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.… Read the rest
TD-LTE, the latest standard of LTE, operates on TDD, or time division duplexing, the same way that WiMAX does. This would mean that they would share a bandwidth and spectrum. TDD is superior to LTE’s previous usage of FDD, or frequency division duplexing, because TDD uses unpaired spectrum channels and is able to split up work from uplink to downlink. This is much better for data because uplink/downlink rates [of action] are not fixed. FDD is better for mobile operators because uplink/downlink occurs on a paired spectrum channel and voice is symmetric in both directions.
Many companies, like Alvarion, use both TD-LTE and WiMAX because they run on the same spectrum and are therefore interchangeable in a way that both can be used by the same device. It would mean better 4G access for all companies that are smart enough to be using both technologies. Infrax just announced today th first upgradeable WiMAX/LTE base station. They seem to be getting at what most markets are looking for; people want the best everything and now they can get the best of both worlds.
Several days ago, there was a Sobel Media Event at the Samsung Experience at Columbus Circle in the AOL- Time Warner building. It was a wonderful event, called “How Wireless and Mobile is Changing Everything”, and it was exclusive too, by invitation only. It is part of a new series called “The Future of Digital Media: NYC Edition” from SobelMedia. This event featured a panel discussion from three experts in the 3G and 4G fields: Ari Zoldan, CEO of Quantum Networks, LLC, Brian Reich, Managing Directoy of little m media, and Robert Raciti, CEO of Raciti Capital Advisors.
The event was hosted in the Samsung store on the third floor, and the first 45 minutes of the event was spent trying out Samsung products. It was great having the event in such a central, convenient location in New York City; it also works out that the store is beautiful and expansive, too, making it an accommodating place for the 75+ attendees.
Brian Reich acted as moderator through the first half of the discussion, directing questions at Ari Zoldan and Robert Raciti. They spoke appropriately without making any controversial statements. The majority of the discussion was devoted to discussing the future of our world with advances in technology. They spoke about how 4G will revolutionize the way we operate and process information.
Summarizing the main points, Mr. Zoldan said, “We are still in the infancy stage [of technology]… as speeds penetrate our technological arena in the development of applications and programs”. Another point that was brought up was the ‘universal right’ of internet access (as was most recently declared in Finland), says Mr. Zoldan, “Wireless access has become a commodity in several countries around the world. The need for faster speeds will be inevitable to support and accomplish innovation.”
Bill Sobel, from SobelMedia said of the event, “SobelMedia has been working with the Mayors Office of Media & Entertainment for the past 3 years on a variety of events. We were pleased to have Ari on the panel with Brian Reich of little m media and Robert Raciti of Raciti Capital Advisors.”… Read the rest
LightSquared is a new company with a not-so-new concept. They are creating a new network to provide
LightSquared has already signed on some of the best companies in their respective fields.
The Federal Communications Center, aka the FCC, is really the only authority that could stop them, and they haven’t. In fact, they are welcoming them into the 4G playing field with open arms, readily giving them the 1.4 Ghz frequency. FCC Chair Julius Genachowski has given them his blessing, saying, “Today’s announcement shows that FCC policies are helping grow the U.S. economy by catalyzing investment and job creation.” Oh, don’t worry, he’s telling the truth. Investing $7 billion into a wireless network and providing as many as 100,000 jobs is something a government agency has the right to be proud of in this awful economy. Unfortunately, not many government agencies have this right. Telecommunications is one of the few growing fields in our current, unstable economy.
So, what exactly does LightSquared have planned? Well, by the end of the year they plan on launching their satellite into orbit. And there are an estimated 40,000 cell towers being put up in the next 5 years. Their 4G wireless network is going to be set up by next summer to be
Perhaps the most important announcement from Clearwire on their earnings call yesterday (at least to those of us who covet speeds faster than a roadrunner on heroin) was the trumpeting of their upcoming bout of LTE trials. The trials are slated to go live in Phoenix in the fall of this year – which is INDEED right around the corner. This begs many questions from those of us who have some knowledge of wireless broadband, engineering principles and commercial deployment intangibles. Lucky for those of us nerds, as well as the crowd here, Dr. John Saw, the Chief Technology officer of Clearwire, was able to share a lot of knowledge in a press release just following the earnings call. Clearwire plans on offering LTE speeds in the real world range of 20-70 Mbps! That is much faster than the 5-12Mbps that Verizon Wireless has announced it will operate its LTE network. Not only will Clearwire offer a faster LTE network, it also plans to test the possibility of a dual WiMAX/LTE network for optimal end user performance, both on the receiving end as well as the backhaul. So what does this all mean? If you decide to read ahead, you will find out plenty about how it all works, and why Clearwire may well be poised to deliver some serious competition in the mobile broadband market.
Remember the days of pulling out your cell phone antenna, standing on one foot and doing all but a dance and jig to potentially catch a cell phone signal from somewhere in the air? As any of us can remember, coverage was something not taken for granted, and the use of the mobile device was sweet indeed. Fast forward a decade or so and the two largest carriers hired their actors and producers to poke and prod at each other’s “maps” with one boasting the other was garbage and the other claiming the latter was a lying jerk. My point here is that those days – at least for a few seasons – are through:
“In a 4G world, wireless coverage is important, but capacity is KING. This capacity is a unique and sustainable advantage for Clearwire, thanks to our all-IP network and unmatched spectrum holdings.”
More on the spectrum holdings in a moment – but let’s talk about the capacity that they’ve been touting. I’m
Posting a quarterly adjusted EBITDA loss of $363.2 million net loss of $125.9 million revenues up almost 100% year over year of $123 Million.
2Q total net subscriber adds of 722,000, of which 595,000 were WHOLESALE customers (from Sprint, Comcast, Time Warner, etc) 2Q ending total subscribers of 1.7 million, up 231% YOY Retail churn listed at 3.2% nationwide POP penetration in maturing markets (Atlanta, Law Vegas and Portland) of 3.2%, up from 2.7% in 1Q 2010
“I get a lot of questions about Clearwire and about Sprint’s network RFP. On the topic of Clearwire, we have an advantage in the aligned ownership interests we share with the cable partners, Intel and Google and we benefit from the many contributions they have brought to the table and we benefit from the resale of 4G services… As in the past, any strategic or funding decisions about Clearwire must be a collective decision among the strategic investors and the Clearwire Board. Beyond that, we are not going to comment on the ongoing media speculation.”
“This agreement paves the way to providing one-stop shopping and support for mobile broadband as more people become more connected across all kinds of devices,”
Consumers expect a high speed connection between 100Mb /s and 1Gb/s, contrary to 3G which does not exceed 14.4 Mb/s. Two technologies with this capability are in competition: WiMAX (Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access) and LTE (Long Term Evolution).
LTE is considered by many to be the obvious successor to current-generation 3G technologies. LTE’s promise of high-speed, two-way wireless data promises an “all-IP” mode of communication in which voice calls are handled via VoIP. It’s also designed to handle video and to permit roaming through multiple systems–from cellular to Wi-Fi and satellite. The LTE solution is supported by AT&T and Verizon and should be implemented by the end of 2010. However, LTE still remains slower than Wimax and tests show that the infrastructure is not mature enough, and will need about 2 more years to be completely efficient.
The other technology called WiMAX, developed by Sprint and Clearwire is already available as a type of broad-base Wi-Fi. More than 450 tests are on-going to deliver high-speed connections to cell phones and landline devices in more than 135 countries like Kenya, Russia, Bulgaria, Netherlands, India, Denmark, Japan and the US. The Wimax advantages are threefold: it can be spread in remote areas such as emerging countries; the technology is operational and functions with any device integrated with a Wimax chip; and it solves roaming problems. Despite these advantages and the anticipation over 4G, Sprint and Clearwire are not leaders of the U.S wireless carriers market. Indeed, LTE has a better popularity rating than Wimax, and neither Sprint nor Clearwire has enough money to challenge Verizon and AT&T.
While US carriers wrestle with these options, one wonders if a marriage between the two technologies would be a better alternative. WiMAX, which is already available and updated, could be implemented initially, allowing time to improve the LTE infrastructure. Thus, consumers can experience the superior performance of LTE without losing connectivity in the mean time. Accordingly, it seems that WiMAX and LTE are more complementary than rivals.… Read the rest
