Clearwire to Add 120Mbps LTE-Advanced Network to its Arsenal; We Wonder Where the WiMax Rollout Is
Kind of surprising to hear this news, really – Clearwire is set to introduce an LTE network that will be upgradeable to LTE-Advanced and deliver speeds up to 120 Mbps. It’s said the telecommunications firm has already completed trials for the service.
With Sprint not making a commitment as to which path they’ll take in their future of 4G – having already struck a deal with Lightsquared to help them roll their network out – it’s not clear (no pun intended) how Clear will advance forward.
We know they’ll at least offer the service directly to consumers and through their various partners, but it remains to be seen if any cellular companies, Sprint included, will employ their LTE network.
They say initial markets will be a lot of the same that already have WiMax coverage. The problem is that their WiMax network is still relatively small and has hit a standstill in light of recent financial troubles (which should be slowly going away). As it stands, Clear has a ton of WiMax-enabled customers and they have yet to mention a word about future rollouts.
And who’s to say the same won’t happen when LTE rolls around? Unless this is Sprint’s big fall announcement regarding the future of their 4G network, we don’t see a whole lot that makes sense in Clear’s latest moves. Quite frankly, we’re kind of hoping Sprint goes with Lightsquared for their mobile high-speed needs. [Electronista]