Clearwire Plans 2013 Launch For TDD-LTE In Major Metro Areas
Clearwire may not be the name in wireless that it once was when WiMAX was alive and well in North America, but there's no quit in these folks. The company is moving with the punches, announcing this week plans to launch a TDD-LTE network to serve 4G "hot zones" in New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, Seattle and dozens of other markets. In a move that'll make it more competitive with LTE markets already out there, Clearwire will bring its brand of LTE to 31 cities in 2013, with the initial rollout happening earlier in the year, and the rest of the markets getting served in "mid-2013." Deployment of Clearwire's TDD-LTE network will target high demand "hot zones" in major urban centers where demand for 4G mobile broadband access is high and the need for deep 4G capacity resources is most acute. Further details on exact launch dates and pricing are promised for the future, but at least you can count on more one company pushing those other LTE mainstays to keep on lighting up new markets. Here's a bit from the release:
"Our new 4G network will show that not all LTE networks are created equal," said Erik Prusch, President and CEO of Clearwire. "Clearwire's LTE Advanced-ready network will deploy our deep spectrum resources for the next great era in mobile broadband in which capacity is king. We're positioned to bring much needed capacity on a wholesale basis to address the unbridled demand for mobile data and the scarcity of spectrum in major urban and suburban markets."
Clearwire's next-generation LTE Advanced-ready network will be a major advancement over the current LTE networks deployed in the U.S. By leveraging its deep spectrum holdings to commercialize large contiguous swaths of spectrum in a given market, Clearwire believes its LTE Advanced-ready network will further differentiate it as a leader in next-generation 4G mobile broadband technology, capable of serving the current and anticipated future demands of wholesale and retail customers.
