Why Clearwire wants to maximise its options
It was widely reported on Monday that Clearwire's CEO, Bill Morrow, had done the unthinkable and announced his firm would consider switching its 4G wireless technology from WiMAX to LTE if that would benefit the company.
No big deal, one might say, except, of course, if one were Intel, which is not just the main proponent of WiMAX, but also Clearwire's biggest sponsor, with the chip firm having already sunk in excess of a billion dollars into the would-be turncoat.
Morrow supposedly told Dow Jones Newswires that his was the only carrier which could easily switch technologies thanks to its brand spanking new infrastructure, adding "We'll do what's right for the business. Whether it's LTE, WiMAX, future technology X, it doesn't matter to me."
But a representative from Intel told HEXUS the comments were hardly new and that Clearwire had somewhat clarified the situation [see: appeased Intel] by saying it was "100 per cent committed to WiMAX," as "it is here today, and LTE is not." Hardly a ringing endorsement, but apparently, it will do.
The firm also noted that the "similarities between WiMAX and LTE are such that, at some time down the road, the two technologies could co-exist as part of our offerings," but is quick to add that "there is no plan for that at this time." Probably because 'at this time' the option doesn't exist.