CHICAGO – Clearwire Corp. CEO Ben Wolff stepped onto the WiMAX World stage in front of a packed house Wednesday morning. As audience members squeezed to find chairs or stood along the back walls, Wolff made the business case for WiMAX, as well as touted the promise of a future with truly mobile broadband access.
Foregoing the traditional keynote, Wolff sat down for some Q-and-A with Berge Ayvazian, conference co-chair and chief strategy officer for the Yankee Group. After a few minutes promoting the industry, and talk of what “the future will bring,” Ayvazian questioned Wolff on the status of the new Clearwire.
Active in 46 markets today, Wolff said Clearwire counts nearly a half-million customers on its pre-WiMAX technology network. The operator hopes to cover between 60 million and 80 million people by the end of next year.
In an exclusive interview with RCR Wireless News, Wolff said when WiMAX-based services roll out, new Clearwire customers may have the opportunity to save some money. “We’re expecting WiMAX devices to come into the marketplace at a price point that’s lower than what we’ve offered on pre-WiMAX technology,” Wolff said.
When WiMAX begins to hit those areas, Wolff said it will be deployed as an overlay and will not be a flash cut, meaning Clearwire customers won’t be forced to stop using their pre-WiMAX equipment.
“We’ll be able to operate two networks side by side, and that way we won’t have to force customers to switch over,” Wolff said.
While Sprint Nextel Corp. rolls out its Xohm WiMAX service in Baltimore and soon in Washington, D.C., Wolff said Clearwire expects to launch initially with WiMAX in Portland, Las Vegas and Grand Rapids. More than 100 devices are going through the WiMAX certification process, he noted.
People’s mobile broadband experiences should change dramatically on advanced-generation networks. Yankee’s Ayvazian touched on the future of wireless users being able to take broadband out of the home and have it wherever they please. From a business perspective, Wolff said people will see more productivity, responsiveness and get easier access to much more relevant information.
“People have been talking for a decade about convergence,” he said. “Our business really has the capacity to deliver the content services [we’re all] talking about.”
During his Wednesday conference discussion, Wolff left the WiMAX vs. LTE battle out of the conversation, reminding Ayvazian and the audience that this new era is more about what the technology can offer to people, not which is better. Further, it’s about the business plans operators deploy.
“There’s no doubt that I’m one of WiMAX’s biggest fans,” he said. “People are getting lost in the debate.”
The argument between WiMAX and LTE had been resting around the fact that WiMAX would gain the time-to-market advantage. But after some significant delays, has WiMAX lost that bargaining chip?
“I don’t feel like we’re losing time,” Wolff said when talking to RCR Wireless News. “At the end of the day, they’re [WiMAX and LTE] very similar. Our time-to-market advantage isn’t purely dependent on the fact that WiMAX is here today and LTE is not, but rather it’s the combination of technology with a robust ecosystem of devices, coupled with large spectrum position and an all IP-based core network.
Google on the horizon
Others likely banking on that time-to-market advantage, however, would be the various partners invested in WiMAX. One partner in particular, Google Inc., is gradually becoming even more involved in Clearwire’s WiMAX plans. Wolff said Google is present in three key areas: the device ecosystem with its Android open platform; Google’s ability to develop innovation applications and service for 4G; and as a lead partner on search and advertising. Wolff also said Clearwire fully intends incorporate the Android platform into some devices, saying it is a “pretty stellar system.”
Clearwire has a multitude of investors, but what the company is really waiting for is to complete its partnership with Sprint Nextel Corp. Clearwire’s Voice over IP service is residential, but Wolff told RCR Wireless News that once the transaction closes, Clearwire will have the ability to re-sell under its own brand, like an MVNO of all Sprint Nextel plans.
“How we’ll do that is still something we’re evaluating,” Wolff said. “[There’s] a lot of demand from our customers for mobile voice services.”
Aside from taking advantage of Sprint’ Nextel’s service plans, Wolff said Clearwire plans to leverage the assets Sprint Nextel has in its 3G network and the carrier distribution channels. “I think Dan [Hesse, Sprint Nextel CEO] and I see the world very similarly,” he said.
