Comcast Xohm Deal Not Happening?Expected cable investment announcement never arrives 11:38AM Wednesday Apr 02 2008 by Karl Bodetags: competition · business · wireless · cable · Comcast · RoadRunner Cable · Sprint Broadband DirectThe Wall Street Journal last week broke the news that Comcast and Time Warner Cable could invest billions in Sprint's Xohm WiMax service, set to launch this Spring. It was expected that Sprint CEO Dan Hesse would announce the deal at the CTIA show this week in Las Vegas, but that announcement never came. With no announcement, companies like Verizon quickly pounced on the opportunity to claim Xohm would be vaporware, something Sprint's CEO disputed: "I don't think we're going to see WiMax," Verizon Vice President Thomas Sawanobori said. "The performance of the technologies is similar, but there's better pricing and a better vendor ecosystem for LTE."..."WiMax is not 'slide-ware,' " Hesse said, using the tech industry put-down for hyped plans that fail to materialize. Xohm is supposed to launch in DC, Baltimore and Chicago very soon, but Sprint's rocky financial condition means they need additional partners to build out the network. Companies like Google & Intel are already on board, but Comcast alone was expected to contribute $1.5 billion to the project. Sprint is showcasing a number of Xohm connected devices at the CTIA this week, including Nokia's N810 Internet tablet.
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 patcat88
join:2002-04-05
Jamaica, NY
| its dead Its been delayed nearly a year. No leaked reports of it working from employees. No soft launch. No progress. I doubt the equipment is installed in more than a handful of towers, and its only turned on for experiments/testing by engineers. I think Sprint will cancel Xohm and just amortize the hell out of their EVDO network, and sit on their 2.3/2.5 ghz spectrum for a few years and sell it to a enterprise ISP for Point2Point business grade microwave links or to Google or Skype or another media company, and their AWS spectrum, will be sold to the cable companies, and eventually to T-mobile or Cricket or MetroPCS eventually, since those 3 dont compete with cable (Verizon and AT&T won't buy it from the cable companies) and will have existing AWS networks running and they could use the spectrum. | |
|  | ydoucare
join:2003-03-12
Rensselaer, IN
edit:
April 2nd, @08:44PM
| Re: its dead I thought there were already a certain number of employees testing it, in Chicago anyways. Motorola has demo'd it in Chicago also. | |
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BillRoland
Premium
join:2001-01-21
Ocala, FL
clubs:
 ·Cox HSI
| Cable needs a better partner than Sprint I'm not sure why Comcast or Time Warner would invest anything in Sprint Xohm anyway. If you're going to be dropping that kind of cash, why not just build your own?
Its really hard for me to see how Xohm is going to help MSO's. I think Cox took the right approach in buying their own spectrum and based on where they bought, it seems pretty clear they're intending to build out a wireless network that covers their existing markets, probably to offer mobile broadband service.
If Comcast or Time Warner invest in a failing company such as Sprint, what is going to happen is clear as day: when the well starts running dry, Sprint will come back like Oliver, asking for more.
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"Don't steal. The government hates competition." | |
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RadioDoc
Sortofadog
Premium,ExMod 2000-03
join:2000-05-11
Chicago, IL
 ·AT&T Midwest
| Re: Cable needs a better partner than Sprint said by BillRoland  :If Comcast or Time Warner invest in a failing company such as Sprint, what is going to happen is clear as day: when the well starts running dry, Sprint will come back like Oliver, asking for more. Or maybe the idea was to get into the will as a creditor so when Sprint passes through the grail they'd inherit the spectrum and technology. Considering Comcast's stock performance of late, though, whatever plan they had concerning XOhm probably now lives in a deleted spreadsheet row...
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Toolmaster of La Grange. | |
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ureihcim
Freshly made
join:2007-12-16
Miami, FL
| . I keep on laughing on how when the media talks bad about Sprint it seems that crap has hit the fan at HQ.
Please, Hesse is fixing all the trash the previous CEO was not doing, with a powerful EVDO network, and strong customers on both Nextel and Sprint side, Sprint-Nextel has two networks to hold and serve customers.
WiMAX will be deployed, and other companies are starting to show their WiMAX enabled products, meaning that they know and have a clue of what is going on which clearly the news does not know about.
Sure WiMAX has been boasted plenty of times, but stuff like this does not happen in a month, it takes years to develop, engineer, and deploy. The only reason why EVDO was a fast roll out because it did not require a whole new layout and instead a simply upgrade of hardware on the towers instead with the same capabilities only faster data rates.
WiMAX has different distances, ranges, and speeds. It takes months to actually position towers and find the right locations and the right amount of coverage because all area's are different which is why you have road rangers driving all over the city checking coverages and fixing holes.
Stuck on the instant satisfaction BS will get you know where, and I bet it will be the same with LTE, and it will take them months to maybe a year or two to actually deploy and start selling it.
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michieru.ath.cx | |
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en102
Canadian, eh?
join:2001-01-26
Valencia, CA
·DSL EXTREME
·DSL EXTREME
| Re: . said by ureihcim : with a powerful EVDO network, and strong customers on both Nextel and Sprint side, Sprint-Nextel has two networks to hold and serve customers. Sounds like someone works for Sprint/Nextel. iDEN customers have been leaving.
Soon, Sprint will have 3 networks.. and hopefully some customers to pay for it all.
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Canada = Hollywood North | |
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RadioDoc
Sortofadog
Premium,ExMod 2000-03
join:2000-05-11
Chicago, IL | Re: . When the CEO has to appear in commercials and make promises the company hasn't ever kept in it's entire history, it's over.
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Toolmaster of La Grange. | |
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Jim Gurd
Sorry Roger, you tiger now.
Premium
join:2000-07-08
Plymouth, MI
·Comcast
| Re: . said by RadioDoc :When the CEO has to appear in commercials and make promises the company hasn't ever kept in it's entire history, it's over. I don't know about that. It worked for Lee Iacocca back in the 1980s at Chrysler.
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Calling an illegal alien an undocumented worker is like calling a crack dealer an unlicensed pharmacist. | |
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RadioDoc
Sortofadog
Premium,ExMod 2000-03
join:2000-05-11
Chicago, IL | Re: . Hmmm...well. They certainly are doing fine now... 
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Toolmaster of La Grange. | |
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ureihcim
Freshly made
join:2007-12-16
Miami, FL
| I could say the same thing about you, but for their competitors. Don't be so quick to judge, I will tell you that right now, because it's that kind of trash that simply leaves the front page looking like garbage.
If you don't agree with my opinion that's fine but don't go labeling people you don't even know. I won't give up my faith in this company because I can see what they are trying to achieve.
If the company goes off and tanks, oh well at least they tried at the cost of billions of dollars, and maybe some new guy will try to achieve something they cannot. It's not the first time I have seen a company operating hardware that is not bridged between other technologies, and it costs billions of dollars to bring something into the market and make it work. All this thrashing about a certain company simply stiffens innovation and competition in the market place, the same thing you idiots want so bad. Without Nextel and it's superior PTT radio service, Verizon would not of been trying to make something similar to deploy on their network, and AT&T would not of been trying the same.
Hesse gives me a good vibe, and the company is undergoing a downward spiral, but I think he has the power to reverse that and set it back on track.
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michieru.ath.cx | |
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en102
Canadian, eh?
join:2001-01-26
Valencia, CA
·DSL EXTREME
·DSL EXTREME
edit:
April 2nd, @07:53PM
| Re: . I don't work for, sell or support any telco or wireless corporation. I'm just saying it as I see it... as a current customer (Nextel) and potential investor. As a corporate Nextel subscriber, the network is not the greatest.
All I want is:
1. Good service
2. Good customer service
3. Good price.
The only data I use is email on my BB 7100i. If people think I'm biased against Sprint.. you should see what I have to say about Verizon and Verizon Wireless - I'd rather use smoke signals. Likewise, AT&T is not the greatest thing since sliced bread.
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Canada = Hollywood North | |
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ureihcim
Freshly made
join:2007-12-16
Miami, FL
| Re: . If you look at the background information you will notice that Sprint has to buyout many of it's vendors. Sprint was originally a whole bunch of affiliates working together to provide service. They never really had the coverage they claimed until now. Nextel also has been affected by iPCS as they are the last standing affiliate which is giving them problems.
But to buyout over 20 affiliates that sell and ran Sprint and Nextel towers, it's a massive undertaking and the benefits are just now starting to slowly show up. Things will come as time rolls by, but that's why Hesse is here.
The only difference is that I support Sprint for their efforts, that is all I am just glad you also understand part of the situation as well, and I can understand what you are going through as a prior Nextel customer and now Sprint customer. | |
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en102
Canadian, eh?
join:2001-01-26
Valencia, CA
·DSL EXTREME
·DSL EXTREME
| Re: . There have been many mergers and purchases by most telecoms in the last 10 years... AT&T Corp even lost its shirt (AT&T Broadband, AT&T Wireless, all separate companies sold off to Comcast and SBC) SBC had PacBell, Ameritech, SWBell, Bell South, etc... all the baby bells put back together 
Sprint parted ways with Embarq, which was good.
The only one that strikes me as a bit unique.. is T-Mobile. Hasn't partered much with anyone, hasn't grown as much either, and yet, hasn't P.O.'d as many customers as the above carriers... still top rated by consumers. Who knows... when my contracts are up, I may go to T-Mobile.
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Canada = Hollywood North | |
| | | | | | | EPS
join:2008-02-13
Hingham, MA | Re: . T-Mobile bought up a bunch of regional PCS operator when it was VoiceStream (itself a regional PCS operator)- they also bought a carrier in the Carolinas recently, didn't they? | |
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en102
Canadian, eh?
join:2001-01-26
Valencia, CA
·DSL EXTREME
·DSL EXTREME
| Re: . I think they recently bought Suncomm. What I'm trying to get at, is that T-Mobile has typically not rippled the waters with its customers. The only thing against T-Mobile is its limited coverage, and lack of 3G.
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Canada = Hollywood North | |
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fuel jocky
@spcsdns.net
| Having fueled generators for both Verizon and Sprint during outages in Washington and Oregon I can tell you Tmobile rarely had generators at its sites during that time. Verizon has a bunch of fixed generators and Sprint had mobile ones deployed. Tmobile with none is a bad mark in my book. | |
| | | | | | | | evoxfan
Waiting On Dsl Or Cable
join:2004-02-12
Daleville, AL
 ·Sprint Mobile Broa..
| Re: . That differs from market to market. Here, T-mobile has a permanent generator sitting at every site, so does Verizon. Sprint only has two.
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WinXP_Home SP2, 1.8GHz P4, 512DDR, DW7000, SatMex5, 1090MHz, RSL~87, WRT54G v5.0, WGPS606 Printer Server. | |
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