Items tagged with WiMAX
At long last, it seems that this particular saga is drawing to an end. Clearwire, once a hot company in the age of WiMAX, fell off of the map fairly quickly after it became crystal clear that LTE was the future of 4G. But recently, it has become a hot commodity. Both Sprint and Dish have been flinging dirt over who was going to take it over, and after Dish finally got fed up and walked away, Sprint moved in for the kill. And now, Sprint has its most promising sign yet: a stamp of approval from the FCC. The Federal Communications Commission announced this week that it has voted unanimously to approve the applications filed by SoftBank, Sprint and Clearwire related to their transactions announced...
Read more...
Just what Sprint needs: another lawsuit to spend gobs of money on as it bleeds customers. But sure enough, the carrier -- which is struggling mightily on the coverage aspect as well as the LTE rollout front -- has just filed suit against DISH Network and Clearwire, citing the illegality of the DISH offer to buy up Clearwire. It has become an awful circus for all of these companies. Clearwire was once integral in getting Sprint into the 4G game with WiMAX, and now Sprint's suing that very company? Talk about a mess. Essentially, Sprint fears that DISH is about to buy up Clearwire, and Sprint feels that the transaction violates a great number of things. In addition to seeking to enjoin the tender...
Read more...
If there's one industry that could stand to be disrupted, it's probably the pay-TV industry, but if there's another, it's the home broadband industry. Not surprisingly, these two are often joined at the hip, offered in "bundles" by the same ISP. FreedomPop has set out to rearrange the equation, and the latest from the company is a pretty big promise: "free home broadband." This week, the company announced the public availability of its new Burst home router device, offering 100 percent free high-speed Internet in the home or small office. FreedomPop's new home broadband device provides speeds faster than typical DSL and comparable with most major cable providers. The Burst wireless modem router...
Read more...
It took Sprint a long time, and WiMAX will forever be remembered as a sore first shot at introducing true 4G to America, but the carrier is finally getting around to pushing LTE to the masses. The company, which is in talks with SoftBank for a possible tie-up, will be launching 4G LTE in 20 new cities "in the coming months." San Francisco, Fort Wayne, Sarasota and South Bend are some of the larger areas, with quite a few mid-markets listed as well. During the pre-launch phase, Sprint customers with capable devices may begin to see 4G LTE coverage in these areas and are welcome to use the network even before it officially launches. Sprint plans to announce commercial availability of 4G LTE in...
Read more...
WiMAX may be a fading term, but it was all the rage just a few years ago. With Sprint onboard here in the the U.S., and numerous other carriers jumping onboard elsewhere, it looked to be the true next-gen wireless format to overtake 3G. But then, LTE happened. That format offered far higher speeds compared to 3G networks, and with all of these format wars, it's all about support and momentum. History has sort of written itself sense, with Verizon, AT&T, and now even Sprint making the decision that LTE is going to be their 4G option of choice. ABI Research has recently found that in the monitoring of early LTE progress, that format is already overtaking the gains that WiMAX had from being...
Read more...
Sprint announced a new mobile hotspot that supports the carrier's upcoming 4G LTE network as well as its currently available 4G WiMAX and 3G networks. The Sierra Wireless 4G LTE Tri-Fi Hotspot will be available May 18 for $99.99 after a mail-in-rebate and with a two-year service agreement. The device supports up to eight Wi-Fi enabled devices and offers a microSD slot for file sharing. The Sierra Wireless Tri-Fi Hotspot offers up to eight hours of use on a single charge. Sprint expects to launch its 4G LTE network in limited markets by the middle of this year. Sierra Wireless 4G LTE Tri-Fi Hotspot, Nation’s First to Support 4G LTE, 4G WiMAX and 3G, Available May 18 Exclusively from Sprint...
Read more...
Boost Mobile isn't the only prepaid carrier who's getting 4G service. Today, Virgin Mobile also announced 4G service with its no-contract plans. To accompany the announcement, Virgin Mobile announced the HTC EVO V 4G smartphone, Overdrive Pro 3G/4G mobile hotspot, and U600 3G/4G USB Stick. The HTC EVO V 4G will be available for $299.99 on May 31. This smartphone runs on Android 4.0 and HTC Sense 3.6. Key features include a 4.3-inch qHD touchscreen, 1GB RAM/4GB ROM, and a 5MP camera. For Virgin Mobile’s Broadband2Go customers, the Overdrive Pro 3G/4G mobile hotspot by Sierra Wireless ($149.99) and the powerful U600 3G/4G USB Stick by Franklin Wireless ($99.99) will be available online beginning...
Read more...
Boost Mobile announced its first 4G smartphone in the form of the HTC EVO Design 4G. This phone connects to Sprint's 3G and 4G WiMAX networks and offers 4G service in 71 markets across the country. While connected to WiMAX, customers can expect average upload speeds between 3-6 Mbps. The EVO Design 4G is the first smartphone in Boost Mobile's lineup to offer 4G speeds along with the carrier's no-contract $55 per month unlimited plan with Shrinking Payments. The HTC EVO Design 4G will be available on May 31 for $299.99. The phone features a 1.2GHz processor, 4-inch qHD capacitive touchscreen display, Android 4.0 and HTC Sense, and a 5MP rear-facing camera. Although Boost Mobile's data plan is...
Read more...
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...
Read more...
Did you know that netbooks were still being sold on contract? Not too many still are, and we're guessing they never really went over too well, but Sprint's taking another whack at 'em with the launch of the WiMAX-enabled IdeaPad S205s from Lenovo. The "mini notebook" boasts an Intel dual-core U5600 processor, Windows 7 Home Premium, and an aging wireless technology that has effectively lost the 4G race to LTE. We're actually wondering why the carrier would go through with the launch of this. Sure, the IdeaPad itself is a slim 18mm and boasts an 11.6" display, 2GB of DDR3 memory, a 250GB HDD, 802.11a/b/g/n Wi-Fi, HDMI output, card reader, USB ports (2x2.0) and a 6-cell battery, but it's still...
Read more...
Once a champion of WiMAX technology, Sprint is quickly doing its best to forget it ever happened. Despite launching a number of successful smartphones with WiMAX radios, it didn't take long for LTE to become the clear winner in the 4G race. Sure enough, Sprint's 4G partner (Clearwire) has announced that LTE and LTE-Advanced is the technology it'll be embracing in the future, leaving the future of WiMAX very bleak in the States. In fact, Sprint won't even be selling WiMAX devices in the near future. Speaking at the Competitive Carriers Global Expo in Florida, Bob Azzi, senior vice president of networks at Sprint, stated that Sprint will not seek to launch more WiMAX products, even though they...
Read more...
Wondering what's next for Clearwire? You probably aren't alone. The company that launched with WiMAX, and then sided with LTE, is still in a state of transition, and the Sprint tie-in makes things even more complicated / interesting. In the company's Q4 2011 earnings report, they notched greatly improved revenue and subscriber counts, but that's not the major news. Total revenue for full year 2011 increased 134% year over year to $1.25 billion, primarily driven by wholesale revenue which increased 876% to $493.7 million in 2011 from $50.6 million in 2010. Fourth quarter 2011 revenue was $361.9 million, a 107% increase over fourth quarter 2010 revenue of $175.2 million. Wholesale revenue in fourth...
Read more...
Clearwire may be biting into LTE in the near future, but WiMAX is at the company's core, and evidently, so is sleek design. The company just launched the Clear Spot Voyager, one of the smallest 4G hotspots on the market. It offers unlimited 4G data plans, and if that one isn't in your wheelhouse, there's also the Clear Hub Express, a combination 4G modem and wireless router to give your home or office high-speed wireless internet. The Voyager offers 4G sharing with up to eight Wi-Fi devices at the same time, and brings up to six hours of battery life in a form factor of 2.6" squared. The CLEAR Hub Express provides users 4G internet and is the only piece of equipment needed to set up a 4G internet...
Read more...
There are a myriad of nice smartphones on the market today. And since we're all for choice and options around here, we like the competition we're seeing in the mobile market. If you're a Sprint customer, you've been given the choice of a few really good 4G options this year. One of those options, the Motorola Photon 4G, has all of the specs you'd want from a high-end phone. The Photon 4G features a 1GHz dual-core NVIDIA Tegra 2 processor along with 1GB of RAM and Android 2.3 "Gingerbread". Although the Photon 4G has been out for a while, it still has some compelling features that other phones don't offer. For example, the Photon 4G is the first WiMAX equipped phone from Sprint to feature global...
Read more...
