Germany’s Deutsche Telekom — better known in the States as T-Mobile USA’s disciplinarian parent — was out in New York today chatting up its American division’s prospects for the future, and execs from both sides of the pond had quite a bit to say. The biggest outstanding concerns for the carrier revolve around revenue and customer churn — which, let’s be honest, are the core benchmarks that any carrier in the world is looking to improve — and the division’s CEO Philipp Humm just announced a series of initiatives to help get those numbers in line. On the churn side, they’re “going big with Android” to combat the iPhone, continuing to roll out WiFi calling to alleviate network coverage issues, and tightening up “risk management” issues that have let some bill deadbeats slip through the cracks. Funny to think that non-payment is a big enough issue to be a revenue risk for these guys, but it’s true.
Quick, can you tell these two swirling orbs apart? That’s Sony Ericsson’s logo on the left, and Clearwire’s on the right — and SE thinks they’re confusingly similar enough to have filed a federal trademark lawsuit in Virginia. The situation is pretty basic: Sony Ericsson holds trademark registrations on the various iterations of its sphere logos, and the company thinks Clearwire is confusing the mobile market with its version — and it definitely doesn’t want Clearwire to stamp the logo on phones, which Clearwire is eventually planning to do, money problems or no. SE’s asked the court to forbid Clearwire from using the logo and for a host of monetary damages, which seems like a big risk for a company that’s having cashflow problems to begin with — we’ll see what happens.
Clearwire’s talking more about some of the glorious numbers it’s seeing as it drives around the greater Phoenix area testing its trial LTE network, and we think one specific quote pretty much sums it up: “this isn’t your grandfather’s LTE.” That statement was made in comparing Clearwire’s results — bumping up against 90Mbps in some configurations — to the 5 to 12Mbps that Verizon is quoting for its first-gen commercial LTE network, though they’re quick to note in the same breath that Clear’s test is on an unloaded network without a deluge of users all trying to stream professional sports games in HD at the same time. What does that all mean for Clear’s existing WiMAX deployment? The company’s as noncommittal on the subject as ever, saying only that WiMAX continues to be “best for the customer” today but that “potentially in the future that could be WiMAX and LTE.” Needless to say, though, they’re taking the LTE option pretty seriously if they’re dumping serious cash into testing it out and publishing the results. Follow the break for Clear’s teaser footage — wouldn’t you like access to this action?
4G carrier Clearwire’s chairman Craig McCaw has resigned, prompting speculation that the WiMAX operator is experiencing significant operating issues. According to an SEC filing, McCaw’s departure “is not due to any disagreements with the company”; he will be replaced by previous co-chair Ben Wolff.
“Mr. McCaw served as Chairman of the Board of the Company for over 2 years, and served as the Chairman of the Company’s predecessor entity for more than 5 years. Mr. McCaw’s decision to resign is not due to any disagreements with the Company on any matters relating to the Company’s operations, policies, or practices” Clearwire SEC filing
Clear has come under renewed 4G competition in recent months, with Verizon launching its own 4G LTE network and T-Mobile offering high-speed HSPA+. The carrier has recently axed its CLEAR iSpot Apple-centric mobile hotspot, which offered cut-price 4G service to iPad and other Apple device users, but which modders discovered was readily tweaked to support any WiFi-enabled hardware.
Well, that certainly didn’t last very long, did it? Looks like Clear is already sending its unusual iSpot product to the great WiMAX network in the sky less than five months after its introduction. As a refresher, the iSpot’s claim to fame is that it was designed to work only with iPhones, iPod touches, and iPads — and in exchange for the crazy restriction, Clear would charge you less than $100 for the hotspot itself and just $25 a month for unlimited 4G access capped at 6Mbps down. Of course, it’s easy to understand why Clear would want to forget the iSpot ever existed: its MAC address filtering was easily defeated and plagued with reports that even approved devices were being denied access, suggesting that the concept probably wasn’t a solid one in the first place. For what it’s worth, Clear retail stores are still selling through remaining stock if you’re interested — and the company will maintain a supply of units for warranty replacements — but otherwise, you’re out of luck.
Sprint has turned on its 4G WiMAX service in the San Francisco Bay Area, bringing high-speed wireless connectivity to four new markets there. San Francisco, San Jose, Palo Alto and Oakland join the existing 67 markets Sprint and Clearwire serves, just as promised back in late November.
You’ll obviously need a WiMAX-compatible device to make the most of the 4G connection, such as the HTC EVO 4G, but Sprint reckons subscribers can expect downloads ten times faster than with 3G wireless. The carrier is under pressure from arch-rival Verizon, which launched its own 4G network – based on LTE technology – earlier this month.
Press Release:
Tech Lovers Rejoice! The San Francisco Bay Area is Wired with Sprint 4G
The Power and Speed of Sprint 4G is Now Available in 71 Markets Nationwide
OVERLAND PARK, Kan. (BUSINESS WIRE), December 28, 2010 – Today, Sprint (NYSE:S) officially unleashed the power of 4G in one of the world’s largest hotbeds of technological creativity and advancement – the San Francisco Bay Area. The new mobile broadband service from Sprint enables fast mobile downloads, wireless video chat and turbo-charged mobile Web browsing up to 10 times faster than 3G service1. The service will initially be available in San Francisco, San Jose, Palo Alto and Oakland. Nationwide, tech enthusiasts are enjoying the power and speed of the Sprint 4G network, in 71 markets2 across the country, including Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles and New York City.
The Sprint 4G Network can be accessed with a wide range of 3G/4G capable devices. For example, tourists can snap a photo of a San Francisco landmark with their Samsung Epic™ 4G and use Google Goggles to pull up facts about it by using visual search technology. Customers can video chat on their HTC EVO™ 4G, and families traveling for the holidays can power up the Overdrive™ 3G/4G Mobile Hotspot to share 4G speeds with up to five WiFi-enabled devices – such as an iPad™, laptop, iPod Touch™ or game console – making downloads, streaming video and Web browsing fast and easy. For students, consumers and small businesses that rely on Internet access, Web browsing and social networking to stay connected, Sprint also offers Dell™ Inspiron™ Mini 10 (1012) netbook designed to deliver maximum connectivity in a compact size.
“The Bay Area is responsible for creating so much new technology and today we are bringing the power of 4G to our customers in that region who are hungry for fast mobile broadband,” said Matt Carter, president-Sprint 4G. “The introduction of Sprint 4G will be a great asset for this area, and we encourage customers to try it by using one of our well-regarded 4G mobile devices.”
The Bay Area’s own Raj Singh of San Jose was one of five winners of the Sprint 4G App Challenge. Singh developed an innovative application to help food lovers be more productive in the kitchen. His application, Recipe Search, is a reverse recipe finder app. The user simply speaks the ingredients they have in their refrigerator or pantry and will then see a display of meals with directions for creating something with those ingredients.
Sprint first launched 4G in Baltimore in September 2008 and since then has delivered a robust portfolio of 4G devices, including smartphones, USB aircards, notebook/netbook products, mobile hotspots and routers, that are currently being used by consumers and businesses across the country.
Technically speaking, it’s not actually the 28th of December in the Bay Area yet, but Sprint’s already out in front with its announcement that WiMAX connectivity has been activated in and around the city of San Francisco. We were promised this development exactly three weeks ago, back when Los Angeles and Washington DC were first familiarizing themselves with the glorious new speed, and today the Bay Area, which also includes San Jose, Palo Alto and Oakland, adds to a total of 71 metropolitan markets that have been lit up with Sprint’s finest wireless offering. Guess Verizon had better start fast and keep running if it wants to keep up, eh?
If you’ve a taste for WiMAX but a near-empty wallet, Clear reckons it can make do with the meager scrapings left at the bottom. The company is running a week of holiday deals, and so far you can pick up the CLEAR Spot 4G mobile hotspot for just $20 rather than the usual $99; the Apple-devoted should hold off, since as of Thursday you’ll be able to grab a CLEAR iSpot – complete with a $25 month-to-month service plan – for just $20.
The iSpot – which is locked down to wirelessly connecting to Apple devices, though there are various hacks out there if you’re feeling unofficially ambitious – is usually $79. Meanwhile there are two-for-one offers on USB modems, or – as of tomorrow – you can pick up a USB CLEAR modem and get a free home modem too.
CLEAR has launched a new modem for use with its WiMAX service, though it’s targeted at home or small-office users rather than mobile mavens. The unimaginatively titled CLEAR Modem with WiFi is, as you can probably guess, a CLEAR WiMAX modem with an integrated WiFi b/g/n radio, for sharing the 4G connection with multiple users.
There’s also a single ethernet port for hooking up a wired computer, and a simple five LED signal strength gauge. What we’d really like to see is a WAN port for using the router with a cable/DSL modem, opening up the possibility of either coupling the bandwidth from two connections, or keeping the WiMAX as a fall-back should the hardline go down.
The CLEAR Modem with WiFi is available now, priced at $120 outright or $7 per month leased. It’s available with month-to-month or two-year agreements, with service plans starting at $35/month (plus tax); CLEAR Voice can be added for $15/month (plus tax).
Considering Sprint’s heavy investment in Clearwire — and the fact that it shares its WiMAX network with the company — you can understand why it might be a little weary of letting other carriers in on the spectrum. That said, a Goldman Sachs analyst that apparently met with Sprint execs this week has said that they “have encouraged” a wholesale spectrum deal that would bring cash in from T-Mobile USA — a company that has yet to settle on a next-gen network strategy beyond HSPA+ — though it would ultimately depend on the price. Considering Clearwire’s somewhat bleak financial picture, it seems likely that Sprint’s looking at this as a do-or-die situation — it isn’t necessarily interested in dumping cash into the company by itself ad nauseam, but if it allows the company to falter, that could have unsavory consequences on Sprint’s own 4G ambitions. Should be interesting to see how this plays out.
