Clearwire-Sprint Nextel unveils new brand

Clearwire and Sprint-Nextel announced Monday they have completed their joint-venture transaction and will offer mobile WiMax service under the "Clear" brand.

The transaction, announced in May, creates a new company valued at $14.5 billion, formed with the WiMax assets of both Sprint-Nextel and Clearwire. The new company aims to create a nationwide broadband wireless network to rival AT&T.

As part of that plan, the new company will retain the Clearwire name and offer mobile WiMax under the Clear brand. Over the coming months, Sprint Nextel's XOHM service will undergo a name change.

The newly company aims to offer an open all-IP network that features mobile WiMax technology with download speeds of 2 to 4 megabits per second. The open IP (Internet protocol) will be designed to allow any WiMax device to connect to the network, said Clearwire CEO Benjamin Wolff during a conference call to announce the closing of the transaction.

He added the new Clearwire also aims to offer greater spectrum and an all IP-network to bolster its network capacity and improve performance.

"We are the underdog," Wolff said, but noted the steps Clearwire is taking will prompt other companies to hold similar aspirations.

The new company is also working on launching a nationwide 4G wireless broadband network using WiMax, which aims to run five times faster than 3G technology. The combined spectrum holdings of the new company provide it with 100 MHz, or more of potential 4G spectrum in most U.S. markets.

Clearwire, as it has previously laid out, will receive a $3.2 billion investment from Comcast, Intel Capital, Time Warner Cable, Google, and Bright House Networks, as well as an additional investment from Trilogy Equity Partners in the coming months.

The newly formed company expects to begin making upgrades to its mobile WiMax network early next year.

[frasercrane]

Changing a name, merging with another company, etc. did not work when Spriint teamed up with Nextel...it won't work now. Poor coverage, despicable customer service, and inferior products (except for the push to talk which every carrier now has) can't be undone by adding a new company and new name. Like Detroit, Nextel/Sprint needs to retool itself entirely. No bailout for you.

[wimaxed]

Clearwire also announced that they will keep the Clearwire brand for the existing pre-wimax customers in the 46 markets the are currently serving.

http://www.WiMAXED.com

[Neo Con]

That ain't 4G, people! At least, not according to this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/4G

It's nice that it's all IP, and offers speeds 5 times faster than 3G, but that's what's known as 3.5G. WiMax is not 4G. Anything less than 100Mbps is not 4G. There are other requirements too numerous to mention here, but anyway, let's get the facts straight. This is not 4G. Thpppt!

[texaslabrat]

From the wiki article you listed: "There is no formal definition for what 4G is; however, there are certain objectives that are projected for 4G. These objectives include: that 4G will be a fully IP-based integrated system. 4G will be capable of providing between 100 Mbit/s and 1 Gbit/s speeds both indoors and outdoors, with premium quality and high security...until the 4G standard or standards have been defined, it is impossible for any company currently to provide with any certainty wireless solutions that could be called 4G"

Given that there is no formal definition of 4G, WiMax has just as much clout to say they *ARE* 4G as someone has to say they are not. Especially since the WiMax technology, as being rolled out by the "Clear" consortium/merger meets most of the requirements listed (mobile wimax falls a tad short on the bandwidth). But on a pedantic note, yes..you are correct. WiMax isn't technically 4G (yet)...nothing is.

Also, 3.5G is a label commonly denoted to HSDPA (with UMTS being the baseline 3G technology). Of course, it all depends on who you ask and who they work for, but the commonly accepted delineation points are roughly as follows:
2.5G - GSM - 40kbps or there abouts
2.75G - EDGE - 200kbps or there abouts
3G - W-CDMA (UMTS) - 384kbps
3.5G - HSDPA - 3.6-14.4mbps, EVDO family (rev B could very well approach 4G'ness depending on the # of channels allocated per subscriber)

Wimax is clearly superior in a generational-leap kind of way to HSDPA...so maybe wimax can be 3.75G if it doesn't get a full-on 4G label?

And finally, to answer your last point...mobile WiMax is capable of symmetric speeds of up to 70Mbps, and has been demonstrated in the field at 33Mbps true throughput with a 10Mhz channel. Whether that's "close enough" for an "official" declaration of 4G-ness is up to the standards bodies, I suppose (there's always that 3.75G label that could be used for wimax as well as EVDO rev B and HSPA follow-ons). However, that said, keep an eye on LTE (and in the short term HSPA+) as the "wimax killer" as it gains clout amongst several heavy-hitters in industry. With so many of the mobile phone manufacturers pushing LTE (with the very notable exception of Samsung), it's unlikely (in my humble opinion) that mobile wimax will be viable. I see the future of Wimax primarily as last-mile fixed broadband connections for rural areas...and as such I think Sprint/Clearwire are in big trouble financially going forward with this project. But, I guess we'll have to wait and see.