Things are looking up at Clearwire, its Q4 revenue came in just over Wall Street’s estimates at 2 million, split between 8 million retail and 4 million wholesale — with the latter figure up 20 percent over the last quarter. It pointed a finger at increased smartphone usage and slashed operating costs (spending only million) as the reason for the bump. With this being Clearwire, it’s still in the business doldrums, relying on handouts from Sprint to keep it going. It’s planning to flog off around 0 million of debt to “qualified investors” as a way to ensure sufficient funding for the forthcoming LTE rollout. If you’re interested in this sort of thing, you can read the full breakdown after the interval, presumably storming around pretending that you’re Gordon Gekko.

Continue reading Clearwire Q4: revenues up, costs down, LTE expensive

Clearwire Q4: revenues up, costs down, LTE expensive originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 24 Jan 2012 19:53:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  Clearwire  | Email this | Comments
Engadget

Clearwire is thinking about skipping out on a 7 million loan payment due in two weeks, which could make things very uncomfortable for its primary shareholder and WiMAX bandwidth customer Sprint. A Clearwire default or bankruptcy could do irreparable harm to Sprint’s future 4G strategy –- whether the operator admits it or not.

In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, Clearwire’s new CEO Erik Prusch said the mobile broadband wholesaler is weighing whether or not to conserve cash by putting off loan payments due Dec. 1. Clearwire has a 30-day grace period after the payment comes due so if Clearwire delayed sending a check, Pursch said the company could make good use of that time to seek more funding and to sign up new partners to resell its WiMAX service. Prusch declined to tell the Journal if Clearwire is considering the option of restructuring its debt load either in or out of bankruptcy, though he did say the company is consulting with multiple advisors on its “strategic options.”

Clearwire is walking a tightrope, and if it falls, its weight will land squarely on Sprint. Not only would Sprint lose much of investment during a Clearwire bankruptcy, but it also risks parting with perhaps its most valuable asset: spectrum. When Clearwire’s current incarnation was created in 2008, Sprint turned over 70 MHz of 2.5 GHz spectrum to the new venture, relying on Clearwire to be a good steward of Sprint’s future mobile broadband strategy. WiMAX turned out to be a flop, but as the network technology slowly dies, the spectrum it runs over remains just as valuable, if not more so.

Clearwire holds over 100 MHz in every major U.S. market. To put that in perspective, that’s more than five times what AT&T and Verizon are using to launch their current ultra-fast LTE networks. With that kind of capacity, Sprint conceivably could continue to offer unlimited smartphone data plans well into the future, while its competitors struggle to limit their customer’s usage.

Sprint wants to leave WiMAX in the dust eventually, which is why it has committed to its own LTE buildout using its own PCS spectrum. But you can bet Sprint is counting on keeping that 2.5 GHz in reserve, using the current WiMAX network to power its 4G smartphones and modems and Clearwire’s proposed future time-division LTE (TD-LTE) (subscription required) deployment to supplement future 4G capacity. Sprint, however, isn’t exactly advertising its dependency on that spectrum.

Sprint has taken several steps to create public distance between its 4G strategy and Clearwire. When Sprint revealed its future mobile broadband plans at an analyst conference in October, it began prioritizing its networks of choice. Clearwire ranked at the bottom of the list, behind Sprint’s own LTE network and network sharing deals such as the one it struck with 4G operator upstart LightSquared (which is still struggling to get FCC permission to launch). Even when Sprint and Clearwire publicly made up later that month with Sprint agreeing to work with Clearwire on its TD-LTE deployment, that network still came in dead last in Sprint’s priority list. Sprint has been playing a dangerous game of hard-to-get with its 4G supplier, making every effort to communicate that it doesn’t need Clearwire to move forward.

But reality tells a much different story than what’s written in Sprint’s PowerPoint presentations. Sprint has only a single clear 5 MHz-by-5 MHz block of spectrum over which to launch LTE. It’s primary competitors AT&T and Verizon Wireless have already launched LTE networks with twice as much capacity — and they have almost as much spectrum in reserve. To grow, Sprint will need to cannibalize its CDMA network or hasten the demise of its Nextel iDEN network, clearing those 800 MHz airwaves for 4G. If LightSquared can overcome the mounting political opposition to its launch, Sprint will get some relief, but even then it only can hope for the equivalent of another 5 MHz-by-5 MHz LTE carrier. Once that’s exhausted, that only leaves Clearwire.

If Sprint were to tap into a future Clearwire TD-LTE network, it would have capacity to burn. Clearwire can feasibly launch an LTE network with 40 MHz of bandwidth, double what AT&T and Verizon offer today — and Clearwire has plenty more room to grow.

But if Clearwire files for bankruptcy, Sprint could lose that treasure trove of spectrum. Sprint’s investment in Clearwire could be wiped out completely, or worse: the spectrum could be auctioned off to the highest bidder, placing it into the hands of a cash-rich competitor like Verizon or AT&T. From a spectrum position, Sprint today is the envy of the industry with access to the richest stores of frequencies of any operator. If it lets Clearwire default and descend into bankruptcy, Sprint would become the operator with the weakest spectrum position, except for T-Mobile. And we all know what T-Mobile’s 4G strategy is: get bought by AT&T.

Related research and analysis from GigaOM Pro:
Subscriber content. Sign up for a free trial.

• For Operators Who Bet on WiMAX, There’s an LTE Plan B
• Sprint’s tightrope walk: finding a balance for its network modernization plan
• Mobile Q1: All Eyes on Tablets, T-Mobile and AT&T

alt=''
border='0'
/>

GigaOM

OpenRange Communications, the company that scored a 7 million federal loan to build out a rural mobile broadband network, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Thursday. The petition lists several unsecured creditors such as Alavrian ( million), Globalstar (5,000), network builder Velocitel (.6 million) and network integrator Adestsa (.6 million), but the U.S. government will be ahead of all of those folks in line to get paid from any asset sale.

As a secured creditor, the government will be one of the first in line for repayment of its loans although, it’s uncertain how much OpenRange’s assets would be worth, given it was building out a WiMax network. There’s not a huge market for WiMax equipment in the U.S. as Clearwire ( s clwr) abandons the technology and even Sprint is looking at LTE as an option for its future network needs.

Paul Kapustka, over at Sidecut Reports has done a lot of digging on the story and has written a solid analysis of the loan situation. He explains it’s not as bad as it could be:

The good news for U.S. taxpayers is that Open Range Communications, the now-bankrupt startup that was trying to build rural wireless networks, never received the full amount of the 7 million loan it won from the U.S. Department of Agriculture back in 2008. The bad news is — according to research into Open Range’s agreement with the USDA — Open Range did receive million from the USDA and has only paid back .5 million, leaving the government at the top of the creditors’ list of the Chapter 11-ed Open Range.

So OpenRange is on the hook for .5 million back to the government (and the taxpayers) while rural areas of the U.S. are still without mobile broadband coverage. Part of the drama in this particular case appear to be an issue with the satellite spectrum that OpenRange had hoped to use from Globalstar, which was then later revoked. The much-trumpeted deal with LightSquared that was announced this year was never finalized — possibly since LightSquared’s network is being held up.

While many will focus on the government loan in this situation, I think a more important lesson to take away from the OpenRange debacle is that building networks are hard. It takes a lot of money, the right technology bets, and the time and stamina to roll with the federal policy issues that always arise when spectrum is in play.

Related research and analysis from GigaOM Pro:
Subscriber content. Sign up for a free trial.

• From car to cloud: the future of the in-vehicle app landscape
• What Comcast’s Win Against FCC Means for Broadband
• Report: Monetizing Digital Content

alt=''
border='0'
/>

GigaOM

Clearwire’s shift to LTE is not just a move away from WiMAX, but it cements Clearwire’s shift in strategy from being a retail operator to a wholesale provider — a shift that has been coming for a while. In this week’s announcement Clearwire said that it would sell its LTE network not just to partners such as Sprint, but also to anyone that wants such service.

This isn’t a new field for Clearwire, which has sold wholesale WiMAX access to the cable providers that funded it and to retailers such as Best Buy, but as it moves to LTE and closes down retail locations this wholesale strategy is becoming more clear. And it’s also setting Clearwire up as an odd operator out in the industry as many other cellular companies try to sell services as opposed to pure capacity. However, in Clearwire CTO John Saw’s view “LTE is all about capacity.”

Building the LTE wholesale network.

During the call to discuss the transition to LTE, Clearwire emphasized that it would employ a version of LTE known as LTE-Advanced. This refers to releases 10 and 11 of the LTE technology, but Release 10 was just frozen in March and the gear isn’t out yet for it. What Clearwire hopes to deploy if it gets 0 million or so from investors, is LTE Release version 8, and will be upgradable to later releases that are actually LTE-Advanced. The key elements for Clearwire, and the reason it’s using the LTE-Advanced lingo is because it’s using some features built into the version of the standard that are associated with LTE-Advanced. Plus, since LTE-Advanced was the “real 4G” according to the ITU, I’m sure there will be some marketing spin on this later.

Saw says that Clearwire plans to take advantage of features that allow an operator to group different spectrum bands together to create a virtual pipe as well as features known as MIMO that allow multiple antennas on the device and base stations to boost upload speeds. Those two things are the most important reasons Clearwire has switched to LTE.

For the deeply nerdy, it’s using TDD-LTE (GigaOM Pro sub req’d), a different variation from Verizon and AT&T, which are deploying FDD-LTE. The difference is that Verizon and AT&T must deploy their spectrum in equal clumps going upstream and downstream, but Clearwire (and anyone using TDD-LTE) can allocate their spectrum unevenly, with a greater proportion going to downstream and less for upstream use.

Upgrading the existing infrastructure will be easier in cities where Clearwire has recently deployed WiMAX said Saw: “Adding LTE to those markets is as simple as plugging in another line card on the cell site.” In some areas Clearwire may have to install new radios and in general it will upgrade the core network and backhaul networks, all for that estimated 0 million mentioned.

What happens to WiMAX?

But amid the Clearwire move to LTE, what happens to the existing WiMAX network? Saw says it will remain intact. The company will use 20 MHz of spectrum for LTE and reserve 10 MHz for WiMAx and operate both networks side-by-side. In most cases the equipment is designed to do just that.

It all depends on devices.

By managing multiple networks, even if it can reuse some of the same equipment, Clearwire avoids the challenge of clearing spectrum and getting people to transition to new devices. But devices will still be a key element in Clearwire’s success with LTE. Because it plans to offer wholesale access, Clearwire will have to rely on device makers to put radios into their products that are TDD-LTE compliant and that work in the 2.3 to 2.7 GHz spectrum band that Clearwire is using. Wireless radios, with their associated IP aren’t cheap, so the key is getting them both inexpensive, but also small enough and power efficient enough that a tablet using Clearwire’s LTE won’t cost a lot more and will still have decent battery life.

Clearwire has teamed up with China Mobile and Vodafone to promote a world band in its spectrum for TDD-LTE as part of the Global TD-LTE Initiative. Saw claims that the members of the GTI represent hundreds of millions of potential subscribers and members are deploying networks this year. He didn’t provide details but said Qualcomm, Broadcom and others are planning chips for the band. When I asked if the chips were sample and if we could expect a 12-18 month time frame before such devices hit the market, he said pre-commercial devices are already available. That’s not a clear answer so figuring out when devices that could use the network will arrive is still an open question. Qualcomm recently made its own spectrum play in India in the 2.3 GHz band suggesting it does have plans to support it with radios.

Clearwire’s gamble may all depend on cheap chips

Clearing up Clearwire’s business model.

With its plans to deploy LTE only in areas with high demand, Saw explains that Clearwire’s business model will be built around providing capacity offload. This is something other carriers are doing with Wi-Fi today, but having a more mobile option clearly has benefits in areas where one can’t find a hot spot. By offering LTE it would compete against the planned wholesale LTE network from LightSquared, which wants to use a mix of satellite and terrestrial capacity from Sprint to offer service.

Clearwire is up against LightSquared’s planned satellite network.

Saw bristled when compared with LightSquared pointing out that the company is not only in a fight with the GPS industry over interference, but it also doesn’t have a network. “It’s hard to speculate about LightSquared. It has zero spectrum and no network, and even if they, by some miracle, get their lower 10 MHz approved, that’s a very thin network compared to having 160 MHz in the top 100 markets,” Saw said.

And once again we’re back to capacity, which is what Clearwire has to hope matters. Even with its WiMAX network, Clearwire was hitting the capacity angle hard, because it had those vast spectrum reserves. And while technologists will argue about the poorer spectrum propogation characteristics of the 2.3 and 2.7 bands (they don’t go through buildings easily), that’s the cards Clearwire was dealt (or bought, cheap at auction actually). So the question for Clearwire investors and partners becomes whether or not Clearwire can build out an LTE network designed to offer mobile broadband in areas where carriers and other providers need service and whether that business is big enough to support the costs of building and running such a network.

Related research and analysis from GigaOM Pro:
Subscriber content. Sign up for a free trial.

• For Operators Who Bet on WiMAX, There’s an LTE Plan B
• 4G: State of the Union
• In Q4, Data Was Mobile’s Hot Spot

alt=''
border='0'
/>

GigaOM — Tech News, Analysis and Trends

Consider yourself a New Yorker? If so, you could find yourself underneath Sprint / TWC / Clearwire’s 4G umbrella, as the trio has announced a 21 percent coverage expansion in the greater New York City area. Folks in Alpine, Bayonne, Elizabeth, Fair Lawn, Newark, Paramus, Secaucus, Union, NJ; and Hartsdale, New Rochelle, New York, Rockville Centre, Yonkers, NY will now be covered in the regional Clear network, and as of last count, that amounts to an extra 91,363 people. ‘Course, a few newcomers will be born every minute, so maybe we’ve breached 91,369 by now. Or maybe more. Talk about confusing.

Continue reading Clearwire boosts NYC WiMAX coverage by 21 percent, 91,363 people rejoice uncontrollably

Clearwire boosts NYC WiMAX coverage by 21 percent, 91,363 people rejoice uncontrollably originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 13 Jul 2011 01:13:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Mobile Burn  |   | Email this | Comments
Engadget

When does this story get better? Clearwire, the early 4G WiMAX pioneer announced its CEO Bill Morrow is stepping down for personal reasons, part of a larger executive shake-up that includes the exit of chief commercial officer Mike Sievert, and CIO Kevin Hart. This follows not long after the December departure of company Founder and Chairman Craig McCaw.

Clearwire’s current Chairman John Stanton, the former CEO of Western Wireless and VoiceStream Wireless, has been named interim CEO, replacing Morrow who has been at the helm for two years. Erik Prusch, Clearwire’s CFO, has been named chief operating officer, while Hope Cochran, Clearwire’s SVP and treasurer, has been promoted to CFO. The executive shuffle and departures highlight the precarious state of Clearwire, which was out front in the race to 4G but has struggled to turn its advantage into a winning business. And may suggest some big company moves to come.

The company is struggling with cash flow problems and had to go to public markets to sell .33 billion in debt to keep building the network. It reportedly halted its retail business last month. And with cash tight, the company has been forced to cut jobs and slow its network deployment. It’s also looking at selling its valuable spectrum to drum up money and has been sparring with majority owner Sprint about pricing and the direction of the company. Clearwire said today it’s close to resolving its whole pricing dispute with Sprint. Even with that out of the way, there are a lot of issues facing Clearwire. Another one popped up today when 15 customers sued the company for not delivering advertised speeds.

Om asked back in December if the turmoil was forcing Clearwire into an acquisition by Sprint. Sprint owns 54 percent of Clearwire and has said that Clearwire’s WiMAX is its 4G strategy but is now reportedly looking at deploying LTE. The question is what happens to Clearwire if Sprint makes a move toward LTE? Both are tied to each other in a dysfunctional relationship but Clearwire’s positions seems to be more in doubt. Is it getting close to getting sold? Om wondered aloud in December if the McCaw’s exit was a precursor to some big company-defining moment or an executive shake-up. Well we have the executive ranks shuffling. Now is it time for a big move?

Related content from GigaOM Pro (subscription req’d):

• In Q4, Data Was Mobile’s Hot Spot
• Mobile Wrap-up: Q1 2009
• Report: A Mobile Video Market Overview

alt='The exponential data center is here: Juniper Networks'
border='0'
/>

GigaOM