The launch of iPad by Apple last week, took me back to the mid 90’s when I had just started accessing the Internet using my state of art technology 9600 bps analog modem I still remember my excitement over 18,200 bps modem when it came out. WOW! Then, there was ISDN that became obsolete two years later, then DSL, Cable, and Wi-Fi in parallel with struggling WiMax.
Can you now imagine functioning without Wi-Fi? Even Wi-Fi is old News these days. Considering how fast the smartphones like iPhone, Google’s Nexus One, Droid are becoming our next computing device, let’s skip the internet access topic from PC to 3G (3rd Generation) mobile network that was introduced in the early 2000s and quickly spread to major cities worldwide.
There is even 4G Phones that its rumors came out by the French website earlier this month. It is supposed to be the next generation of iPhone (to be released in July of this year). The Apple Tablet is even rumored to have a data plan on Verizon and AT&T’s 3G networks. More and more laptops come with built-in 3G and WiMax access as well. Read more…
As we are becoming more digital, many of the things we used to be so excited about are fading into history. The top three companies immediately comes to my mind that we should thank for this are Apple, Google, and Facebook. Particularly, Apple CEO, Steve Jobs. His “i” things, iPod, iPhone, iMac, etc. totally affected how we live, do business, acquire information, and connect with others.
They created tools and gadgets that got us so used to do things much easier and faster, touch-screens mobile phone, blazingly fast Internet, and the ability to have the world at our fingertips in seconds. We’re entering 2010 with all kinds of new gadgets, gizmos, and tech tools.
Here are the items most Washingtonians and I think the rest of our nation will stop using in 2010. If not 2010, latest 2011. But wait, there’s more
In this crappy economy, not sure how they pulled it off, but good for them. Before, I start yapping about this, you need to know what Clearwire offers and what it is for us.
They provide fourth-generation wireless services called WiMax stands for Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access – something cooler, faster, and more mobile than Wi-Fi. I don’t think Wi-Fi is even mobile. WiMax is supposed to be super fast, so that you can stream TV, watch movies, play online games and video chat on the go and at home. Here is a simple explanation of WiMax:
Clearwire is currently in 14 markets including Atlanta, Charlotte, Chicago, Dallas, Fort Worth, Honolulu, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, Portland, and Seattle. I don’t mean to offend people in those cities, but they are mostly second-tier markets. What’s disappointing about Sprint NextelClearwire thing is the absence of WiMax services in Washington, D.C. After all, I think all the Sprint NextelWiMax thing started from Reston, VA. Hello!!!!
D.C was supposed to get service shortly after Sprint launched its first market, Baltimore, last October. Now the Washington offering appears to be off the table until 2010. Clearwire plans to launch the 4G service in D.C through their partnership with Sprint’s Xohm WiMax 4G service. I have already spotted a couple of their antennas up in small part of D.C, but not sure that they’re open for business yet.
What I am worried is their rival technology LTE (Long Term Evolution) supported by other major telecom companies like Verizon Wireless which is planning to begin LTE deployment before the end of the year. AT&T also plans to do the same. The big advantage of WiMax being the first mover, a lead of a year and a half over deployments of rival LTE technology.
I am personally believer in the power of the 3GPP roadmap from GSM to WCDMA, to HSPA, to LTE because of the ecosystem that it carries with it. Based on what I’ve learned about Existing Mobile operators over the last five years or so – there is a clear operational, capex, and marketing advantage for the incumbent mobile operators. At a technology level – there are some advantages for LTE over WiMax on uplink performance. The time it has taken Clearwire to acquire their current subscribers all these years, it will probably take At&T to sell that many iPhones in a few weeks. So, I think WiMax will be a nice niche technology for DSL extension and in some countries where better spectrum is made available. The 3.65 and 2.5GHz bands here in the US will make it impossible to compete with a mobile operator with LTE at 700MHz.
As for the cost, they plan to charge us from $30 to $45 per month. I will certainly stay on top of this and keep you all posted.
Which one is next?
I still remember my excitement over 18,200 bps modem when it came out. WOW! Then, there was ISDN that became obsolete two years later, then DSL, Cable, and Wi-Fi in parallel with struggling WiMax.
There is even 4G Phones that its rumors came out by the French website earlier this month. It is supposed to be the next generation of iPhone (to be released in July of this year). The Apple Tablet is even rumored to have a data plan on Verizon and AT&T’s 3G networks. More and more laptops come with built-in 3G and WiMax access as well. Read more…
Elias Shams
Kamran Abdi
Tatiana Sorabi
