able to throw as much weight around with manufacturers or achieve the same economies of scale that LTE carriers will, but these guys were smart: CEO Bill Morrow claims that the company has unprecedented flexibility built into its infrastructure, and he's willing to switch gears if LTE or something else ends up burying WiMAX down the road. Boasting that "we're the only carrier that can do this," Morrow says that a move to LTE would be a simple software upgrade for much of its equipment, meaning Clearwire could almost literally change technologies overnight and with minimum expense -- we're sure it'd still put a strain on the bank, but it theoretically wouldn't be as ambitious as changing from CDMA 1X to GSM, for example. Of course, the company's still got all its eggs in one basket for the moment with a clear commitment to WiMAX -- but from a shareholder perspective, it's at least good to know that it's easy to move the eggs.
posted September 16th 2009 6:33PM
well if they might be preparing to switch some day, then why not just do it now and get it over with?
That's pretty much what I was coming to post. Why even bother starting another format war (if that's where this could possibly head)?
Options, people. If the mass ask for 4g speeds, they're ahead if not back to the normal.
then that means LTE is gonna have a more predictable future.
Well, bc WIMAX was ready before LTE was. Clearwire found plenty of partners to help it expand (Time Warner, Google, Sprint, etc.) so why not launch?
If this is true, then they got the WIMAXers to bankroll their possible LTE expansion... sounds kind of brilliant to me.
I wonder if WIMAX end-user devices also have the ability to switch to LTE with just a software update?
Or will Sprint be left holding the bag???
Sprint is actually testing LTE equipment too. I think both are prepared to switch if there aren't enough compelling Wimax devices by next year.
Sprint moved its 4G assets and spectrum to Clearwire and owns 51% of Clearwire. So Sprint is fully able to take advantage of any change in technological direction that Clearwire may decide on.
like the logo
=)
I don't care as long as it's fast
If you call 3-4mbps downloads speeds fast. It's not bad here in Baltimore, but I only seem to get a 4-5mb speed limit. It seems there is a blurb in their install schedule that they are coming back in December for some sort of another upgrade. Woot.
No one cares.
Won't any customers who purchased a WiMax device be instantly dead if they switch "overnight" to LTE?
Makes me want to go out and sign up with them...
Exactly! While the network might be flexible, the chip in the users device is most certainly not. So, if they want to make that switch, better do it quick.
True but since they're basically the ISP and ISPs usually supply the connection hardware they'd just have to eat the cost of either a new firmware for the receiving hardware (if upgradable) or the cost of replacing the device.
I suppose if you bought a particularly fancy WiMax device from someone else other than clearwire you'd be up the creek but how it always is in format wars.
I don't think you should bank on WiMax losing just yet though, and the two formats are similar enough that it's fairly easy to have hardware on both ends that'll support both.
And they will most likely offer an opt out of contract or a huge discount to upgrade. Either way you get a newer device.
I have to be honest.. Clearwire? Like who is this? I don't know.
Hm, a software update- like updating EV-DO Rev 0 to EV-DO Rev A, then?
But if one just updates the software, presumably the WiMAX devices out there will all lose the ability to connect, which is not the case with an EV-DO update... unless I'm understanding this wrong?
This is really useless.
"Clearwire and its partners won't be able to throw as much weight around with manufacturers or achieve the same economies of scale that LTE carriers will"
Well said Chris. I find it amazing that they still want to go down the wimax road considering the above statement, I mean wouldn't something that obvious be a major concern for any CEO? Isn't running a business all about economies of scale and achieving greater profits?
Granted, switching would hit at their immediate profits but wouldn't it make sense for the long term future of the company to do it sooner rather than later?
Seems like they're only sticking with wimax because of the their existing investment in it.
Sprint LTE!
Please try and think about LTE and wimax more as 802.11 standards than existing cellular standards as they more closely resemble wi-fi than cell towers in their mode of data transmission they both use orthogonal frequency division multiplexing access as to transmit data. WiMax is actually the IEEE standard 802.16; LTE is built off of the same technology(actually lucent uses the same exact chipsets for both techs) but LTE is proprietary, like when a specific brand creates a router/receiver combo that more faster together. Basically from a consumer standpoint all this means is that WiMax and LTE devises will do pretty much the same thing at similar speeds, WiMax will get speed updates as the IEEE ratifies new standards. While with LTE, the carriers can pick and choose when to make upgrades. Cost-wise since LTE is proprietary it will likely cost more to the consumer more for devices.
This doesn't sound so bad. They offer a great mobile service now, and in the likely future when the more dominant LTE networks emerge victorious, Clearwire will still be able to stick around. Costs are indeed going to be an issue, but if they can do it, I say go for it. Amazing that as soon as I left Sprint for the iPhone that they got their sorry act together and are now rebounding, along with their business partners, to become the best carrier in the US. The Pre, Hero, and Touch2 are set up on arguably one of the most reliable services in the country with very competitive pricing. And 4G handsets are in the pipeline too, if we're to believe Mr. Hesse. Man the tech industry is getting so interesting these days. It's exciting! Heh.
It sounds like they are married, but in a state with no-fault divorce.
HD-DVD is envious.
Although WiMAX is somewhat new in the US, it is widely used in other places like Africa. I am sure if Clearwire partners with or even buys out other foreign operators, they may be able drive the cost down even further. A lack of available WiMAX devices is a little depressing though.
I live in Portland, OR. Clearwire choose to roll out WiMax here about 3 months ago. Awful. Simply Awful. I work in a UPS store and all their returns are handled through UPS. We see approximately 5 to 10 people returning and cancelling every week. There technical support isn't very technical and their sales people are lying through their teeth. The tech support guys told one customer to climb on his roof with his laptop to see if he get signal. In a city that has rain so many days out of the year what good is it going to do him if he has to be on his roof to use it.
It might be a smarter decision to adopt WindowsME beta as your primary operating system.
Interesting read consider people have been carrying about how great Wimax is. Wimax needs to be dumped. The ultra slow rollout seems to indicate they are having second thuoghts.
Oh silly WSJ, make me do a google search with the article title to read for free
The technical difference between WiMAX and LTE is that WiMAX uses TDD and LTE is going to be FDD. In TDD setup forward and reverse link radios use the same frequency, ping-pong over the air, and the TDD spectrum is in one block. In FDD setup the tower and the subscriber radios are on different blocks of spectrum and can transmit continuously.
Sprint, Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile all have FDD spectrum so they can deploy only LTE. Clearwire spectrum is one large block so use of TDD is more practical. That is why the operators have ended up with what they have, there didn't have much choice.
hobotech: "The technical difference between WiMAX and LTE is that WiMAX uses TDD and LTE is going to be FDD."
Uh, you're misinformed. Both specs have FDD and TDD built in. It is up to the individual carrier to choose how it operates its network. Spectrum is hard to come by so if they have paired bandwidths, then most likely they'll use FDD. However, that doesn't preclude them from going the TDD route.
WiMax was conceived as a peer-to-peer system, a successor to WiFi, and TDD is essential for peer-to-peer. However, it has big problems for a wide-area network due to anomalous propagation effects causing long-delayed echos. FDD is essential for wide area systems where you do not want powerful base station transmitters interfering with other base stations' receivers. One Wimax system has already failed technically and been abandoned. Other WiMax systems e.g. Baltimore operate pretty well, but only because they are isolated, underloaded and nobody else around has deployed anything to interfere with it.. If Wimax was used universally all over a continent, it would be about as useful as Citizens Band..
Both WiMax and LTE can use either TDD or FDD however. But, Clearwire's claim that it is just a software change to upgrade from WiMax to LTE is pure marketing BS. They must be real nervous. There wouldn't be a computer, plug, socket, wire or antenna left from Wimax after they switched out to LTE.
I bet that when the CEO asked the CTO if such a change was possible, the CTO knew in his gut he had to answer "yes" or be fired.
Sure they can change the software - but the software runs on different hardware, so they will have to change the hardware too, and FDD hardware uses different antennas and cell plans, not to mention that all those subscribers who bought WiMax terminals will suddenly find they have gone the way of DAMPS and the Tandy Color Computer, and they will have to switch to LTE terminals.
I hope the CEO means that software upgrade is from UMTS to LTE and not WiMax to LTE. As far as i know WiMax to LTE s/w upgrade is not a "overnightly" affair.