WiMax provider Clearwire announced today that its much-anticipated earnings call for the quarter will be held March 5. And according to Clearwire, it will also use that call to announce its next planned market launches, another highly anticipated bit of information in the WiMax world.
Our betting line opens with Chicago, Washington, D.C., Atlanta, Las Vegas and Dallas on the “short list” for 2009; anyone with odds or predictions, leave ‘em in the comments!
About Paul KapustkaPaul Kapustka is a longtime journalist who has spent more than two decades covering the information technology business, Paul most recently has been focusing on mobility and how it has changed the computing and collaborative landscape. His newest project outside Mobile Enterprise 360 is a research and analysis operation called WiFi Journal. He is also editor in chief of Mobile Sports Report, which covers the intersection of mobile technology and sports business. Paul is also the founder of Sidecut Reports, a research firm that covered the emergence of 4G technology in the cellular marketplace.
I think it will be:
Chicago
Dallas
San Diego
Houston
Seattle
Vegas
Atlanta
DC
Philly
There’s no way Chicago is going to be launched. I’m with Joe Moe on this one.
Matt,
Come on. WiMAX is WiFi on steroids.
Isn’t WiMAX supposed to be the replacement for the ill-fated citywide Wi-Fi network that Chicago abruptly canceled after EarthLink pulled out of the biz?
@Matt if Chicago won’t be launched what will they do with all the towers and gear supposedly in place already?
A big part of the network was already operational way back in October…
http://www.sidecutreports.com/2008/11/02/wimax-test-drive-roamin-on-xohm-in-chicago/
The network is operational now. I am using it, but there’s still massive coverage holes.
They’re going to launch it, but not anytime soon. I didn’t mean that they weren’t ever going to launch it, just sit on it til they’re good and ready.
They planned for an end of ’08 launch in the beginning of ’08 and now they’ve pushed it back to the end ’09.
I think it’s suicide that they can’t get it launched in a major market.
Boston
Chicago
Dallas
Philly
Where the fuck is NYC?
NYC is a Verizon stronghold. Don’t mess with the big V!
@Matt I think you are seeing the philosophical differences of the Clearwire and former Xohm teams in action in Chicago. Xohm’s Barry West (now at Clearwire) had talked previously about launching in just parts of a city and then rolling services out gradually; Clearwire CEO Ben Wolff now says things like “when we launch services have to be great, everywhere in the market.”
Not sure which approach is better, but guessing you will see the more-conservative Clearwire deployment style going forward.
Get the scoop at the:
XOHM Kiosk
Towson Town Center
Towson MD 21204
410 847 9024
I suspect with the unforeseen market conditions, & the push toward provide rural broadband services, that a few second or 3rd tier markets might be advisable. They are cheaper to deploy, and they could exhibit the technologies ability to provide service to a RSA as well as major markets. So something like:
Denver
Birmingham
Albany
St Louis
OKC
There will be a few large markets that are already in progress:
Atlanta, Vegas, Washington, Dallas, maybe Chicago
And possibly smaller markets where they already have service – much faster and cheaper to overlay using existing towers, backhaul, etc.
Raliegh, Jacksonville, Seattle, Nashville, etc.