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Sprint Nextel's Xohm unit may establish a management company to develop WiMAX services for Indian operators, and to take advantage of the Indian government's favorable view of the 4G technology. Xohm is set to merge with Clearwire Corp. to form the "new" Clearwire, which has a $3.2 billion capital investment from companies such as Intel, Google and Comcast. Clearwire shareholders are set to vote on the move today, which was granted regulatory approval by the FCC earlier this month. "India is an important market and we would look at expanding WiMAX coverage there. We are looking at forming a management company to bring together various stakeholders, including license holders, investors and those with management skills," Xohm's President Barry West said. India is planning a WiMAX spectrum auction in January 2009, and the government has indicated it will auction spectrum in the 2.3GHz-2.4GHz range in blocks of 20MHz each. Sprint is currently working with Indian operators, including Tata Communications, Bharat Sanchar Nigam (BSNL) and Reliance Communications to develop and expand their WiMAX offerings and may also be considering bidding on WiMAX spectrum itself. For more: - see this article - see this article on the spectrum issue Related Articles: Clearwire shareholders to vote on merger Nov. 20 FCC clears Sprint-Clearwire deal to create "new" Clearwire

As the world moves to fourth generation wireless networks, lawyers for chip firms, handset makers and other technology firms are moving into their bargaining positions on patents related to the technology that enables the WiMAX and LTE networks. When deploying an in-depth technology protocol, such as WiAMX and LTE, many firms will own the intellectual property needed to create a network, from the silicon to the handsets. Those IP owners want to get paid, but the more patent holders charge, the more expensive the end devices and network components can become. Over at Fierce Broadband Wireless, they have a story noting that in-building wireless firm ADC thinks it has a several key patents related to deploying LTE and WiMAX. ADC says it's willing to license those patents at a "fair and reasonable rate," which is basically an invite to bring people to the negotiating table. Is ADC trying to be the next Qualcomm , which has aggravated the industry by controlling key patents and charging high royalty rates? A group of handset makers has banded together to create a patent framework for LTE , but other key players, notably the silicon vendors are absent. ADC adds another player to that mix. Because ADC doesn't make hardware such as handsets, it doesn't have an incentive to trade its patents for the use of other patents needed for an LTE device to work. It also isn't a member of a standards organization, which WOULD limit the royalties ADC could charge. We'll see if the industry players attempt to deal with ADC or move straight to litigation. The results could mean pricier LTE handsets or even the halt of LTE- and WiMAX-enabled devices, should litigation go poorly.

HTC went official with its latest product, the HTC MAX 4G, a hybrid between a normal Pocket PC and a WiMAX handset. The MAX 4G is said to be the first integrated GSM/WiMAX device. Resembling HTC Touch HD, the new handset will be exclusively released in Russia, by Scartel Yota, a leading provider of mobile [...]

Unveiled earlier last month already as the HTC T8290, Scartel Russia (with its WiMAX brand Yota) and HTC Corporation today announced the HTC MAX 4G, the world's first integrated GSM/WiMAX handset, powered by Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional. Supported by a broad range of services based on Yota's Mobile WiMAX network, the HTC MAX 4G delivers a rich multimedia and high quality telephony experience in a sleek and powerful touch screen handset. The HTC MAX 4G supports GSM calls using a SIM card from any Russian network operator and when both callers are Yota subscribers, the call will automatically be routed as a VoIP call over the Yota Mobile WiMAX network. [ Permalink ] (c) 2008 by the::unwired - All Rights Reserved

During Clearwire's third quarter earnings call with analysts this morning, CEO Ben Wolff said that shareholders will vote Nov. 20 on the whether or not to approve the firm's merger with Sprint's WiMAX business. Wolff says that the merger is still on track for a year-end close pending the shareholder vote and some other administrative items. Wolff reiterated that once the merger closes the expected infusion of $3.2 billion in capital from Google, Intel, Comcast and others will give Clearwire the resources to launch new markets and covert its existing pre-WiMAX markets to mobile WiMAX. The company had third quarter service revenue of $60.8 million up from $41.3 million in third quarter 2007. The company also had a net loss of $166.6 million compared to a net loss of $328.6 million in the same quarter the previous year. Here's a rundown of the other key metrics: Subscribers: At the end of third quarter Clearwire had 469,000 subscribers, up from 348,000 in third quarter 2007. However, the company only added 8,300 net new customers during the quarter. Wolff said the firm's growth flattened as the company prepares to move from pre-WiMAX to mobile WiMAX. ARPU: Average revenue per user was $40.43, up from $37.41 in the prior year. Wolff said the ARPU increase was due to adjustments in pricing and premium plans. Churn: Churn was 3 percent in third quarter up from 2.3 percent in the previous year and compared to 2.6 percent in second quarter 2008. Clearwire said the increase in churn was due to a reduction of sales and marketing and it expects this trend to continue because of the macroeconomic climate. White space spectrum: Wolff said that the company may explore opportunities with white space spectrum, particularly in rural areas. For more: - see this press release Related articles: Clearwire posts Q2 loss, says Clearwire/Sprint merger on target FCC approves Sprint- Clearwire WiMAX combo

Filed under: Sprint , Misc We're relieved, here's why: we don't have to report on this on-again / off-again relationship like we're a celebrity tabloid rag anymore. Around the same time it gave the thumbs up to Verizon and Alltel, the FCC also decided that timultuous lovebirds Sprint and Clearwire can finally get hitched. Their eventual offspring will be the WiMAX network they've been promising with a bunch of other partners -- the plan is to offer wireless broadband to 140 million people within 30 months' time, so today's a big day for WiMAX and corporate romantics everywhere. Sprint, Clearwire to finally get hitched thanks to FCC approval originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Wed, 05 Nov 2008 15:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments