wimaxwatch

My WiMax Experience

I was in Las Vegas a few days ago and got to experience Mobile WiMax for the first time via the Sprint/Clearwire network that's been installed there.

My reaction. Think the best of WiFi and a MiFi all rolled into one.

Speeds were solid and I was able to make VoIP and Skype calls, including video, without any problem while seated inside my hotel's restaurant and from a moving car.

Couple of hiccups. First there is a lag time from when you first seek to connect that lasts up to a minute, after that, you'd think you were on a T1 or better as everything just flies. My sending of email via my Exchange server was rocket fast, but I did see some delays on the loading of web pages, so it appears there may be some proxying of port 80 traffic being done by Clearwire or Sprint, but I didn't test for that.

Regardless, with Clearwire/Sprint 4G in Las Vegas at my disposal, it will be one more wireless way to work and stay connected. As more new devices roll out, the uptake will also be greater. This new Overdrive from Sierra Wireless should help there.

Deck Chair Shuffle @ Clearwire

The shuffle at Clearwire is continuing.

This I view as logical and needed. The folks who built the original company have moved on and up, while the execs who led the merger with Sprint have moved in and through. Now a more hands on, operational and execution based organization is being formed by the new CEO Bill Morrow.

I recall being asked by a headhunter some years ago if I "knew of anyone to be the CMO of Xoom" which was a veiled way of being asked "are you interested?" Given all the changes I'm glad I passed, but now it's clear that the Clearwire folks will have a chance to make something successful.

Personally, I can't wait to have the service. The concept of real mobile broadband, beyond what we have from the current line up of Mobile Network Operators is far too appealing to pass up.

The V In VoIPWatch isn't Just Voice Any More

Of late I've become consumed with the idea of video and the Internet. It's a harking back of sorts to my early days along with Ken Rutkowski when we were working on a content company called Plus Media back in the 1.0 era. So now that broadband, even mobile broadband and yes, even in-flight broadband has become so much more affordable, I've decided to make the slight right turn and include more coverage of Video in VoIPwatch. Heck, I don't have to change the name and video and voip, especially video conferencing are already parallel industries of sorts.

One of my former clients, Peter Csathy who successfully sold SightSpeed (his third exit in this decade) posted yesterday argues that the case for Video is not all about direct revenue from ad sales, but via more indirect methods.

I agree. For years I have said the basic Internet Ad Model is broken (like email) and that it was cooked up by the ad sales folks who used the only model they knew would work with Media Buyers and Planners easily. The CPM model. Over time this got perverted into such things as Cost Per Click, but everyone lost sight of the Internet (only the web) as a Direct Marketing model (other than of course the Nigerians who turned the net into their most fertile feeding ground.)

As Peter points out, there are many other ways to make money off of video and when you blend audience with video you get $$$. That reeks of the Direct Marketing model, ala QVC on TV, which though available to the masses, is really targeted programming, the same way that infomercials are. That's why web sites which focus on the infomercial market do so well, and why sites that use video as parallel content (i.e Faithful Friends and Dr. Fosters and Smith Pet Products) do so well.

In this model, it's not "ads" that are driving the value of the video production, but the "audience" who shops and buys. Ergo why Csathy's argument floats like a boat. Video is not "web surfing" though web surfing brings it to you. Video is far more compelling, engaging and creative. My point is we are entering the era of not only talking head content being produced for the web, but an era of compelling content, with high production value, added information components and far more professional looking video such as the content produced by pal David Spark and his Spark Media Solutions.

David "gets it." And Peter sees this same opportunity. And just like the folks behind Faithful Friends, my longtime colleague Tony Loiacono, none of them are barking up the wrong tree.

Digital Bridge Scores Funding

A small player in the game compared to goliath Clearwire, Digital Bridge has raised a round of money and more importantly, become the preferred provider to the National Rural Telecommunications Cooperative (NRTC), which represents most, if not all of the small telcos in rural communities around the USA, reports SideCut Reports, which provides the insight as to why this is a big deal.

WiMax Router With WiFi

Sidecut Reports spots a prototype from Cradlepoint that takes a WiMax signal and creates a WiFi hotspot.

Neat.

This would be an amazing VoIP base station for either the Nokia N or E Series phones or the iPhone with an app like Truphone.

4G Event Taking Shape

Carl Ford and Scott Kargman are working with the folks at TMC to put together a really good event. Called the 4G Wireless Evolution Conference, and slated within ITEXPO East, the event is Everything 4G wireless is supposed to be.

To WiMax or Not

Pal Rich Terhani questions if WiMax or LTE will be the victor and ponders why Nokia decided to scrap the N80 WiMax edition. He expects the answers to emerge in part at the upcoming 4G conference in Miami February 2-4.

Korea Sets Voice over WiBro Standard, KT To Deploy VoMax

Over in Korea where WiMax has been up and running under the WiBro monicker, we read that a standard for voice services has been set up, and that KT (Korea Telecom) is gearing up to deploy it.

This news is excellent news for the Voice Service provider industry as it gives them a standard to follow and to work with. It also shows just how quickly WiMax is moving compared to WiFi which only this year has adopted and ratified a real VoIP protocol, something that slowed down the adoption of muni-WiFi.

By having a standard, and a giant in KT already embracing it, Voice over WiMax actually has a future. For Clear, here in the USA, it opens the doors to service providers who can offer a voice carrier something different a chance to sell something new.

In my mind, if I was looking to be different from the regular cellular based mobile operators I would be looking at IVR and Speech Recognition first. With the way the laws are going here in the USA it wouldn't be simply value added. It would be selling an essential service to a new market with a true difference. This is ideal for client Mobivox and their MobivoxPL platform.

Clear Comes To Portland in January

It looks like January 6th will be the day Clear brings their brand of Mobile WiMax to Portland, OR.

Here's what I was sent today.

Clearwire and Intel will showcase Clearwire's new mobile WiMAX service, called Clear, with remarks by senior executives, as well as live product demonstrations at the press conference and around the city. Clearwire is building the only next-generation network capable of delivering true broadband service both at home and on the go, giving customers access to the same, super fast speeds anywhere in Clear's coverage area.

Some might say that timing couldn't be worse. MacWorld is in full swing in San Francisco and CES starts two days later. But I disagree. Portland is home to a large Intel contingent and Intel has played a big role in the development and marketing of Mobile WiMax. What's more the community is what matters, not the early adopters who head off to SF and Las Vegas.

Ideally, Portland is the kind of community that is perfect for Clear. I just hope the service works out in the Wine Country. If it does, I'll be a regular visitor to both the city and the hillsides.

ComputerWorld Interviews Clear Leader On WiMax

Computerworld has a very concise and easy to follow interview with new Clear CEO Ben Wolff who had been leading Clearwire pre-merger.

Key points here are how Google's Android plays a role, that video conferencing is a differentiator and that over 140 million people will be reached by 2010.