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Illinois-based Sprint affliiate iPCS has caused a considerable amount of trouble for Sprint in the past when it came to mergers, but this week Sprint got the go-ahead from the courts to move forward with their Sprint/Clearwire WiMAX plans. iPCS, who provides Sprint services to over 600,000 customers in portions of Illinois, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Indiana, Iowa, Ohio and Tennessee, went to court recently to try to block Sprint from being allowed to offer anything under the new Sprint/Clearwire company in iPCS's coverage region, citing exclusivity clauses. iPCS won a similar case in 2005 when Sprint took over Nextel, successfully blocking Sprint from being able to offer Nextel services in any iPCS-covered area (see map below), so there certainly is a precedent set that could have spelled similar trouble for the new Clearwire WiMAX services.

Fortunately for Sprint/Clearwire, on Monday an Illinois circuit court told iPCS that they must immediately withdraw their request for a restraining order, meaning Sprint/Clearwire can move forward with their WiMAX development plans. The court did provide an allowance for iPCS to re-file in the future, but for the time being Clearwire will be allowed to continue their development unfettered. It has been reported that they do not plan on rolling out any WiMAX service in any of the iPCS areas until July 1st of next year and they have agreed to notify iPCS of all of their plans 60 days before launching.

While it was reported that the soonest Clearwire will be launching WiMAX in iPCS territory will be July 1st, 2009, it was not made clear where exactly the service will become available first or which parts of the region will be covered.

 

Discuss iPCS and Clearwire on 4G Forums

LTE and WiMAX have been the most talked-about 4G technologies in development, but wireless telecommunications super-power Qualcomm had their own competing technology in the works, Ultra Mobile Broadband. With the quick advancement and spread of WiMAX and many high-profile companies (including Verizon) working hard to develop LTE, Qualcomm has decided to cease development of Ultra Mobile Broadband and instead re-focus their 4G efforts on LTE. CEO Paul Jacobs confirmed this news at the annual analysts' meeting yesterday, saying there would be some layoffs but thankfully most employees would keep their jobs.

The resources - monetary and otherwise - that a giant like Qualcomm can contribute to the LTE development process could be a huge boon to the technology. LTE is thought to be at least two years behind WiMAX - which is already available in several areas of the US - but still has the potential to serve as a serious rival. It will be interesting to see how Qualcomm's involvement shapes the future of LTE.

 

 

The FCC approved the much-anticipated merger of Sprint's WiMAX division with Clearwire's on Tuesday, effectively creating a new company that will operate under Clearwire's name. It is a huge deal that also includes investments from Google and Intel and will put over $14 billion into WiMAX development.

The newly formed company will take over all of Sprint's WiMAX-related assets, including towers, base stations, spectrums, and frequencies. WiMAX service provided by the new company will be under the Clearwire brand, but the XOHM brand will still exist - it will operate as an MNVO Mobile Virtual Network Operator, a company who contracts with another provider to use their network and infrastructure to provide wireless service). In other words, Sprint is relinquishing the majority of their interest in WiMAX to the new Clearwire company with the exception of XOHM, which will continue to provide service to subscribers using Clearwire's network.

This begs a few questions, though. With the existence of two brands using the same network and infrastructure, what will the essential differences be? If a XOHM subscriber travels into an area covered not by XOHM but by Clearwire, will they be able to access the network? Will XOHM continue to expand at its current pace or will it be outshined by Clearwire?

For now, there are a lot of unknowns. If you use XOHM, you will obviously not see any difference in your service. Nothing has changed in terms of the network or your products. It is the future of the Clearwire and XOHM relationship that is in question.

Sprint has been in the process of merging their WiMAX division with Clearwire's for quite some time now, and today they were finally given the go-ahead by the FCC:

WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal regulators are giving Sprint Nextel Corp. the green light to spin off and merge its new WiMax wireless broadband network with that of Clearwire Corp. In a 5-0 vote Tuesday, the Federal Communications Commission approved a plan to combine Sprint's Xohm network with Clearwire's WiMax-like network. Google Inc., Intel Corp. and a group of cable companies are investing billions into the $14.6 billion venture, which will carry Clearwire's name. The Justice Department has already indicated that it will allow the deal to proceed, but will continue to monitor it.

What will this mean for us consumers?

First and foremost, it means a big development push for WiMAX. The new Sprint/Clearwire will be investing $14.5 billion into WiMAX, which will hopefully pave the way for faster expansions and more covered areas - their goal is to reach 120-140 million subscribers by the end of 2010. Additionally, Google's interest in the company will make them Sprint's mobile search provider, giving Sprint users easier access to Google services like Google Maps and YouTube on their mobile devices, and Intel will be supplying networking gear and software.

This merger should mean great things for WiMAX's future. Expect to see extended coverage in more areas and a greater number of products sooner rather than later!

Discuss the merger on 4G Forums

Yesterday, we discussed the successes that 4Ginfo employees and 4G Forums users have had with Sprint's new XOHM WiMAX service. Most users have reacted positively to the service and available products and are excited about the future of the technology, but there have also been a few bumps along the road. This is to be expected, of course, with new technology and an entire new branch of Sprint's company, so there is certainly no need to be discouraged about the service or products for the long run. It wouldn't be fair to impugn XOHM based on a few troubles - most of which have taken place outside of the only officially launched city, Baltimore.

The most common reported troubles include activation problems, comparatively poor performance from the Samsung SWC-e100 ExpressCard, and staying connected. Here are a few first-hand reports of not-so-smooth XOHM experiences:

The signal in Plymouth Meeting seems to lose connection about every 5 minutes so they must be very early in the testing phase there.

As a side note, I needed to do a firmware upgrade of the samsung in order to get any signal. For folks that are having problems with the card, an upgrade might fix their problem.

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Out in Bolingbrook and I'm dropping connection constantly, can't get on long enough to stay connected. Gonna have to take it mobile here is a few minutes to see what I can do.

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Not working here in Chicago. I did everything correctly and connected once to Xohm service but now it doesnt even give me the option to connect to wimax. I used a few different Baltimore address but still gettting nothing.

I have to start up the connection manager than re insert the data card for it to work. Now on the home page for xohm it says that its an unknown wimax device. Do i need to activate it again on xohm home page? I am getting frustrated.

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You may need to call in to XOHM Support. They fouled up my pick 2 plan and charged me twice and still ONLY had my Xyzel Home modem activated on my plan. I have noticed I have had more issues with the express card itself. May take a little patience for that card has to remain connected to the XOHM network in order to pull down some activation updates. Seeing that signal is spotty at current, it may just not be receiving that neccessary update to remain active.

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Its hit or miss with the express card. The connection manager will find Xohm service but everytime it tells me to activate service. I have a receipt that shows what I ordered but it always brings me to xohm home page to activate my card, than I put in the mac address. It does this over and over. Very frustrating but I do realize that the service isnt active yet here in Chicago just using the work around. I might give it 30 days than Im going to send back the card and cancel the service.

 

Remember, most of these issues are occurring in locations that aren't even officially supported by XOHM, and many of these problems - particularly the connection problems - will resolve themselves once XOHM supports those cities. One problems that ISN'T likely to be solved anytime soon is the lack of Mac support. Right now, if you want to use XOHM with your Mac, you'll either need to use a program like Boot Camp or use the ZyXel Home Modem - the USB and ExpressCards will not work.

XOHM has a very interesting developer site with a lot of interesting information and resources such as connection manager downloads. According to this site, Mac support and drivers are in the works and will be available "soon."

Related links:

XOHM Success Stories

4G Forums

It's been exactly one month since the first XOHM sighting in Baltimore, and in the short time it's been available many early adopters have ordered the service and put it to the test. All three available modems - the Zyxel Home Modem, SWC-e100 ExpressCard, and their latest offering, the ZTE Tu25 USB dongle - have been tested by 4Ginfo employees and 4G Forums users in all of the currently active areas in the country.

So what's the verdict?

While there have been problems - which we will discuss in a future article - the initial reaction to the new service is very positive. The prices for the modems are great, and everyone likes the fact that there is no contract to sign. When connected, people are often getting speeds of 6Mbps down/1.2 Mbps up and bursts of downloads speeds up to 10Mbps in several areas.

First, let's look at our employee-verified speed tests from a couple covered areas:

From Dallas:

ExpressCard:

Forest Lane and Marsh Lane	Valley View and Josey Lane
DoubleTree Hotel @ Midway Road	Galleria
Keller Springs and Marsh Lane

USB Modem:

Home Modem:

 

The ExpressCard performance was a bit disappointing, but the results of the USB and Home Modem were great - they performed at speeds even faster than what Sprint promised. Additionally, Dallas users have been pleased with the range of service around the Dallas/Fort Worth region.

In Chicago, speeds with the ExpressCard (when working) and Home Modem were strong:

Home Modem:

Test 1:

ExpressCard:

 

Other users have had positive experiences, too. Here are some first-hand accounts from the 4G Forums:

I have gotten as high as 5.5mbps down with the home modem (all tests are "three lights," as I don't see rings since I never installed the XOHM software ) and 2.8mbps up. Heck, if they'll just stay at THIS I'll be thrilled.

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I was able to successfully get to the internet in two locations in Northern Virginia this past week.

I registered my modems using a Baltimore address but they wouldn't activate until I actually traveled to Baltimore to get them online. Otherwise, they would only get me to the activation page.

I'm actually pretty excited about this. My speeds are 4mb/1mb (three bars) in one location and 2.5mb/1mb (two bars) up in the other.

With Sprint XOHM now offering three WiMAX modems, questions are surfacing about which one they should invest in. All three are in different formats - there's the Zyxel Home Modem, SWC-e100 ExpressCard, and their latest offering, the ZTE Tu25 USB dongle - and each one offers different benefits. We have tested all three and compiled some vital data that can help you make your decision.

Our pick for BEST XOHM Modem: The Zyxel Home Modem

Of the three modems, the Zyxel gave us the highest speeds and its powerful internal antennas increased the range from which we could access the network. Three initial tests in Chicago showed average download speeds of 4.5Mbps (faster than XOHM's official estimate) and the average upload speed was 1.2Mbps; since then we have seen even higher (up to 6Mbps) download speeds in other areas.

In addition to the impressive speeds we achieved with the Zyxel, we were very pleased to see that there are two antenna ports located on the back of the device. While there aren't any compatible antennas on the market yet, it is very likely that one or more will become available at some point and its nice to know that a signal boost is possible.

The other factor influencing our opinion of the Home Modem is its universal compatibility. Unlike the USB and ExpressCard options, which only work with PC's and don't currently work with any available routers, the Home Modem can be used with ANY computer or any standard WiFi router. You can connect a computer directly from the modem via ethernet or attach it to a router and access the signal wirelessly. If you have a Mac, this is your only option unless you have Parallels or a similar program installed on your computer.

The only downside to the Home Modem is that it requires a power source, so it is not technically "portable" like a USB or ExpressCard modem. Of course, if you're at a hotel or convention, this won't be a problem at all.

 

The best portable option: ZTE Tu25 USB modem

USB modems are very popular because they are both portable and nearly can be used on nearly every computer. While the ZTE is indeed portable, it CANNOT be used in a Mac at this time (read our article about XOHM and Macs). If you have a PC and are on the go too often to take advantage of the Zyxel, the ZTE is a great modem. In fact, we were able to occasionally hit download speeds of nearly 10Mbs, but the average speeds were much lower than that. The upload speeds, on the other hand, were significantly less than what we saw with the Home Modem, in the range of about 800Kbps as opposed to 1.2+Mbps.

Aside from the lower upload capability and lack of Mac support (for now), the ZTE Tu25 does not have any viable antenna options. There are two antenna ports on the dongle, but they are not the typical type of ports we see on our EVDO devices - they are u.fl connectors and not designed for the repeated connecting and disconnecting of antennas.

 

Our least favorite XOHM Modem: Samsung SWC-e100 ExpressCard

We have had a number of problems with the ExpressCard thus far, most troubling being the problems some users (including one of our employees) have had getting the ExpressCard to activate, even with XOHM's help. For those that have been able to use it, the speeds seen with the ExpressCard are very disappointing in comparison with the Zyxel Home Modem and ZTE Tu25 USB dongle. Despite XOHM's claim that there should be no difference between the performance of this modem and the Tu25, we were only able to reach speeds of about 1.5Mbps or so down and a maximum upload of 791Kbps (the average was more like 500). To prove that it wasn't just an anomaly caused by our location or the time of day, we tested the network with the USB from the same place and consistently saw reached 6Mbps download. While the ExpressCard was faster than dial up and certainly zippy enough to do most normal web activities, its speeds were more comparable to EVDO Rev-A than to WiMAX.

Additionally, like the Tu25, the SWC-e100 will not work on Macs and we most likely won't be able to use external antennas along with it.

 

From our tests and what we've heard from early adopters, the Home Modem is far superior to the others due to its speeds, consistency, compatibility with Macs, ability to use in a router and share the signal, and option for adding external antennas in the future. On the other end of the spectrum, we were relatively disappointed with the ExpressCard. For travelers, the Tu25 is the obvious choice.

If you've purchased a XOHM modem, share your experience with the 4G community at the 4G Forums!