Hi Everyone,

Amid all the news about the election today, I wanted to remind everyone that the Federal Communication Commission will also be voting today on the approval of the Sprint-Clearwire joint venture to create a nationwide WiMAX network.  This is a very important vote for the wireless industry, and is very important for the future of WiMAX.

For some quick reading on the topic, please refer to:

CNET News: http://news.cnet.com/8301-1035_3-10081864-94.html
Om Malik: http://gigaom.com/2008/11/04/free-the-airwaves-all-of-them/
FierceWireless: http://www.fiercewireless.com/story/waiting-regulators/2008-11-04

Happy Voting!

Jeff

Update: The FCC approved the deal.  Please read more about it here: http://www.alleyinsider.com/2008/11/fcc-sprint-nextel-s-14-5-billion-clearwire-deal-s-clwr-

Looking back at the progression of wireless, it’s hard to believe how far we’ve come since the cell phone of 20 years ago.  It was 28 ounces (compared to the 5.5 ounce Blackberry Storm), cost a whopping $2,500 and had just one hour of battery life.  These days we have iPhones and BlackBerrys more powerful than any computer that was on the market at that time.  I personally feel privileged to be alive at this amazing time of progress.

When trying to understand this progress, one needs to look at the disruptive technologies that have paved the way for innovation; technologies that have turned industries on their heads.  In every industry, there are pioneers who saw new ways for technology to improve people lives.  The iPod changed the way most people consume music.  Google changed the way we search for information.  The wireless industry is due for a revolution and waiting for its pioneer.

This is where WiMAX comes in.  WiMAX is a simple technology that changes the playing field in the wireless industry.  I was reading an interesting article on The Motley Fool which takes a look at the impact WiMAX may have on the industry.  From the article:

“Where wireless technologies of the past quibbled over technical terms only engineers understood, WiMAX wants to change the balance of power in the wireless industry, by making broadband cheaper and more flexible for consumers.”

With WiMAX, consumers will be empowered.  The technology takes the things we like about wireless and removes the things we hate.  This simplicity is what businesses and consumers are looking for, the technological progress without all the strings and complications.  But is it disruptive?  According to The Motley Fool, the answer is yes.

“The point is that you get the same thing from your typical wireless carrier, minus the typical wireless carrier. Now that’s disruptive.”

How do you think WiMAX will disrupt the market?

Sometimes, when the media talks about WiMAX, they focus on spectrum and GHz, making it easy to overlook the big picture.  I’d like to bring WiMAX back into focus for a second, and try to give my readers a clear picture of what the recent launch of WiMAX means for you.

At this moment in time, I bet a majority of you have a notebook computer.  And I bet a good number of you have an iPhone, iPod Touch, BlackBerry, or another handheld device.  I also bet that everyone in these two categories has been frustrated at one point or another because they couldn’t connect to a hotspot or couldn’t get service. 

While hotspots are extremely useful, and have met most of our needs, we are increasingly becoming a mobile society that demands access to information anytime, anywhere.  Hotspots can’t reach us in our cars – and the phone companies’ networks are often too slow when they are available.  Users are demanding something better than this; something that will offer us the mobility, flexibility, and speed that we have grown accustomed to at home and in the office. 

That’s where WiMAX comes in; offering users speeds that are as fast as broadband, but with even faster upload speeds.  It will offer us mobility and reliability – and best of all, the technology is already operational in Baltimore through Sprint. 

To put this in perspective, I’d like to quote a recent article from Computerworld that details the speeds offered by WiMAX.

“Think about receiving the equivalent of a home DSL or cable broadband connection while you’re mobile, and you get an idea of its potential to put data everywhere you’ll be. In other words, WiMAX can turn a city into a hot spot for wireless data.”

That’s the kind of thing my mother can understand, and get excited about.

Hi Everyone!  

Some of my blog readers have asked that I start posting more news about Towerstream on the blog, so I will be doing more of that in the future.  I think it’s the right time, as the WiMAX space is facing such a strong period of growth.

Yesterday we announced that Towerstream is now delivering WiMAX service to businesses in downtown Chicago, using the 802.16e BreezeMAX® 3650 solution from Alvarion (NASDAQ:ALVR).

The addition of mobile WiMAX equipment to our existing network in Chicago is significant to both Towerstream and its current/potential customers in the city for a number of reasons:

- We can now reach additional businesses in the city as mobile WiMAX provides non-line-of-site capabilities
- By incorporating certified mobile WiMAX equipment to our Chicago network, we are ensuring that our network is prepared for WiMAX’s continued evolution
- We are able to maximize WiMAX’s potential in terms of economies of scale, cost, coverage and enhanced services
- Customers will continue to receive the same fast, reliable, high-quality wireless broadband

If you’d like to read the full release, it’s available here.

We’re very excited about this news and I’d love to hear your feedback, so please feel free to leave me comments! 

Thanks,

It’s official.  Sprint Nextel has launched its first WiMAX network – in Baltimore, MD.  

 This heavily anticipated network roll-out is just the beginning. According to a USA Today article by Leslie Cauley, voice services will eventually be added and “WiMax networks are under construction in Washington, D.C.; Portland, Ore.; Philadelphia; Dallas/Fort Worth; and Chicago. All are scheduled to be ready by early next year. By the end of 2009, 60 million to 80 million consumers are expected to have access to WiMax. By 2011, 200 million will, the companies (Sprint and Clearwire) predict.”

200 million by 2011 – that’s pretty impressive. It also begs the question - how many will have access to an LTE network by then? A Baltimore Sun article reports LTE is still at least two years away from consumer deployment.

In a Wall Street Journal article by Don Clark, an AT&T spokesperson claims the company will adopt LTE in three years.

So while AT&T and Verizon spend the next 2-3 years preparing their LTE networks, consumers will be taking advantage of all that WiMAX has to offer. So go ahead AT&T and Verizon, take your time!

No matter which technology you’re rooting for, I think we can all agree it’s a great day for WiMAX!

Thanks,

Jeff

PS - I am in Chicago for WiMAX World and Telephony LIVE this week. I’ll be speaking on panels at both conferences, and wanted to pass along the info in case anyone plans to attend and wants to say hello.

Event Details:

Telephony Live:

Panel: “The Service Provider of Tomorrow”
When: September 30, 2008; 10:15 a.m. CDT
Where: Embassy Suites Downtown -Lakefront, 511 N Columbus Drive, Chicago, IL

WiMAX World:

The regular baseball season is coming to a close.  The Red Sox are fighting to the bitter end for the penant as we gear up for the playoffs.  I love this time of year.

The last time I visited Fenway Stadium, there was a controversial call, and the crowd got into an uproar.  Unfortunately, the replay wasn’t shown on the jumbotron, and I didn’t get a chance to see the play again until I got home and watched Sportscenter.  This got me thinking about the future of live sports, and how teams should be embracing advancements in wireless technology.

In Seattle, the Mariners have embraced technology and are offering something very innovative which I can’t wait to try.  The Mariners – owned by former Nintendo President Hiroshi Yamauchi - offer a service for Nintendo DS carrying fans called Nintendo Fan Network software.  For $5, audience members can download this software to their Nintendo DS and use it to order beers and hot dogs from their seats, check player stats from MLB.com, watch the live TV broadcast, and even call up a replay for every play.  Talk about awesome!

Now the problem I see is that I don’t regularly have a Nintendo DS in my pocket.  This might soon be irrelevant as the handheld gaming, phone, and computer industries continue to merge.  Regardless, I think that Nintendo and the Mariners deserve some credit for using wireless technology in an innovative way that greatly benefits their customers. 

How do you think wireless broadband will affect our day to day lives? 

Hello from San Francisco!

It’s been a crazy few days here at CTIA, but I wanted to take a few minutes to blog about what I’ve seen on the show floor before my flight home takes off.

CTIA tends to focus on applications, software development, and network architecture, and the show this year was home to some pretty cool stuff. Blackberry announced an application that offers wireless access to TiVo. It basically turns your BlackBerry into a remote that can control your TiVo system from anywhere, anytime.  This will come in handy next time I’m on the road and forget to record the Pats game…I still can’t
believe Brady’s out for the season.  Eric Zeman from InformationWeek blogged about the TiVo application here

But enough about cool BlackBerry applications.  This is a blog about WiMAX!  Perhaps the most notable WiMAX related news came out of a keynote address/panel by the CEO’s of Sprint, Verizon Wireless, T-Mobile
and the CTIA.  I regrettably couldn’t make it to the address, but luckily Maggie Reardon from CNET wrote a great piece with all the highlights.  Speaking about Sprint CEO Dan Hesse, Maggie writes:

True openness will come with the company’s new 4G WiMax network, which it is building with Clearwire.  “From a device perspective, we still have a ways to go,” he said. “Really 4G and the embedded chip model for WiMax will allow people to bring whatever device, a laptop, camera or whatever to the network.”

The other CEO’s also addressed the “open network” issue and while they all agreed the walled gardens should come down, the definitions of “open” and the processes certainly varied.  Regardless, it’s a step in
the right direction and I have no doubt the pending roll-out of Sprint/Clearwire WiMAX networks will act as a catalyst.

Lastly, there was a lot of buzz that the Clearwire deal was on track to close this year.  Though Sprint and Clearwire announced their partnership a few months back the details are still being worked out. From what I’ve heard, everything is going smoothly and might even be ahead of schedule.

What did you think the highlights of CTIA were?  Did any companies disappoint or impress you at the show?

As most of you probably know, the CTIA Wireless IT and Entertainment show kicks off

tomorrow in San Francisco.  CTIA is always buzzing with new, cool products and demos and I am excited to get on a plane and head out tonight. 

My schedule at the show is pretty packed, but I am hoping to catch at least some of the panels and keynotes.  I am actually speaking on a panel myself tomorrow with folks from

deCarta, Deloitte, Dialogic, Ericsson and TapRoot – here are the details in case anyone wants to attend.

Panel: Utilizing Mobile Broadband: Investing for the Future

When: September 10, 2008; 1:00 PM PDT

Where: Moscone Convention Center, San Francisco, CA Room 2002

I think it’s going to be a really good discussion and I’m looking forward to getting on stage with my fellow panelists for a debate. 

Who do you think will be the “stars” of CTIA this week?  I am going to try and put up a post later in the week with some of my thoughts from the ground so check back soon! 

And if you’re going to be onsite, stop by my panel and say hello afterwards! 

Thanks,

Jeff

With the first mobile WiMAX networks from Sprint and Clearwire expected to launch this fall, consumers, mobile business users, and members of the WiMAX community are now asking – how long will it be before I can get my hands on a mobile WiMAX-enabled handheld device? Last week at the Intel Developer Forum in San Francisco, Intel’s Prakash Kripalani had some interesting comments that help answer that question.

According to an article by IDG News Service reporter, Stephen Lawson, Kripalani said, “The certification process for WiMax devices will allow vendors to get new products out to mobile broadband users in one-third the time it takes to put a phone on a carrier’s 3G network.”

One-third of the time! Let’s think about what that actually means for end-users – consumer and business alike. According to Kripalani, right now it takes up to 12 weeks for a device to get certified and approved for sale by a given carrier. So when a cool new phone is announced – let’s take for instance the soon-to-be available BlackBerry Bold – it can take 3 months to actually get to the hands of users. Three months is a long time to wait, especially when you get as excited about electronics as I do!

The IDG articles goes on to explain that “the WiMax Forum industry group will take a major role in approving components and devices, making things easier for operators and ultimately cutting time to market down to about a month.”

This will also be a huge help for mobile device companies that arguably suffer the most from the lengthy carrier certification/approval process. For instance, Lawson points out that Palm has listed “delays in carrier approval of a key product” as a reason behind its reported losses last December.

This shortened time to market for devices will no doubt also help the popularity of WiMAX networks. When a mobile device like the BlackBerry Bold is released on WiMAX networks before it’s available for the competition, you can bet that early adopters and innovative businesses will be looking more seriously at making the switch to WiMAX. It’s also an exciting development for the “road warriors” of the world who are always looking for the next device to make their on-the-go business activities easier and more seamless.

What mobile devices are you excited about – and waiting for? Do you think a shorter time to market for devices will help everyone in the ecosystem, from consumers to business professionals to devices makers?

Drama, Drama, Teledrama…

The mobile space is facing some growing pains. Sprint and Clearwire are trying to move into a new market. AT&T is opposed. Wait, maybe AT&T is confused?

In a recent interview with USA Today’s Leslie Cauley, AT&T’s new CTO, John Donovan, says the company is on the look out for a technology to bring AT&T’s network into the future. A likely candidate, from the CTO himself, is WiMAX:

WiMax is also cheap to install and maintain. Donovan says WiMax could come in handy in some U.S. markets, particularly rural areas where it’s becoming prohibitively expensive to maintain copper.

But isn’t AT&T opposed to WiMAX? Isn’t AT&T petitioning the FCC to deny the pending WiMAX merger of Sprint’s XOHM and Clearwire? This RCR Wireless article by Jeffrey Silva has more background on the company’s statement to the FCC, if you’re not already familiar with the situation, but the long and short of it is that AT&T doesn’t want the deal to go through.

Let’s review why AT&T would be opposed to the Sprint/Clearwire merger and why they want a piece of the action themselves:

• “AT&T has a substantial portfolio of 2.3 GHz spectrum in the U.S. and must cover 25 percent of the population by July 2010.” - Fierce Wireless
• WiMAX would be a good way to utilize this spectrum and take the company’s legacy network into the future.

This whole situation reminds me of the other recent fearful responses to new technology. When a company has a vested interest in an old technology and tries to maintain control – even in spite of technological advancements.

Take Verizon’s continued assault on Wi-Fi: Does Verizon really think notebooks and every other internet device will stop coming with Wi-Fi? And will Linux disappear because other Operating System providers say it’s not good?

When a new, better, faster, cheaper technology comes to market there will always be fear. Telecommunication companies have billions invested in antiquated technologies. The public should not have to suffer because these companies have locked themselves into closed technology paths. I don’t want their version of the Internet on my phone, I want the Internet!! The good news is that once a large company is fearful of a technology there is a reason for it. Back to “Better, Faster, Cheaper.”

What do you think is motivating AT&T? As Sprint begins to fight back, and debunk some of the reasons for opposing the merger, where does this leave us? AT&T: Friend or Foe?