December 1st, 2008
Clearwire-Sprint make it official, pave way for WiMax rollout
A mobile WiMax service, called Clear, will soon be here, now that Clearwire and Sprint-Nextel have completed a $14.5 billion joint-venture deal that was announced in May. The new company formed by the deal, which will retain the Clearwire name, will create a 4G nationwide broadband wireless network that will offer download speeds of 2 to 4 megabits per second and operate as an open IP network that will be designed to let any WiMax device to connect to it.
Clearwire previously has said it is receiving 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. In a statement, Clearwire CEO Benjamin G. Wolff, said:
As we roll out our network across the country, people will no longer have to make the choice between speed and mobility. We are bringing a new mobile Internet experience to customers at speeds previously relegated to fixed locations. With significant spectrum holdings yielding unmatched network capacity, a next-generation all-IP network, and an open Internet business model, Clearwire will deliver a simple value proposition aimed to improve productivity and make the Internet experience more enjoyable, wherever our customers happen to be.
Despite the current economic uncertainty for consumers and businesses, the company said an investment in a wireless infrastructure now will help spark innovative uses of the speeds and technology for the future. Clearwire Chairman Craig O. McCaw called it “an opportunity to do something right the first time, with simplicity and incredible efficiencies… This is far and away the most exciting opportunity in wireless I have seen since the beginning of cellular in 1983.”
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Sam Diaz is a senior editor at ZDNet. See his full profile and disclosure of his industry affiliations.
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