Carl Ford : 4G Wireless Evolution
Carl Ford
| 4G is the next evolution in wireless technology. Discover how 4G will transform the wireless industry

WiMAX

Sprint Displays Some Benevolent Behavior

October 18, 2010

A big player in both the cell carrier and wireless broadband arenas, Sprint has been doing assorted charity work in some of the more vital U.S. markets. In the past week alone, two press releases have been issued regarding Sprint's philanthropy. If analyzed acutely, there may be some clues in the patterns of Sprint's contributions to local charities.

Sprint Executives Resign From Clearwire Board Due to Anti-Trust Laws

October 5, 2010

The three Sprint (S) executives that were residing on the Clearwire(CLWR) board have resigned, leading many to question the stability of the company.

BOF: The New 4G: the FCC decision and use of White Spaces

September 30, 2010

On one of the mail lists I participate in the conversation has been intriguing about what technology is the right technology for TV White Space.  WiMAX, WiFi and LTE advocates which can normally find detante' showing different ecosystems.  The opportunity with White Space represents a different kind of opportunity, because it is unlicensed Spectrum.

On Wednesday at the Conference we are running a BOF about the White Space where we look at it not from the technology alone but from the business model.

Does the concept of a service provider matter, or will we get a wider ability to mesh as end users? 

Where and When should we expect solutions in the market place? 


You can join us remotely by clicking here http://www.zipdx.com/event/ws6oct2010.php.








Barlow Keener will moderate. 

Jack Unger
President of Ask-Wi.Com, Inc.

Jack Unger founded the company in 1993 after working for 14 years in the Silicon Valley telecom industry for ROLM, IBM, Siemens and NEC. Ask-Wi.com has been serving the broadband wireless community for the past 17 years. Mr. Unger deployed one of the world's first wireless ISPs (WISPs) in Silicon Valley 1995. He has personally has trained over 3500 wireless personnel and he wrote the first handbook for the WISP industry, "Deploying License-Free Wireless Wide-Area Networks", which was published by Cisco Press in 2003.


Clearwire Goes Live with WiMAX in Dallas, Chicago, Charlotte

November 5, 2009

The long wait for WiMAX in the Windy City as well as the DFW Metroplex is over -- as we expected, Clearwire is now selling services in both cities, keeping with the company's strategy of "soft launching" markets online before staging an "official" market opening with all the attendant hoopla.

Since it's Nov. 1, time for a new map -- and the one on the Clear.com website now shows Chicago "in the green" of Clearwire services, while adding Dallas/Fort Worth to the list of cities with service in Texas.




In North Carolina, the cities of Charlotte, Raleigh and Greensboro are also now listed as "live," so it looks like Clearwire should be able to make good on its promise to step up subscriber numbers in Q4, simply by having lots more markets selling services.

The big ones, however, are Chicago and Dallas -- two huge metro areas where Clearwire will see how it fares against existing service providers. In Chicago, Clearwire also has its first true "commuter" city, since thousands there ride the rails every day, to and from work, play, school and in just general getting-aroundness.

Will WiMAX's ability to connect while mobile make a big impression? We are only now just going to find out. We'll have some more thinking on Clearwire market launches later this week.










Report Excerpt: Market Launches Keep Clearwire on Target

October 20, 2009

Editor's note: The following is an excerpt from our latest quarterly report on all things Clearwire, the CLEARWIRE NTK OCTOBER 2009 (need to know) report, available now for the low low price of $4.95. In this excerpt we talk about how Clearwire's on-time, on-target market launches in Atlanta and Las Vegas, as well as a host of smaller cities, have kept the company on target with its ambitious 2009 rollout plans. For the full report, order online here. Report excerpt follows:

Vegas, Atlanta and Silicon Valley - but where is Chicago?

Easily the most positive sign for Clearwire during the hot months was its on-schedule rollout of services in Atlanta and Las Vegas, the two bigger markets Clearwire had said it would launch during the summer -- and did.



Report Excerpt: Why Dearth of Devices Hurts Clearwire

October 13, 2009

Editor's note: The following is an excerpt from our latest quarterly report on all things Clearwire, the CLEARWIRE NTK OCTOBER 2009 (need to know) report, available now for the low low price of $4.95.

In this excerpt we talk about why we think the lack of interesting WiMAX end-user devices (or the overpriced ones that did launch) have kept users from flocking to Clearwire's 4G wireless broadband offering. For the full report, order online here. Report excerpt follows:



Prices and Devices: Waiting for a reason 'Why' to try WiMAX
Without a doubt, the coolest thing about WiMAX is its ability to provide a true broadband connection with cellular mobility. One of Clearwire's biggest problems, however, is a lack of a compelling reason to take advantage of that mobile connection -- and the dearth of devices that would allow you to even try.

The growing popularity and use of smartphones points to another WiMAX weakness -- the lack of truly portable devices that can take advantage of the technology's superior connectivity.




Should the Universal Service Fund Include Wireless Broadband

September 15, 2009

In a panel discussion at 4G world the general opinion was that USF will be modified to include the ability to support wireless broadband strategies.

"Their is growing consensus that Universal Service should include wireless" said Hank Hultquist of ATT.  Many panel members echoed these comments, but the details as to what will be included were not the full topic of the discussion.

Currently the definition of broadband is under discussion at the FCC. 

Many carriers are worried that a definition now may be unattainable as they service the growing data needs of the consumer.  Previously Kris Rinne, 4G CTO of ATT, stated that they were seeing a 4000%  growth in the data traffic since the adoption of the iPhone and other smartphones.

Questions that will have to be addressed include whether the addition of wireless to the fund will be associated with reform to the fund itself or as an addition.  Current adminstration members were instrumental in the development of the USF in the Clinton adminstration and have a favorable view to the model.

However the costs associated with the High Cost land line services may not be valid when talking about Wireless strategies, and it may be that the inclusion represents alternative services as well via the E-rate model.

It has been suggested that many of the proposals attempting to use the stimulus dollars are similar in ownership structure associated with E-rate.











Bandwidth Update -- Towerstream Holding Strong

September 2, 2009

Liveblogging -- Femtocell Session

September 2, 2009

There's an overflow crowd here at the 4GWE session on femtocells, so I'll try some liveblogging to keep you in the flow of the discussion if you're not here in the room with us. Keep refreshing this post, we are adding as it goes along.

What is a femtocell? David Chambers from Amdocs, our session moderator, gives the overview: It is basically a "complete [cellular] base station, shrunk to size."

Chambers says North America is a ripe femto market, since it has poor cellular coverage, good wired broadband, and people with money to spend. Theoretically :-)
David Nowicki, VP of marketing and product management from femto manufacturer Airvana, now speaking.




The 4GWE Conference is Connected at 4G Speed -- Thanks Towerstream

September 1, 2009

1 2 3 4 Next
Featured Events
Pages