6:15 PM Could T-Mobile kick-start a personal hotspot business using Clearwire's network as a giant WiMax off-loading device?

Dan Jones, Mobile Editor

September 24, 2010

1 Min Read
Clearwire & T-Mobile Still Talking

6:15 PM -- Clearwire LLC (Nasdaq: CLWR) CEO Bill Morrow is still talking to T-Mobile US Inc. . DSL Reports conveys that Clearwire wants the T-Mob to make an equity investment or fork over the cash to ride on its WiMax network.

Which leaves me wondering exactly how T-Mobile would use Clearwire's 2.6GHz spectrum?

Recall that T-Mobile uses the AWS 1700/2100MHz for its 3G phones, so a vendor could probably eventually build it a 3G-to-WiMax phone, but that barely seems worth it in light of T-Mobile's HSPA+ strategy. (See T-Mobile's HSPA+ Rivals Clearwire, US LTE Speeds.) No, I think its far more likely that T-Mobile would use the service to get a leg-up in the "MiFi" game and use the Clearwire network like a giant WiFi hotspot network for its data off-load needs. All it needs is something like the dualmode 3G-WiMax Rover Puck and it can get more into the personal hotspot business.

That would seem to be the smartest approach. Particularly if it could reuse some of its "hotspot-at-home" smarts to divert calls over WiMax. — Dan Jones, Site Editor, Light Reading Mobile

About the Author(s)

Dan Jones

Mobile Editor

Dan is to hats what Will.I.Am is to ridiculous eyewear. Fedora, trilby, tam-o-shanter -- all have graced the Jones pate during his career as the go-to purveyor of mobile essentials.

But hey, Dan is so much more than 4G maps and state-of-the-art headgear. Before joining the Light Reading team in 2002 he was an award-winning cult hit on Broadway (with four 'Toni' awards, two 'Emma' gongs and a 'Brian' to his name) with his one-man show, "Dan Sings the Show Tunes."

His perfectly crafted blogs, falling under the "Jonestown" banner, have been compared to the works of Chekhov. But only by Dan.

He lives in Brooklyn with cats.

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