Evan Kessler on November 24, 2010
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Ireland may be in the throes of a major financial crisis, but even with the economy teetering on the verge of collapse there’s still room for a business success story here and there. While Clearwire struggles to make a dent with its WiMax network in the U.S., a home-grown Irish company Imagine is having a splendid go of it in the capital city of their homeland and beyond.
By offering their mobile broadband and phone service at a rate that’s fifty percent cheaper than their competitors, Imagine is pulling in customers at a rate of 5,000 per month. While that may seem like small potatoes to many, Ireland isn’t exactly China in the population department. Industry experts think the cheaper plans and faster broadband capabilities could result in the migration of 50,000 customers from Eircom, one of the nation’s leading service providers, in the coming year. Many consumers stand to save as much as EUR400 per year, which during this period of recession is no small change.
Imagine has, in effect, turned Dublin into an Internet hotspot with it’s mobile broadband. The city is ahead of other prominent European capitals in terms of wireless connectivity, leaving places like Berlin, Paris, and London lagging behind. Their service isn’t just for big city folk.It extends far into the countryside to the far corners of Wexford, Dundalk, and Killarney. Imagine has also focused on extending the 4G network to places traditionally devoid of signal, so called black-spots like Blackrock and Killester. While many well-to-do nations and providers spend money building out LTE networks, WiMax is fast proving a cost effective solution to high-speed internet in places where dollars and sense are at a premium.… Read the rest
Evan Kessler on November 23, 2010
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Until now, customers of Sprint’s 4G WiMax network have had precious few devices with which to valiantly navigate the speedy mobile broadband terrain offered them. The HTC Evo 4G and Samsung Epic 4G have performed admirably in the kingdom of next-generation wireless, so you’d think consumers would be content wielding their net surfing phones in the most perilous situations where a blazing fast connection is all that stands between them and certain doom–or in this case the important text message they need to respond to. Sure those devices do the trick just fine, but in this era where having just two options is akin to insanity, Sprint customers may soon get a third– their very own “Knight” in shining armor.
The FCC has just approved HTC’s latest 4G WiMax-enabled handset with an impressive set of specs for Sprint to tack onto a growing roster of 4G-ready hotspots, modems, laptops and phones The smartphone, presently dubbed the “HTC Knight,” is equipped with Froyo, an 8-megapixel camera, 1GHz processor, 3.7 inch display and a most appealing sliding QWERTY keyboard.
Several blogs are predicting the latest member of the Sprint 4G WiMax phone family will get to stores in time for the holiday rush. We’re not so optimistic as that day as fast approaching, but it could make for a nice present for those last-minute shoppers. If it does hit the stores in the next few days, keep your eyes peeled for a few different monikers, as the ” HTC Knight” name is not set in stone strong enough to keep Excalibur. The alternate names are thought to include the “Sprint HTC Desire Z,” “HTC Speedy,” and the “HTC Evo Shift 4G.” We prefer the “Knight” if only because it brings a certain amount of valor to the act of using our cell phone for something as common as downloading a ringtone. … Read the rest
Evan Kessler on November 19, 2010
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Clearwire is slated to rollout their service on December 15th in San Franciso, and while they’ve not announced any delay in their efforts, some parts of the “City by the Bay” might not exactly be swimming in signal when that date hits. The Board of Supervisor’s in San Fran’s Bernal Heights neighborhood recently repealed a conditional user permit given to Clear way back in July.
The purpose of the permit was to allow for the installation of five internet switch antennas in the region that would have provided better coverage in the Excelsior, the Mission, Mission Dolores, and Silver Terrace areas. Not being able to provide quality service as promised is sure to put a dent in Clearwire’s local efforts if not on a larger scale. San Francisco is after all, a major metropolitan area ranking 13th in U.S. population. Above all though, failure to impress in the region known for hosting technological innovators won’t help them shed the nail from their proverbial coffin.
There has been a growing backlash by many local residents concerned with health issues as service providers move to upgrade their networks and install new antennas, but this was not necessarily the key factor in the denial. Rather, it was due to the fact that the conditional use standards agreed upon when the original permit was signed between the American Tower Corporation for use by T-Mobile had not been met. Those conditions included landscaping, keeping the tower graffiti-free and the adding of proper fencing. It was also demanded as part of the agreement that T-Mobile legalize their antennas, which they have yet to do, but still have 3 years to comply with.… Read the rest
Evan Kessler on November 17, 2010
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Demand for WiMax may be lacking in worldwide markets where the impending promise of LTE lingers, but not in Malaysia where the populace is craving dramatic improvements in their broadband access. Service provider YTL is benefitting from that demand as the pre-registration for their WiMax network, slated to roll out November 19th, has surpassed their initial estimates threefold.
The “Yes” wireless Internet and voice service is said to be as much as 5 times faster than most users’ current 3G network. The new WiMax network also allows customers to pick their own ID and number. While we’re sure that greater download speeds are a major factor in the exceeding of business expectations, one can never underestimate the power and promise of personalization played in the buoying the service sign ups. Although it may be an ultimately arbitrary factor for the service provider, the appeal of having a say in one’s own number might be construed as “kinda neat” for customers. Perhaps the most interesting aspect of the service is that it will be billed like most utilities, not on a fixed monthly rate, but on an as used basis.
Parent company YTL Power International Bhd. will spend RM2.5 bil on its initial push to bring the service to 65% of Malaysians upon its debut this week and 80% by mid 2011. The corporation is getting assistance from Clearwater Corp, Intel Corp, Cisco Systems Inc and International Business Machines Corp on the rollout.
YTL’s executive chairman,Tan Sri Francis Yeoh, sees parallels between this new WiMax network and past technological innovations, saying that ““when people have tasted mobile Internet, they’ll never go back to mobile phone; same as when people have tasted colour television, they’ll never go back to black-and-white.” … Read the rest
Evan Kessler on November 15, 2010
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Things in California’s state capital have been a bit rocky over the last few years, with the “Last Action Hero” playing the role of “the worst-governing action hero,” the money situation in the Golden State can best be described as precarious. Now as the tumultuous term of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger winds down, there’s a bit of light on the horizon in the city of Sacramento. No, that light isn’t the result of an explosion emanating from the set of Terminator 5: The Rise of Jerry Brown, but rather from the switch being flipped on CLEAR’s WiMax network in the River City.
Fresh off the announcement that Los Angeles and San Francisco would be latching onto the service come December, Clearwire has launched their brand of 4G WiMax in the city surrounding the governor’s mansion– making it the 63rd city to do so. And with the state’s financial woes in mind, they’ll be offering quite a proposition to the area’s 1.2 million customers in the form of an online only deal. Those who make their way to the CLEAR web portal will be eligible for 50 percent off their service plan for the first two months. We know the “Super Fast Mobile Internet” service won’t help alleviate all of the state’s financial woes, but it’s a start.
… Read the rest
Evan Kessler on November 12, 2010
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Sunshine, occasional earthquakes, beautiful people; there are a lot of benefits to living in the nation’s number two market. Notice among those positive attributes, nowhere was speedy Internet mentioned. Well that’s because until now the City of Angels was saddled with run-of-the-mill 3G networks. That’s all slated to change on December 1st as Sprint and Clearwire flip the switch on their “4G” WiMax network.
Though there’s been foreboding news as of late regarding Clearwire’s WiMax rollout plans, it just wouldn’t seem right for LA to be lagging behind four other Golden State cities in the 4G race. Merced, Visalia, Modesto and Stockton have already been fiddling around on the network for some time and San Francisco is slated to follow in Mid-December. How long that good thing lasts remains to be seen, with Clearwire’s future finances in question. For now we’re keeping our eyes on the prize and saying hooray for arrival of WiMax networks in Hollywood. If anyone needs the increased streaming capabilities of Clearwire’s mobile broadband networks it’s those entertainment executives who are always on the go.… Read the rest
Evan Kessler on November 11, 2010
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Things are getting a little testy between WiMax business partners Clearwire and Sprint as of late. With the recent 3rd quarter assessment that Clearwire is not monetarily equipped for the long-haul, the former best friends of WiMax technology in the U.S. are in a bit of a spat over the money Sprint pays Clearwire to have their WiMax-equipped smartphones operating on the latter’s network.
The ability to charge their chief stakeholder for each 4G handset means big business for Clearwire, with 3 million HTC Evo 4Gs and Samsung Epic 4Gs expected to ship by the end of 2010. Sprint is supposed to pay $4.46 to Clearwire per 4G user, but complications arise when the amount of customers living in places where access to WiMax 4G has yet to be activated is taken to account. 810,000 Sprint phone users of 4G phones are without a technology to take advantage of, and Sprint is withholding funds accordingly.
In order to resolve this situation, Sprint and Clearwire have entered arbitration, but things stand to get uglier for Clearwire if things don’t go their way. A company spokesman admitted that the loss of these per handset payouts in areas still unequipped with WiMax could result in an inability to fulfill their previously drawn up plans for further WiMax rollout across lacking U.S. markets. While from a customer’s perspective Sprint’s reluctance to payout the $4.46 makes sense, you have to wonder whether Sprint is interested in seeing the WiMax network completed so that they might continue to compete with other upcoming 4G offerings from Verizon, AT&T and MetroPCS; or whether they’re just slowly backing away from the whole scene and hoping some big company with a lot of money buys them off and makes the WiMax experiment all just go away. … Read the rest
Evan Kessler on November 9, 2010
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The luxury of blazing fast Internet that WiMax is supposed to afford customers doesn’t often (if ever) manifest itself at its ITU-accepted 4G rate of 100mbps. But even if the advertised technology isn’t actually capable of streaming at such great heights, it still presents an improvement over many-a-past network.Though there have been many disappointing speed issues in regards to current WiMax deployments, the good news is that there’s always room to make things better.
Bulgarian WiMax service provider, Max Telecom, is upping their game for their broadband customers in the Balkan nation by doubling the transfer rate to 8mbps. The boost in service is being made possible by a EUR 15 million equipment upgrade from Samsung. Those speeds were previously only available within Yambol and Karzhali provinces, but will now extend network coverage 65% of the population.
A successful launch of the upgrade could bring an even more robust transfer rate, as Samsung could offer Max Telecom equipment capable of reaching speeds of 32mbps. For now, Bulgaria’s capital city of Sofia has access to the 8mbps upgrade before it branches out to various other locations in three weeks time. All in all, 8mpbs isn’t too shabby. WiMax networks in more developed countries like the U.S. via Clearwire are topping out at 10mpbs. If Max Telecom’s networks can consistently stream as advertised, they’re customers are getting a pretty sweet deal– or maybe the others are just getting a raw one.
… Read the rest
Evan Kessler on November 8, 2010
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The writing isn’t exactly on the wall for the future of Clearwire, as much as it’s in the words of they’re most recent quarterly report:
“…we do not expect our available cash and short-term investments as of September 30, 2010 to be sufficient to cover our estimated liquidity needs for the next 12 months. We also do not expect our operations to generate positive cash flows during the next 12 months…”
The WiMax providers building on Sprint’s backbone to spread “4G” to the American masses, have effectively put themselves on life support with Verizon and AT&T standing close by to pull the plug once they rollout LTE coverage nationwide. To anyone keeping a close eye on the broadband service provider’s stagnant stock value over the past 2 years, reaching $9.25 at its highest point in September ’09, Clearwire’s financial prospects were always somewhat of a question.
Fresh off the launch of their mobile broadband service in New York,you’d think there might be a little more optimism emanating for their corporate office; their expected number of subscribers by the end of 2010 is upwards around 4 million, which is twice their initial prediction. But the bottom line remains, unless they can secure some additional funding, Clearwire may go quietly into the 4G night. It’s estimated they’ll need to raise $1 billion. In the meantime the WiMax provider has cut 15 percent of its workforce, to stave off more immediate financial ruin.
Sprint Nextel, which owns a majority stake in Clearwire and runs their WiMax service off the same network, will take a big hit if the brand becomes extinct and defaults on their loans. It could deliver a blow to Sprint’s own liquidity as a parent company. Time Warner and Comcast are also depending on Clearwire for their own branded 4G service, yet have declined to invest any more money in the technology. It would seem a curious move to not step in and help, but it shows just how little confidence they have in Clearwire’s survival instincts. As much as it would appear that WiMax is dying a slow death in its U.S. incarnation, there’s always the chance the fat lady will lose her voice before singing that final aria. Perhaps a foreign investor can swoop in and rescue WiMax from the burning building that is Clearwire’s financial woes. … Read the rest
Evan Kessler on November 5, 2010
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There’s been plenty of debate over the merits of competing “4G” standards. In the U.S., Sprint and Clearwire have spared no expense building up and rolling out their high-speed WiMax network. Verizon and AT&T aren’t too far behind with their official launches of LTE networks on the horizon in 2011. Though those companies have committed to their wireless technologies for the time being, there are plenty of other providers on the global front that are not quite sold on which is right for them and their customers. With deployment such an expensive undertaking, the prospect of ending up with the less cost-effective or less-capable technology has given way to quite a quandary. WiMax or LTE?
Huawei has made this quandary a little less daunting with the launch of their new solution that allows operators an effortless and uninterrupted migration between WiMax and LTE-TDD standards. The SingleRAN solution is made up of a dual mode base band unit (BBU) that works in concert with a WiMAX and LTE TDD dual mode remote radio unit (RRU) and is capable of operating on on 2.3GHz, 2.5GHz and 3.5GHz mainstream Time-Division Duplexing (TDD) frequency bands.
The network solution doesn’t limit mobile broadband connections to those operating on WiMax and LTE. It’s also accessible by those using devices enabled for GPRS and UMTS, thanks to Huawei’s SingleEPC packet core network solution. Its flexibility is an undeniable strength, possessing the ability to be configured as WiMAX module, a LTE-TDD module, or a WiMAX and LTE-TDD dual mode module with the simple flick of a software upgrade.
Huawei knows a thing or two about deployment of its WiMax solutions, having won 79-plus commercial WiMAX network contracts across the globe. Their LTE-TDD capabilities also displayed admirable performance when spotlighted by China Mobile at the 2010 Shangai World Expo. The combination of such well-performing solutions is a boon to an industry currently trying to provide the fastest connections possible, but still largely experimenting and trying to improve on two less-than-perfect technologies.
… Read the rest
