iPCS, Sprint Nextel/New Clearwire lay down WiMAX swords for now
November 18 2008 - 12:40 pm ET | Allie Winter | RCR Wireless News
The ongoing battle between Sprint Nextel Corp. and its CDMA affiliate is set for a breather as iPCS withdrew its most recent injunction looking to stop Sprint Nextel’s WiMAX joint venture with Clearwire Corp.
iPCS withdrew the injunction after the WiMAX venture, dubbed New Clearwire, said it does not plan on launching WiMAX services in iPCS’ markets before July 2009. New Clearwire added that if it moves forward with any launch plans it will provide iPCS with a written notice 60 days prior to a network launch. The withdrawal does not let Sprint Nextel or the New Clearwire off the hook, but provides iPCS with a heads up if or when it needs to resume its legal battle.
iPCS’ qualms with the WiMAX venture centers around its affiliate agreement with Sprint Nextel that prohibits the carrier from launching a competing service in iPCS’ markets. The affiliate agreement issues began with Sprint Corp.’s acquisition of Nextel Communications Inc. that gave Sprint control of Nextel’s iDEN network in iPCS’ territories, which has yet to be resolved, and had continued to Sprint Nextel’s WiMAX plans. iPCS’ key markets include Grand Rapids and Saginaw, Mich.; Fort Wayne, Ind.; Tri-Cities, Tenn.; Scranton, Pa.; and Quad Cities, Iowa.
November 19, 2008 06:02 am
I would not worry about HSPA or LTE yet.But the first poster makes a great point and has very very in-depth knowledge of how things work at sprint.I see how similar (old) Clearwire is to Nextel, in that they are a nimble agile company that just gets things done and fast. Sprint is a behemoth where emails get forwarded hundreds of times by people who say 'That's not part of my job description'. It takes hundreds of emails to find the person responsible for the area you are looking for, if you are lucky.The best case scenario for Sprint shareholders would be for Sprint to own the 50% stake and provide cell tower and bandwidth resources etc, but for CLWR to build and run the network.
November 18, 2008 12:49 pm
I would love to be a fly on the wall when Sprint holds their first status meeting with Clearwire. "All green", "everythings on target", "we are financial sound". Then Clearwire starts to peel back the onion and sees how little progress Sprint has made in two years with 150 Project Managers and 6 engineers that don't know even know the standard 802.16. Then they will get stuck in the tireing office politics and muck like processes just like Nextel did. Sprint drove Nextel straight off the cliff and created a 30 billion dollar disaster. They will do the same to Clearwire, the investors and the WiMax technology.
November 18, 2008 12:49 pm
iPCS has nothing to worry about. WiMax 802.16e in the U.S. is going nowhere fast. Incumbent competition (HSPA, EVDO, the LTE trend, bad economy, lack of coverage, lack subscribers (they want coverage), lack of roaming, lack of SCALE are a few of the challenges facing 802.16e.