The nation's first 4G network is focused on data not voice, according to a senior executive with Sprint's Xohm business, now to be merged with Clearwire to build out a nationwide mobile WiMAX network. And the exec reiterated the pledge that Clearwire will give unlimited and unfettered data access to its subscribers...for as long as possible.
That pledge, by Xohm strategy vice president Rebecca Hanson earlier this week at the Open Mobile Summit (and reported by Kevin Fitchard, of Telephony Online), met with skepticism if not disbelief. Hanson was pressed to explain how any wireless network, even one as spectrally efficient as mobile WiMAX, could promise unlimited data use to potentially millions of subscribers.
She didn't have much of an answer. Quoting from Fitchard's story: “There may be a point where congestion on the network becomes an issue,” Hanson conceded, but she said Xohm and the new Clearwire will address that issue when and if it arises. By introducing bandwidth controls or data caps or limiting specific applications, Xohm would bring complexity and confusion to 3G wireless data models. “We don’t want to start off capping; we want to stay away from service tiers,” Hanson said. “We’re not requiring that of our customers out of the gate. It would undermine our commitment to simplicity and ease of use.”
Clearwire stockholders today (Thursday 20 November) approved the merger with Sprint's Xohm business. All other regulatory approvals have been granted and the deal is expected to be finalized before the end of this year.
The data focus was underscored with Sprint's launch of the first Xohm network, in Baltimore just weeks ago. After years of positioning mobile WiMAX as the first 4G network, and setting up a clear conflict with other cellular carriers who are on a course with their own 4G evolution, Sprint and now Clearwire seem to be trying to sidestep that confrontation. Clearwire CEO Ben Wolff did exactly that in a recent Q&A with NW reporter Bradley Reed.
The formal launch of the Baltimore network in early October featured Xohm executives partners snipping an Ethernet cable with pruning shears. And Xohm's pricing -- home wireless Internet access for $25 a month; a mobile access service for $30 a month; and a $50 monthly service that lets you use two WiMAX clients on one account -- coupled with impressive multi-gigabit throughput and its unlimited data use, positioned the network as a kind of "home DSL alternative with mobility thrown in."
The Clearwire/Xohm project has some inherent strengths: much lower infrastructure and operating costs, compared to cellular operators; as much as 100MHz and even 150Mhz in some places of spectrum (far outstripping cellular carriers, which enables high speeds for large numbers of users; a simplified business model and no data restrictions for subscribers. The result is a high-throughput wireless service, presumably at a reasonable price, which subscribers can access with any WiMAX-enabled device they want.
But there are plenty of challenges. the economic mess creates some uncertainy about financing the build-out. And simply because Clearwire's approach to the subscriber is so different from traditional cellular operators, it will take some time to see if users flock to it, and stick with it.
Cox is a senior editor at Network World.
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