We’ve talked about Clearwire plenty here, in conjunction with their WiMax service. They’re ready to roll in Portland, though have neglected Chicago. They’ve made promises of new markets in 2009, but haven’t been clear with where or when they’ll roll out. So what does this all mean for the Sprint partner? Lynette Luna of FierceWireless breaks down the pros and cons of Clearwire. Let’s check it out.
Clearwire has plenty of plusses, not the least of which is its corporate backing. Intel, Google, Comcast, and Time Warner all have a stake in the company, and can all provide tools to help WiMax expand. Clearwire’s pricing plan could make it an attractive alternative to DSL and cable lines. As Luna says: “It enables customers to use the service as both a home Internet access service and a mobile broadband service via one pricing plan.” There are also peripherals to consider, including a router that will change WiMax signal to Wi-Fi.
It’s not all upside, though. Clearwire will require an even further investment as early as 2010. This, according to Luna, will be in the $2 billion range, on top of the current $3.2 billion capital investment. Will the corporate backers be willing to pony up more dough in tough economic times? Plus, as mentioned before, the roll outs aren’t very aggressive, which could be a problem once Verizon and AT&T start rolling out their LTE networks. You know they’ll be aggressive with that.
Make sure to check out Lynette’s entire post. It’s a good synopsis of the pluses and minuses of Clearwire’s WiMax efforts.
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