4G's implications for Google are Clear

It's official: MarketWatch reports that Clearwire and Sprint have combined their next-generation wireless Internet businesses and are set to build the first nationwide high-speed 4G broadband network. And it's no surprise that Google is in on the ground floor as one of the major investors who together have contributed $3.2 billion to the effort.

The new joint venture, first announced in May, promises to build the first nationwide WiMAX-based 4G network. By combining both Sprint and Clearwire networks, the new company--which will keep the Clearwire name--expects to have at least 100MHz of optimal 4G spectrum in most U.S. markets. The result? A wireless Internet solution that rivals today's wired Internet connectivity. The venture's upcoming WiMAX service, called Clear, should offer average downloads of between 2M and 4M bit/sec, with peak rates considerably higher. As the story quotes Clearwire CEO Benjamin Wolff, it's all about the spectrum:

"In the landline world, service providers can't deliver broadband without a big enough 'pipe,' and in the wireless world that means having enough of the right kind of spectrum. Our significant spectrum holdings provide Clearwire with unmatched, dedicated network capacity for data services that will enable us to deliver true, mobile broadband services in ways never before possible."

And Google's role in all this? Getting more people on the Internet, anytime and from anywhere. The company has its ducks in a row. Now that it is the unassailable leader in wired Internet search (and search advertising), the next step on its road to success is to duplicate that leadership on the mobile, wireless Internet. That's why it's a big iPhone and Android player, and that's why it continues to deliver on innovations like Google Apps and it's Chrome (and Chrome Lite) browsers. As more people come to rely on the wireless Internet, Google will be there to help--and collect their advertising dollars.

• Wireless / Mobile
• 100MHz
• 4G
• Clear
• ClearWire
• Google
• mobile internet
• spectrum
• Sprint
• WiMax
• wireless broadband