The big buzz around Clearwire is naturally focused on the upcoming nationwide WiMAX rollout, but a report out from Maravedi’s last week notes that Clearwire is already leading the world in broadband wireless access (BWA). With 443k subscribers in Q1 2008, Clearwire has almost a quarter of total wireless broadband connections. To be clear, Clearwire’s subscribers are not getting WiMAX service, but wireless access on proprietary gear from Motorola that’s been coined “pre-WiMAX”. The capabilities are similar, but the technology pre-dates WiMAX standards.
Other stats from the Maravedis report:
- The number of broadband wireless access subscribers grew at a rate of roughly 20% from quarter to quarter in 2007
- Residential monthly ARPU averaged $46.32, while business ARPU averaged $143.85
- Revenues reached $1 billion in 2007, with $326 million coming in the fourth quarter
In the US it appears we’ve hit the point of convergence where applications are driving demand for wireless broadband at the same time 4G networks are being deployed to support it. Growing demand and supply are a good indicator that the market is about to explode. Clearwire has four WiMAX deployments planned for later this year with Motorola WiMAX equipment. The cities include Portland Oregon, Las Vegas, Atlanta and Grand Rapids Michigan.
Bonus video after the jump – WiMAX CPE
This video shows Motorola WiMAX gear that was on display at the SCTE Cable-Tec Expo. There was a great deal of noise in the booth so I narrated this clip to describe what’s being shown.
[...] Silbey Despite the fact that my wireless coverage on this blog has been entirely dedicated to WiMAX and LTE, there are other wireless technologies that deserve attention as well. Motorola launched [...]
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