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Clearwire Wants to Be The 'Switzerland of Broadband'
Assuming They Don't Utterly Implode First
by Karl Bode Thursday 22-Sep-2011 tags: business · wireless · bandwidth · consumers · wireless
"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:

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.

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Clearwire Wants to Be The 'Switzerland of Broadband'

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AnonNM

@173.226.104.x

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.

permalink · 2011-09-22 09:41:57 · Reply to this ·
tpkatl

join:2009-11-16
Dacula, GA

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
permalink · 2011-09-22 09:47:39 · Reply to this ·

N3OGH
Yo Soy Col. "Bat" Guano
Premium
join:2003-11-11
Philly burbs
kudos:1
1 edit

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.....
--
Petty people are disproportionally corrupted by petty power
permalink · 2011-09-22 10:05:36 · Reply to this ·
jjeffeory

join:2002-12-04
USA
 What? Have you actually BEEN there? Talk about racist stereotypes!
permalink · 2011-09-22 11:38:06 · Reply to this ·
tpkatl

join:2009-11-16
Dacula, GA

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

Yes - 4 times. Have you?
permalink · 2011-09-22 11:54:23 · Reply to this ·

mod_wastrel
iamwhatiam

join:2008-03-28
kudos:1
 Cheesy?

Full of holes?

(Oops, posted before seeing the post down below.)
permalink · 2011-09-22 16:09:21 · Reply to this ·

kamm

join:2001-02-14
Brooklyn, NY
 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.
--
said by bicker:

Waaaa waaaa waaaa. You just want what you want and don't care to factor in what is right or true. Your perspectives are un-American, and deserve far more ridicule than I'm prepared to pile on them.

permalink · 2011-11-01 14:30:30 · Print · Reply to this ·
tmc8080

join:2004-04-24
Brooklyn, NY

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
permalink · 2011-09-22 09:56:33 · Reply to this ·

maartena
Elmo
Premium
join:2002-05-10
Orange, CA
kudos:1

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)
--
"I reject your reality and substitute my own!"
permalink · 2011-09-22 10:32:46 · Print · Reply to this ·
jjeffeory

join:2002-12-04
USA

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?
permalink · 2011-09-22 11:49:27 · Print · Reply to this ·
sk1939
Premium
join:2010-10-23
Washington, DC
kudos:9

Re: Switzerland...

CA 18 isn't as slow as Highway 1 at rush hour, nor as dangerous for that matter.
permalink · 2011-09-22 18:49:56 · Reply to this ·
stridr69

join:2003-05-19
San Luis Obispo, CA
1 edit

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!
permalink · 2011-09-22 20:45:04 · Print · Reply to this ·
sk1939
Premium
join:2010-10-23
Washington, DC
kudos:9

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.
permalink · 2011-09-22 21:15:28 · Reply to this ·
talz13

join:2006-03-15
Avon, OH

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)
permalink · 2011-09-23 07:31:46 · Reply to this ·
ConstantineM

join:2011-09-02
San Jose, CA

With Swiss cheese coverage?

First thought and association from the title: Swiss cheese coverage. Not sure why they'd actually want to be that. (-:
permalink · 2011-09-22 14:05:21 · Reply to this ·

Metatron2008
Premium
join:2008-09-02
Stockbridge, GA

Great, they already are.

They have perfect swiss cheese coverage.
permalink · 2011-09-22 16:45:30 · Reply to this ·
milkman82

join:2006-06-19
Lakewood, OH

Re: Great, they already are.

Damn! I have a huge urge for swiss cheese now!
permalink · 2011-09-22 19:20:04 · Reply to this ·
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