The Big Four In US WiMAX Deployments?
Another interesting thing I learned at "WCA Expo" is that there seem to be four large Broadband Wireless Internet Access Service Providers that intend to deploy WiMAX. The first two are, of course, Sprint/Nextel and Clearwire.
The third is the new New NEW AT&T (formerly SBC, who merged with AT&T, who then merged with BellSouth, and with that merger now controls all of Cingular Wireless which will soon be rebranded, yet again, to AT&T [but not, apparently to AT&T Wireless - just "AT&T-division-that-provides-wireless-telephony-services"]). I knew that SBC owned a substantial amount of 2.3 GHz Wireless Communications Service (WCS) spectrum, but I had forgotten that (formerly standalone) AT&T Wireless also owned a substantial amount of WCS spectrum (from pre-merger AT&T's storied, promising, but ultimately doomed "Project Angel fixed wireless project), which then went to Cingular when it acquired AT&T Wireless, and now that "AT&T Wireless" WCS spectrum is now combined with the "BellSouth" WCS spectrum, resulting in the new New NEW AT&T now possessing a substantial US footprint of WCS Spectrum. While I'm not aware of AT&T publicly committing to deploy WiMAX in their WCS spectrum ala Sprint/Nextel... 1) deploy they must as a strong condition of the AT&T / BellSouth merger, and 2) AT&T would be hard-pressed to justify deploying anything but WiMAX in their WCS spectrum, given that 2.3 Mobile WiMAX technology will mature very rapidly given the proving ground of Korea already deploying "WiBro/WiMAX" systems in 2.3 GHz.
The fourth US BWIA Service Provider that will be deploying WiMAX is... NextWave. With only a quick glance at their web site, one could be forgiven for concluding that NextWave is primarily in the wireless components business... which it is... or that NextWave is in the handset software business... which it is, or (most recently) that NextWave is in the Metropolitan Wi-Fi systems business. But dig a bit and you find NextWave Broadband.
I heard it mentioned numerous times at "WCA Expo" that NextWave will be deploying WiMAX. NextWave owns substantial spectrum licenses including some holdover 1.9 GHz PCS spectrum (if memory serves), 2.3 GHz WCS, 2.5 GHz BRS, and most recently 1.7/2.1 GHz AWS spectrum acquired during the last year's auction of AWS spectrum. As far as using NextWave using WiMAX... ample evidence of NextWave's intent is on NextWave's masthead where you will find Dr. Roger B. Marks who can, in my opinion, very reasonably be called one of, if not the Father of IEEE 802.16 and WiMAX for his intense involvement in the evolution of 802.16 and WiMAX.
2007 will be an interesting year in the US for Broadband Wireless Internet Access!
* Verizon Wireless and Sprint/Nextel deploy 1xEV-DO revision A in their networks
* Sprint/Nextel deploys Mobile WiMAX in its 2.5 GHz BRS spectrum
* AT&T "Wireless" deploys HSDPA more widely in its network
* AT&T "Wireless" or AT&T "not-Wireless" deploys Mobile WiMAX in its 2.3 GHz WCS spectrum
* T-Mobile may finally get into Broadband Wireless competition (once it irons out the "pioneer" issues of being first in the US to use 1.7 / 2.1 GHz spectrum)
* Clearwire continues its aggressive deployments fueled by investments of >$1B
* Metropolitan Wi-Fi deployments continue unabated
* NextWave does... ?
* Covad having enough confidence in Broadband Wireless to quietly rebrand its NextWeb subsidiary acquired a few years ago into "Covad Wireless"
(Any big ones that I missed? Please let me know.)
Like I said... reporting on all this Feels GOOD!
Steve Stroh
bwianews.com
Cheers! TM
PS Any chance the moderator can please update the price ticker to the new WAVE trading symbol? Thanks in advance. |
