dslreports logo
 story category
Clearwire Wants to Be The 'Switzerland of Broadband'
Assuming They Don't Utterly Implode First

"We want to be the Switzerland of the broadband industry," Clearwire Chief Financial Officer Hope Cochran told attendees this week during a Goldman Sachs conference. While Cochran apparently means they'll happily work with anyone, it's fairly clear that to some degree Clearwire will be at war with AT&T and Verizon -- while largely partnering with the cable industry, something that's not particularly Switzerland-esque.

Clearwire's bigger issue is trying to remain afloat financially. The already cash-strapped company is looking at another $600 million to convert a significant chunk of their network to LTE, and that's a company estimate industry watchers think will likely soar as the upgrade begins. Cochran did give a little insight on the LTE build:
quote:
For its LTE upgrade, Clearwire isn't necessarily interested in expanding into new markets, Cochran said. Instead, the company said two-thirds of the network would get the upgrade, and they would occur in high-traffic areas. The company is taking a LightSquared-like approach in offering itself as a neutral partner. But unlike LightSquared, which is dealing with concerns over interference with GPS equipment, Clearwire has a network that's up and running.
Some of Clearwire's fortunes will be made more clear early next month when Sprint finally unveils their not-so-secret plan to add LTE to their network mix.
view:
topics flat nest 

AnonNM
@173.226.104.x

AnonNM

Anon

Where before?

Clearwire was once in Albuquerque, New Mexico but failed and went away here.

I hope the best for them.

They need to concentrate on getting customers not installing fancy technology.

tpkatl
join:2009-11-16
Dacula, GA

tpkatl

Member

I'm not sure that Switzerland is the best analogy

Highly overpriced.

Difficult to get in and out of.

Reputation for snobbishness.

Worked closely with some dubious regimes in its history

Far less neutral than their reputation

Highly secretive, even clannish

N3OGH
Yo Soy Col. "Bat" Guano
Premium Member
join:2003-11-11
Philly burbs

1 edit

N3OGH

Premium Member

Re: I'm not sure that Switzerland is the best analogy

First thing popped into my mind.

Why does Clearwire want to launder plundered Nazi gold.....
jjeffeory
jjeffeory
join:2002-12-04
Bloomington, IN

jjeffeory to tpkatl

Member

to tpkatl
What? Have you actually BEEN there? Talk about racist stereotypes!
tpkatl
join:2009-11-16
Dacula, GA

tpkatl

Member

Re: I'm not sure that Switzerland is the best analogy

Yes - 4 times. Have you?

mod_wastrel
anonome
join:2008-03-28

mod_wastrel to tpkatl

Member

to tpkatl
Cheesy?

Full of holes?

(Oops, posted before seeing the post down below.)

kamm
join:2001-02-14
Brooklyn, NY

kamm to tpkatl

Member

to tpkatl
And a truly xenophobic nation, living in a weird, state-run quasi-authoritarian regime which has almost no tolerance for any deviant behavior.

Quite telling that all my Swiss friends went abroad and eventually started their families there and none of them wants to move back.
tmc8080
join:2004-04-24
Brooklyn, NY

tmc8080

Member

new analogy

i perfer to think of overpriced services from clear & other wireless carriers as toilet water, heavily soiled at that.. not quite clear at all

maartena
Elmo
Premium Member
join:2002-05-10
Orange, CA

maartena

Premium Member

Switzerland...

Switzerland is....
- Expensive. To live, to eat, to do anything.
- Claim to be (net)neutral, but really aren't.
- Is surrounded by Big Euro(Telco), and can't live without it. (Nor with it)
- With the problems in the Eurozone, the Swiss economy is failing as well. Swiss franks are no longer a safe currency to deal with.
- Sloooowwww to get from one place to the next because of all the mountain passes you have to take to get from A to B. (And I have driven there, yes)
jjeffeory
jjeffeory
join:2002-12-04
Bloomington, IN

jjeffeory

Member

Re: Switzerland...

- Europe is expensive to live, eat, and do anything compared to the US. This is not unique to Switzerland.
- The world economy is failing. The Swiss frank is doing better than most currencies. As a matter of fact, they recently had to drive their currency down; investors were trying to buy it to hedge against other problem currencies such as the euro and the dollar...
- I don't know, I drove from Strasbourg to Zurich on a pretty big interstate without any problems. It wasn't that slow. Have you ever driven on "rim of the world highway" (CA 18)? Man THAT is slow. Geesh those darned mountains! I guess that means that every road in California is slow going, right?

sk1939
Premium Member
join:2010-10-23
Frederick, MD

sk1939

Premium Member

Re: Switzerland...

CA 18 isn't as slow as Highway 1 at rush hour, nor as dangerous for that matter.
stridr69
join:2003-05-19
San Luis Obispo, CA

1 edit

stridr69

Member

Re: Switzerland...

Highway 1?! Mere child's play to the king of traffic clusterf@#$s!:
101(Bayshore frwy for my NoCal friends)@.....wait for it.....405 intersection in SoCal. Ahhhhh yes, a thing of beauty...even have time to study the articulate way the pavement runs( think with the grain-like wood)while you're waiting for traffic to move. Enjoy the quarter mile view until it all fades to brown.... Check on your neighbors(folks in other cars you actually get to know because your sitting still for soooooo long)...having a friend call you on your cell phone(might as well use it, you ain't moving anyway) saying they see your car on the CalTrans camera....
That's traffic, man!

sk1939
Premium Member
join:2010-10-23
Frederick, MD

sk1939

Premium Member

Re: Switzerland...

That's ridiculous, and also why I stay in NorCal and in the Bay Area for the most part. LA traffic is almost as bad as traffic in DC.
talz13
join:2006-03-15
Avon, OH

talz13

Member

Re: Switzerland...

Just one of the reasons I would never live in one of those places! (Not to mention that I probably couldn't afford it anyway)
ConstantineM
join:2011-09-02
San Jose, CA

ConstantineM

Member

With Swiss cheese coverage?

First thought and association from the title: Swiss cheese coverage. Not sure why they'd actually want to be that. (-:

Metatron2008
You're it
Premium Member
join:2008-09-02
united state

Metatron2008

Premium Member

Great, they already are.

They have perfect swiss cheese coverage.
milkman82
join:2006-06-19
Cleveland, OH

milkman82

Member

Re: Great, they already are.

Damn! I have a huge urge for swiss cheese now!