Clearwire, known for their WiMAX technology, is also planning to conduct some trials with Long Term Evolution (LTE) technology this fall. In a press release sent out today, the company announced that they plan to team up with Huawei Technologies test how well both LTE and WiMAX can co-exist on the same spectrum in the same market. During the tests, Clearwire will also be checking just how speedy their LTE technology will be, saying that they expect "the technical trials to demonstrate that Clearwire’s 4G network can deliver significantly higher performance using LTE technologies than any other operator.” They expect to see speeds of ranging around 20-70 Mbps, compared to the 5-12 Mbps speeds expected from "other operators," like Verizon. Check out the full press release below.
Clearwire has said in the past that they could switch from WiMAX to LTE whenever they feel like it, and if these tests go well, I wouldn't be surprised if they did. Speeds of 20-70 Mbps would be amazing, although I'm not sure how fast your downloads would be if the tubes were clogged up with thousands of other users as well. Still, it would be great to see another company offering LTE to customers, because competition is always a good thing.
Clearwire Announces New 4G LTE Technology Trials Expected to Yield Unmatched Wireless Speeds in the U.S.
Initial Tests Expected to Demonstrate Real-World Download Speeds Ranging from 20-70 Mbps, Significantly Faster than the 5-12 Mbps Expected from Other Operators in the U.S.
New Trials to Showcase Unique Advantages of Clearwire's Vast Spectrum Holdings and Flexibility of Company's All-IP Network Architecture to Test Multiple Coexistence Scenarios Between LTE and WiMAX
Unprecedented Technical Trials to Test Both FDD LTE and TDD LTE Using Commercially Available Equipment on One of World's Most Widely Used 4G Frequency Band by Global Operators
KIRKLAND, Wash., Aug 04, 2010 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Clearwire Corporation (NASDAQ:CLWR), a leading provider of wireless broadband services and operator of the largest 4G network in the country, today announced plans to conduct 4G LTE technology trials expected to yield unmatched wireless speeds in the U.S., and to test multiple coexistence scenarios between LTE and WiMAX radio technologies. The new tests are designed to showcase the unique capability of Clearwire's unmatched spectrum holdings and examine a variety of potential future technology combinations that could yield additional benefits to consumers and shareholders.
"Clearwire's unmatched spectrum and all-IP network make us the only service provider in the U.S. able to conduct tests of this nature and on this scale," said Dr. John Saw, Clearwire's chief technology officer. "As we have consistently stated, we remain technology agnostic, but WiMAX provides us with unique advantages to meet the needs of our customers today. Ultimately, consumers don't care about technical acronyms, but they do care about quality and affordable Internet services that work where and when they want, and that's what we're focused on delivering. Part of our technical due diligence at Clearwire is to be prepared to leverage a number of possible opportunities as we future-proof our network, and that's the goal of these tests."
The company expects the technical trials to demonstrate that Clearwire's 4G network can deliver significantly higher performance using LTE technologies than any other operator. Clearwire plans to conduct the tests in collaboration with Huawei Technologies, the same infrastructure provider which deployed the world's first commercial LTE network in Europe, using the same spectrum band and flexible base station platform that Clearwire utilizes in the United States. In the same vein, Clearwire will also be testing LTE on Samsung Electronics' common base station platform which it currently uses for its mobile WiMAX deployments. During the trials, Clearwire will collaborate with Beceem, and other partners, to determine the best methods for enabling end-user devices to take advantage of a potential multi-mode WiMAX/LTE network. Other participating vendors for Clearwire's technical trials are expected to be named at a later date. In addition, due to the global dominance of the 2.5 GHz - 2.6 GHz spectrum band, a number of large wireless operators are expected to participate with Clearwire on these tests. Additional details about those companies are also expected to be disclosed at a later date. The tests will be conducted in the fall and throughout early 2011 in Phoenix, Arizona.
Dr. Saw continued, "The 2.5 GHz spectrum band is universally allocated for global 4G deployments, so it has the potential to create one of the world's most robust ecosystem across billions of devices. We believe this commonality will result in a massive diversity of mobile devices and applications, at comparably low costs, due to unmatched economies-of-scale. In a 4G world, wireless coverage is important, but capacity is king. This capacity is a unique and sustainable advantage for Clearwire, thanks to our all-IP network and unmatched spectrum holdings."
Test Scenarios
Clearwire expects to conduct tests across three key areas:
FDD LTE: Clearwire intends to conduct FDD LTE (Frequency Division Duplex) tests using 40 MHz of spectrum, paired in 20 MHz contiguous channels, of its 2.5 GHz spectrum. Clearwire expects to confirm the capability to produce real-world download speeds that range from 20-70 Mbps. This is expected to be significantly faster than the 5-12 Mbps speeds currently envisioned by other LTE deployments in the U.S., which will rely on smaller pairs of 10 Mhz channels or less.
TDD LTE: Clearwire will concurrently test TDD LTE (Time Division Duplex), in a 20 MHz configuration, which is twice the channel size currently used in its 4G WiMAX deployments.
WiMAX and LTE: Clearwire will also test WiMAX co-existence with both FDD LTE and TDD LTE to confirm the flexibility of its network and spectrum strength to simultaneously support a wide-range of devices across its all-IP network.
The company also restated its commitment to use WiMAX technology for its current 4G build plan. Since the company expects that a significant number of LTE devices will be available in coming years, Clearwire is conducting technical trials to determine how it could potentially add LTE technology to coexist with WiMAX.
Additional details about the new technology tests were not disclosed. General information about Clearwire is available at http://www.clearwire.com. For more information about CLEAR 4G service, visit http://www.clear.com or The CLEAR Blog http://www.theclearblog.com. You can also follow CLEAR information on Twitter at @Clear.
For press and broadcast: product images, video footage and company logos can be downloaded from the Clearwire website at: http://www.clearwire.com/newsroom. To subscribe to Clearwire's RSS news feed, click here.
About Clearwire
Clearwire Corporation (NASDAQ:CLWR), through its operating subsidiaries, is a leading provider of wireless broadband services. As of June 30, Clearwire's 4G network is currently available in areas of the U.S. where approximately 56 million people live and the company plans to continue to expand its 4G coverage. Clearwire's open all-IP network, combined with significant spectrum holdings, provides an unprecedented combination of speed and mobility to deliver next generation broadband access. The company markets its 4G service through its own brand called CLEAR(R) as well as through its wholesale relationships with Sprint, Comcast and Time Warner Cable. Strategic investors include Intel Capital, Comcast, Sprint, Google, Time Warner Cable, and Bright House Networks. Clearwire is headquartered in Kirkland, Wash. Additional information is available at http://www.clearwire.com.
Via Phone Scoop, Clearwire
