CEO Humm on the iPhone, their very own LTE network, and the new Vibrant 4G

At an investors meeting in New York, T-Mobile USA CEO Philipp Humm and Deutsche Telekom CEO Rene Obermann discussed the company’s future.  Trailing in 4th place behind Verizon, AT&T, and Sprint Nextel, T-Mobile’s sales growth has slowed in recent years and the competition is only getting tougher, with the ever-expanding iPhone and burgeoning of rival 4G networks.

To combat these new challenges and get the company back on its feet, Humm announced a series of bold strategies aiming to bolster sales growth by $3 billion in 2014.  In the short term, T-Mobile hopes to attract Americans about to join the smartphone craze, an estimated 150 million people.  With $10 data plans and $100 phones, the company will offer some of the nation’s most competitive smartphone packages.

T-Mobile missed the iPhone boat and it’s costing them.  Humm explained the company’s seen a 10% churn rate, or loss of business to rival providers, purely because of Apple’s tantalizing device.  Because of technological inequalities, offering the iPhone is just not in the cards for T-Mobile, at least not for a while.  Humm said the company will focus on Android devices, attempting to curb the flow of business to iPhone-friendly providers.

Speaking of Android, T-Mobile also announced that the long-awaited Samsung Vibrant update to Android 2.2 begins rollout January 21st.  Humm explained the holdup was purely technical and T-Mobile has to adjust to a clientele of smartphone owners who expect regular upgrades.  They also officially unveiled the Vibrant 4G, T-Mobile’s third HSPA+ smartphone and expected to reach speeds of up to 21Mbps, unmatched by the company’s current devices.  T-Mobile released no details or specs, but those will surely surface at the Mobile World Congress in mid-February.

To compete with the new 4G networks on the block, T-Mobile plans to soup up their capacity to 42Mbps on HSPA+ by the second half of this year, although it’s uncertain whether devices able to harness those speeds will be as readily available.   But in the long run, T-Mobile will need to switch to true 4G technology.  Although they brand their existing HSPA+ network as 4G, it’s not universally accepted as such.  Humm explained that they’re favoring LTE because the transition will be easier.

T-Mobile plans on selling non-essential assets, like cell towers, to raise capital for an LTE network.  The major hurdle will be finding spectrum.  For that, T-Mobile hopes to partner up with some other company and share the bandwidth.  Obermann made it clear that they were not looking for any large-scale acquisitions at this time.  Clearwire runs a WiMAX network, but it can concurrently sustain both WiMAX and LTE technology, so they’re definitely in the running.  T-Mobile will probably still use the HSPA+ network for voice and keep LTE for data-only, like Verizon’s model.

Will this be too little too late?  T-Mobile’s still playing catch-up and it looks like that strategy won’t change for a few years, at least.  If they’re aiming to pass the heavy hitters ahead of them, namely Verizon, AT&T, and Sprint Nextel, they’ll need some serious competitive advantage and that hasn’t surfaced, at least not yet.

Be sure to tune in to Fox Business at 7:45PM EST to hear Quantum Networks CEO Ari Zoldan speak about hot 4G gift items.

People don’t tend to think of Iraq as a place with a heaping helping of  innovation. The events of the past seven years or so often bring to mind explosions, unrest, and other war-like circumstances that we imagine has left them in a state more reminiscent of the stone age than the modern one. Slowly but surely our perceptions of the fertile crescent nation have emerged from the gutter to see a place where civilization is no myth and progress is a reality, and not just on a socio-political level. Technologically, Iraq is doing their part to keep pace with other emerging nations and at the forefront of that effort is Fanoos Telecom.

The Kurdistan-based carrier boasting “Iraq’s most reliable wireless broadband service” and 250,000 subscribers is going 4G, or more accurately, they’re setting up  a WiMax network to bring their customers what the International Telecommunications Union now considers not-quite-4G. Utilizing Tellabs® SmartCore™ 9160 platform as its chief tool of deployment, the service will offer high performance and interoperability with multiple radio access network vendors. CEO Hiwa Rauf believes this specific equipment set has the ability to help his company “develop a complete network and avoid single vendor lock-in…”   The aim is to “create an interoperable wireless broadband system that’s ready for future expansion,” but  for now they’re concentrating their efforts on focal points in the North, distributing the new network to the cities of Sulaimaniyah, Mosul and Kirkuk. Fanoos hopes to complete their WiMax rollout to those key cities by the end of this year.

When most outsiders think of rural Canada, they envision makeshift hockey rinks and herds of moose canvassing the vast landscape of frozen tundra. Rarely do people imagine the far reaches of Manitoba and desolate-yet-scenic expanses of Nunavut as places where high-speed broadband flourishes for the dispersed masses of the Great White North. The assumption is that while Toronto, Vancouver and Montreal may be modern kinds of towns, the Northwest Territories might as well be no man's land.

Barret Xplore Inc. is doing their best to eliminate that perception, as they've launched Canada's first National 4G Network under the Xplornet brand. The company's CEO, John Maduri, has stated that the network's goal is to provide " fast, robust, affordable broadband to all Canadians, regardless of location." He hopes to bridge the digital divide between Canadians living in more bucolic regions and city-dwellers by offering the latest technology to rural Canadians first so that by 2012, they'll be totally covered in the realm of lightning fast broadband.

The network will utilize both terrestrial and satellite components. The initial terrestrial  roll out is WiMax based and takes advantage of 1200 fixed wireless towers, operating at  speeds over 40 Mbps– eventually reaching 100Mbps by next year. The satellite aspect of the operation will be deployed in two parts. The first satellite will launch in Spring of 2011, with the second to follow a year later. Despite the initial embrace of the 4G WiMax standard, the network remains software-upgradable to future WiMAX incarnations or LTE– depending on which shakes out better for its customers. 

It's time to erase your backwoods impression of the world beyond Banff, because pretty soon the "Rural Alberta Advantage" won't just refer to a talented indie rock band– but to the 4G capabilities of a land once considered barren of broadband access.

Greenpacket, a leading Malaysian wireless equipment developer, announced yesterday it would work in collaboration with Augere Holdings following the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the two wireless companies. The agreement calls for the sharing of knowledge and expertise on a long term basis, a mere exchange of mutual commendation tacked onto the back of their business arrangement.

As part of the pact Augere will be sending USD $7.2 million Greenpacket’s way for the provision of UH Shuttle USB modems, specifically for usage in South Asian regions. Augere already has broadband service operations in the area, but chose to tap into Greenpacket for the quality of their equipment, experience in state-of-the-art technologies and innovative products.

Kelvin Lee, Senior General Manager of Greenpacket, said his company is “…very excited to be partnering with Augere to deliver broadband access in emerging economies.” He further cited the two developers’ “common vision…to realize a future of wireless freedom and broadband for all.” Given the ability of Greenpacket’s “high performance modems” and the harvesting of a mutually beneficial relationship, Lee foresees a near future in which “Augere will be able to provide a fast, game-changing wireless broadband experience to its end users.”

Greenpacket’s Packet One Networks, otherwise known as P1, is a global leading 4G WiMAX provider. They currently rank as one of the top three suppliers of WiMAX modems, the range of which are extensive enough to cater to both emerging and already developed markets.

Generation Y, the youth of the nation, have always been targeted as main consumers and for good reason. We are young, ignorant, and don’t keep our wallets pinched shut. We are more likely than our parents to spend money on the latest technological fads, even with arbitrary phone companies creating TV commercials for the benefit of those under the ancient age of “parenting.” Like, seriously, who uses Cingular anymore? Idk, not my BFF Jill. LOL.

All kidding aside, there is a method to the madness of quirky marketing executives. There is significant money to be made from those that fall within the criteria for Generation Y- born between the mid-1970s to early 2000s. A recent report from the Financial Brand came out discussing the market research statistics of Generation Y, and it paints an entirely different picture than the one the media depicts of our recession. A majority of Generation Yers wouldn’t consider their situation to be “bad”, more than 60% of them don’t think that their financial situation has worsened and 89% of them don’t think that they will be worse off than their parents. That makes them the ideal customer in this unsteady economy.

Clearwire, a WiMAX company, has finally come to terms with their customer base. Most middle-aged people wouldn’t know the first thing about 4G, not that there is anything wrong with that, of course. They are content with the Internet connection that they pay a little bit extra for with their cable service. And it works quite well for most purposes, believe it or not. So, why should they switch now and disturb the relationship they have with their current provider? A few seconds extra spent surfing the web isn’t worth it. These people understand the value of life, not the substitute used these days in terms of social connections found online.

The current generation, however, is much different. We find friends in other countries with just a few clicks. We need to watch that video NOW. G-d forbid we don’t see overnight Internet celebrity Antoine Dodson’s infamous rant within the next minute. We live in the 21st century and we are entitled, aren’t we? The word buffering will soon be just as foreign as music sharing program Napster.

Clearwire has found a way to put money into this sorry phenomenon. They have done research and marketed this group of obnoxious young adults. Clear understands how this newer generation, like most immature individuals, is scared of the word commitment. They get married later, and Clear is sensitive to their lack of responsibility. That’s why, in a press release issued yesterday, they came out with a new product that is “pay-as-you-go 4G mobile broadband service for tech-savvy Gen Y customers.” Yes, this new Rover is “designed for digitally addicted youth who refuse to settle for long-term contracts, overpriced Internet service, or speeds slower than what they’ve become accustomed to at home.”

It may turn out to be a great product; but please, stop talking down to us. This is slightly embarrassing; especially when Clear mentions that “devices signify status.” Vanity isn’t a trait especially designated to any age group; that affects individuals on all ends of the age spectrum. If you’re going to target us as your typical customer, a little respect would be nice. K? Thnx

Clearwire has scheduled a webcast for Monday, August 30, to “unveil its plans to serve a new customer segment.” People are excited to find out what the criteria for the new customer will be. Judging from the way Clearwire is going about marketing their service, right now their customer base is in the 18-24 age bracket. The speculation as to what they are planning to do is rampant online involvement on various blogs and websites. It’s up to anyone to hypothesize, but some guesses are more intelligent than others.

Clearwire has been getting plenty of criticism for coming out last month with intentions to test out LTE technology, most likely because WiMAX isn’t a technology the mobile industry has any interest in furthering its advancement in the mobile field. With a combination of WiMAX and LTE, Clearwire might have the security to move forward in the mobile sector. Maybe Clearwire will finally come forward as a leader in mobile technology, taking the initiative and monetizing on their precedence in the 4G market.

Other possibilities floating around include partnerships and advancements in the emerging M2M/smart grid space. The company has said in the past that it intends to pursue other wholesale customers aside from its core investors like Sprint, Comcast, and Time Warner Cable. They already signed contracts last month with Best Buy, giving Best Buy the opportunity to market Clear service under their own branding, Best Buy Connect.

Another possibility is that Clear might be introducing a prepaid mobile WiMAX approach like the kinds Sprint/Nextel CEO Dan Hesse has mentioned numerous times in the last couple of months. Sprint is the majority shareholder of Clearwire and they are selling Clear’s WiMAX technology under their own branding. Maybe Clear will begin marketing their services just like Sprint does.

One thing remains certain though, is that no matter what they do, Clear can capitalize on their early placement in the 4G market just by lowering their prices to rates that newcomers Verizon and MetroPCS can’t compete with. If they start off the cut-throat competition with low rates, then their adversaries wouldn’t be viable options until they have launched in enough markets and/or raised enough capital to sell their services and sustain low margins.

Whatever the case, Monday is bound to be a big deal. When Clear announced their wholesale arrangement with Best Buy, they didn’t hold anything close to a webcast. (They wrote a press release and sent it out.) The fact that members of the press and industry analysts are invited to stream it live appears to make it a bigger event than the release of information of a major upcoming profit gain in the form of a partnership with Best Buy. What they actually plan on informing the public is something we will have to wait until Monday to find out.

Bostonians are excited to hear that they are going be some of the first testers of “4G” service (see article here) from various providers by the end of the year. They are the only city that is going to be privileged enough to have a taste of “4G” speed services from four different service providers, two offering WiMAX technology, the other two being LTE. An article in the Boston Globe happily describes the faster data services that are going to be available for the city starting in the upcoming month.

There is no question as to which companies are unrolling “4G” services this year; there are only four companies releasing what they are calling fourth generation wireless service within the next few months and they are Clearwire, Sprint, Verizon, and MetroPCS. Clearwire and Sprint utilize WiMAX technology, and Verizon and MetroPCS make use of LTE technology. Luckily for Boston, they are all scheduled for deployment in that one city in 2010.

Clearwire and Sprint are, for all intents and purposes, the same thing. Sprint is the majority shareholder of Clearwire and they share the same WiMAX network.
“We should launch sometime during the month of September,’’ said Sprint CEO Dan Hesse in a speech while in Boston last week.This will please many Sprint customers, especially those who have the first “4G” compatible smartphone, the HTC EVO 4G, that is currently sold out in many stores all over the country. Sprint has another “4G” phone due to come out next week, the Samsung Epic 4G, which will probably also sell out, especially in cities like Boston that get “4G”. Clear, however, will be launching within the next week, according to Matthew Drinkhahn, Clearwire’s general manager for Boston. Data service will be available under the brand name Clear with plans starting from $30 a month.

Verizon and MetroPCS also have launching plans in Boston for the current year using LTE technology. They will likely be offering similar services. MetroPCS already has a LTE-enabled phone, the Samsung Craft. Verizon is sure to follow, but their cell phone services won’t be available until they create their own LTE-enabled phone. Until then, Verizon will be releasing dongles to expand coverage. Those two LTE carriers still have a long way to go before they release “4G” services that are even comparable to the WiMAX services that Sprint and Clear are going to be providing.

There has been a lot of buzz around leaked photos of a Samsung Craft, which could be the first LTE compatible phone to hit the US market. By utilizing LTE technology the Epic could be one of only three phones in the market capable of 4G speeds. If the Epic is successful in Metro PCS’ pilot markets, Los Vega and Dallas-Fort Worth, it could affect mobile broadband users all over the country.

Metro PCS currently offers some of the most aggressively priced voice and data plans in the country. If they are able to get a jump could start in the 4G market, they could push other major carriers to develop 4G technology and infrastructure of their own. Currently Sprint is the only carrier offering 4G plans, which utilize WiMAX technology instead of LTE. If Metro PCS is able to move into this market ahead of AT&T and Verizon, it could accelerate the downward trend in data plan pricing, all the while forcing those companies to invest more heavily in their own high-speed infrastructure.

Just last month, Intel disbanded its offices in Taiwan, scaring investors in Taiwan that the future of WiMAX might not be so stable. Intel told investors that it was just a “normal process that takes place as new technologies mature”, but not everyone was convinced. Taiwanese companies make approximately 80% of WiMAX devices; their investment in the technology is estimated to be upwards of hundreds of millions of dollars. The potential damage to Taiwan’s economy could be devastating.

Today, however, Azimuth Systems, a company that provides testing for wireless solutions such as WiMAX and LTE, announced that Taiwan’s Institute for Information Industry has chosen to use the ACE™ MX MIMO channel emulator for the purposes of WiMAX testing. Azimuth publicized their press release earlier today with numerous statements about the quality of their products and services, but investors should see this for the good news that it is. Taiwan is continuing to work with WiMAX, even without the Intel local office. WiMAX technology is still flourishing in Taiwan.