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Sprint, Clearwire Renew Talks
Seek WiMax funding from Google, Intel & Best Buy

Last November Sprint scrapped a deal with Clearwire that would have seen the two companies splitting the build cost of a nationwide WiMax broadband network 65/35, while allowing users to easily roam between the two networks. According to Sprint at the time, the two companies couldn't agree to terms -- though rumors started to surface shortly thereafter that the two companies would resume talks in 2008.

Those rumors were apparently true, according to the Wall Street Journal (see non-registration Reuters report as well). The renewed talks aim to bring in outside funding from the likes of Intel, Google and Best Buy. This comes on the heels of a report last week that stated Sprint could not effectively compete in the WiMax market without additional funding.

As expected, the plan would probably involve spinning off Xohm from Sprint -- but it could also involve merging that spun-off company with Clearwire. If Google actually bids to win in the ongoing 700Mhz spectrum auction, it could potentially hand over the building of any new networks to the new, well-funded partnership.
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xenophon
join:2007-09-17

3 edits

xenophon

Member

WiMAX needs to happen in US whoever owns it

WiMAX really needs to happen in the US no matter who builds it. I could see Sprint splitting off Xohm, partly owned by Google/Intel and maybe Comcast with Sprint/Clearwire still owning their portion of the spectrum.

There's a much greater chance of ubiquity of consumer devices having WiMAX than LTE. LTE will likely be limited to mostly cellphones and laptop cards or devices that need carrier involvement. WiMAX device makers don't need to be involved with the carrier and simply need to drop in a chipset in compliance, and therefore it will be easy to get cameras, gps, MP3 players with WiMAX. WiMAX ISPs don't need to know what device is on the network, as WiFi ISPs don't care. LTE carriers will want control and won't be as open or consumer friendly.

And Sprint/Clearwire have about 100mhz spectrum per market while the LTE carriers will be lucky to find 20mhz nationwide per market.

Jerm
join:2000-04-10
Richland, WA
·Ziply Fiber

Jerm

Member

Re: WiMAX needs to happen in US whoever owns it

Oh Clearwire...

I wouldn't wish them on my worst enemy. What a sub-par alternative to true broadband.

If you're a Grandma that just wants to browse your email, then Clearwire might work for you.

Don't believe me? Just check the reviews.

NOYB
St. John 3.16
Premium Member
join:2005-12-15
Forest Grove, OR

NOYB

Premium Member

Re: WiMAX needs to happen in US whoever owns it

said by Jerm:

Oh Clearwire...

I wouldn't wish them on my worst enemy. What a sub-par alternative to true broadband.

If you're a Grandma that just wants to browse your email, then Clearwire might work for you.

Don't believe me? Just check the reviews.

Don't tell WarmCoke, (s)he is enjoying a fantasy.

»[General] Should I get Clearwire? I live in the country
xenophon
join:2007-09-17

xenophon to Jerm

Member

to Jerm
said by Jerm:

Oh Clearwire...

If you're a Grandma that just wants to browse your email, then Clearwire might work for you.

Don't believe me? Just check the reviews.
Clearwire is currently using a pre-WiMAX version. They'll be upgrading to 802.16e, same Sprint is using. Sprint is marketing WiMAX at 2-4Mbps but testers in Chicago are getting over 6, granted there aren't a lot of users on the towers yet. The devices themselves are capable of 15Mbps but Sprint probably won't give you that much for a while.

en102
Canadian, eh?
join:2001-01-26
Valencia, CA

en102 to xenophon

Member

to xenophon
Sprint needs to sell it off so that it can get out of the deathgrip of Sprint. Sprint could use the cash for proper restructuring.
I agree that Sprint/Clearwire have a great deal of spectrum/market... I just hope that Sprint has enough cash flow to do a deployment properly.
xenophon
join:2007-09-17

xenophon

Member

Re: WiMAX needs to happen in US whoever owns it

said by en102:

spectrum/market... I just hope that Sprint has enough cash flow to do a deployment properly.
Sprint probably doesn't have enough cash now to do it, especially with major drop in value, which is exactly why they are seeking outside investors.

I suspect they'll find the funding in some way, but it might delay the full rollout 6 months to a year. There are too many players already committed to WiMAX for this not to happen.. Intel, Motorola, Cisco and other worldwide players. India is already in the works to rollout WiMAX to 200m pops. Japan will likely have WiMAX and emerging markets that don't have wired infrastructure.

S_engineer
Premium Member
join:2007-05-16
Chicago, IL

S_engineer

Premium Member

Best Buys not going to want it...

with all of the predictions of a turbulent financial future ahead. However....some genius in their board room is think right now...."if we have WiMax...and have the Geek Squad deploy it.. "...geez
kaila
join:2000-10-11
Lincolnshire, IL

kaila

Member

I don't care how the actual service turns out....

So long as it's done. The village I live in was told by AT&T that Sprint's entrance into the WiMax space would finally get them (AT&T) to deploy DSL here (middle of Chicago suburbia)- albiet with a 2012 timetable. They apparently hate Sprint/Clearwire/WiMax? more than Comcast who has been served broadband here for 10 years (Excite->ATTbi->Comcast).

sunnyhenry
@sbcglobal.net

sunnyhenry

Anon

wimax

wimax protocol IEEE802.16m military
If this had been an actual state of emergency we would not be able to communicate. I would call that per-emption, or they could call it call-prioritization and it includes wifi, all cell phone and lte.
www.cs.wustl.edu/~jain/wimax/ftp/16m0706.pdf

I rather like IEEE802.16j were you may have a relay station in your office I think this would be a better economic model
being 1/3 cheaper to deploy and offering better coverage and has been called LTE
xenophon
join:2007-09-17

1 edit

xenophon

Member

Re: wimax

802.16m WiMAX coming around 2010 is spec'd to go to 1Gbps with fixed LOS and 100Mbps mobile. It needs about 100Mhz spectrum to do that and Sprint is the only carrier with that much to pull it off, but they'll probably just do it for backhaul between WiMAX sites and cellsites.

No matter how you slice it, WiMAX is way way ahead of LTE and is far more consumer friendly than LTE. If you favor LTE, you must work for a carrier.

»arstechnica.com/news.ars ··· 897.html
flyingjoey
join:2005-11-07
Jersey City, NJ

flyingjoey

Member

2 cents

While visiting the Dominican Republic last week, I found myself needing online access. Well, a cousin of mine who is based in Santo Domingo handed me this strange looking device which I thought was some kind of wireless router. Well to make a long story short it was a WiMax device.

It had an RJ-45 and RJ-11 port in the back. I plugged its power supply into a power outlet, pulled out an ethernet cable plugged the other end into the back of my laptop and bam I was online at 1.5mb. So it’s not my 20/5 connection that I have at home, but the darned thing worked, and it worked well, furthermore I plugged in the hotel’s phone into the back of the device and I was making phone calls back to the states at the rate of 3 pennies a minute. So… 3 cents at minute versus US$2.50 a min on my cell phone (Do the math).

WiMax is in its infancy obviously we can’t expect FIOS like speeds on the darned thing, but in time, who knows… it may be a viable solution. I wouldn’t mind having the ability to “Bring” my internet connection with me when I travel.

Now, what will make XOHM a really attractive product would be the ability to fall back to EVDO Rev. A (or B) and in those desperate moments 1X. For sure, I’d pay for something like that.

wimaxed
@rr.com

wimaxed

Anon

Sprint good move if ....

If WiMAX is going to be a successful technology I think it was a very smart move on Sprint's part to go on the WiMAX path.

--- »www.wimaxed.com
tony1230
join:2008-01-30
Concord, CA

tony1230

Member

Sprint, Clearwire Renew Talks

Xenophone has the right idea. We need this ubiquitious WIMAX network now. This will be the path to true IPTV that could liberate us all from having to have cable, satellite, or landlines. The choice should be ours. If people choose cable or satellite, great. It needs to be our choice. This is the only real front against the TELCO/CABLE duopoly.
It has to fairly priced, and net neutral in order to survive. Most of us have a mix of media we don't really want, or can't afford. WIMAX will liberate us if it done correctly, and provides true competition.
neofast
join:2004-09-13
Weston, OR

neofast

Member

Re: Sprint, Clearwire Renew Talks

said by tony1230:

Xenophone has the right idea. We need this ubiquitious WIMAX network now. This will be the path to true IPTV that could liberate us all from having to have cable, satellite, or landlines. The choice should be ours. If people choose cable or satellite, great. It needs to be our choice. This is the only real front against the TELCO/CABLE duopoly.
It has to fairly priced, and net neutral in order to survive. Most of us have a mix of media we don't really want, or can't afford. WIMAX will liberate us if it done correctly, and provides true competition.
It even leaps tall buildings in a single bound.

Sheesh, WiMax is hype. I'm in the wireless business myself, and WiMax will NOT 'save' us from anything. It isn't anything but a minor evolutionary step upwards in wireless network systems. It is not REVOLUTIONARY in any sense of the word.
xenophon
join:2007-09-17

xenophon

Member

Re: Sprint, Clearwire Renew Talks

said by neofast:

It is not REVOLUTIONARY in any sense of the word.
Nobody said it was, but WiMAX is far better than WiFi in technology and has a much better open business model than carrier-based services like EVDO/HSPA/LTE.

Of all possible wireless technologies available in the future, WiMAX has the most potential to be consumer friendly like WiFi yet have broader coverage than WiFi.

Like WiFi, it's also the only one likely to be easily installed on any kind of consumer device.. mp3 players, gps devices, dvd players, anything that can benefit being on the Net. Which other wireless tech has a chance to do that? I can't think of any other option. Certainly not LTE.
jay_rm
join:2002-04-12
Netville

jay_rm to neofast

Member

to neofast
said by neofast:

It even leaps tall buildings in a single bound.

Sheesh, WiMax is hype. I'm in the wireless business myself
..by chance working for one of the incumbent carriers likely to be affected by the roll-out of WiMAX ??

Look, I've seen these OFDM systems perform well from day one - even BEFORE there was such a name as "WiMAX". They've been operating in several large markets for years. If the SYSTEM is engineered and sited properly, it works very well !
DemonChicken
join:2006-10-15
Boon, MI

DemonChicken

Member

Please God

Let WiMax overthrow EVDO, EVDO is so bad, it makes me crazy, disconnecting every 30 minutes to 2 hours, can't play games, its all around not good, the fact that I'm paying $60 a month for this service is horrid. I hope charter comes out here soon, or I might lose my mind.

Problem is, we can't do WiMax fully until we have the Spectrum freed up, maybe move in with my friend? Comon charter!
xenophon
join:2007-09-17

xenophon

Member

Re: Please God

EVDO works great for many. I dumped my cable modem for EVDO and have no issues. But it's not for everyone as some may not have decent signal. Sprint's EVDO is rated highly on this board and evdoforums.com

But I'd rather have WiMAX as EVDO isn't quite there yet.

ispjournalist
@pacbell.net

ispjournalist

Anon

best buy: ISP of the future?

Imagine the best features of ClearWire and Speakeasy united. Of course, whether that's how it'll actually play out -- that I don't know.