Clearwire Details 31 Areas for 2013 LTE Deployment, Promises Faster Speeds Than Rivals

Clearwire, which is majority-owned by Sprint, has announced plans to enter the fast 4G LTE market in 31 markets, but unlike most of its U.S.-based rivals, Clearwire will be using the TDD-LTE specification for its mobile broadband technology, which is the same standard that China and Canada will be using. According to the company, the advantage for choosing TDD-LTE over what some of its rivals have chosen is that it will help the wireless provider migrate easily to the next-generation LTE-Advanced specification, which can provide theoretical peak download speeds of about 1 Gbps.

“Our new 4G network will show that not all LTE networks are created equal,” said Erik Prusch, President and CEO of Clearwire. “Clearwire’s LTE Advanced-ready network will deploy our deep spectrum resources for the next great era in mobile broadband in which capacity is king. We’re positioned to bring much needed capacity on a wholesale basis to address the unbridled demand for mobile data and the scarcity of spectrum in major urban and suburban markets.”

The TDD-LTE technology utilized here would be more efficient in terms of delivering speed and capacity.

With LTE-Advanced providing 1 Gbps, that’s roughly 100 times faster than the real-world performance that Verizon Wireless customers are averaging today on that carrier’s LTE network. Verizon, with its competing FDD-LTE network, quotes speeds on its current network today at between 5-15 Mbps on the download side and 2-5 Mbps for uploads. For its part, Verizon Wireless had announced that it is looking into LTE-Advanced as well for the future.

The areas that Clearwire will blanket with 4G LTE coverage will cover major metropolitan areas in the U.S. The 31 initial launch markets that will be deployed by mid-year 2013 include major cities such as Chicago, Los Angeles, New York City, San Francisco, and Seattle, many of which are also serviced by Clearwire’s and Sprint’s aging 4G WiMax network.

With Sprint‘s Lightsquared partner not being able to deliver an LTE network for Sprint due to FCC restrictions because Lightsquared’s implementation would have interfered with GPS reception, Clearwire’s network could help Sprint aggressively build out its footprint and coverage map to compete against AT&T and Verizon. Additionally, with Clearwire entering the LTE race, it could potentially be a major competitor to Sprint as Clearwire may not have to rely on Sprint to deliver voice coverage. In areas that Clearwire service with LTE, the carrier could deliver voice over LTE, or VoLTE, which would deliver and handle voice calls similar to VoIP technology.

Clearwire also announced that additional markets will be announced at a later date.

Press release:

Clearwire TDD-LTE Network to Serve 4G “Hot Zones” in New York, San Francisco,
Los Angeles, Chicago, Seattle and More

TDD-LTE Network Planned for High Demand “Hot Zones” in 31 Markets
Initial Market Launches Scheduled for Early 2013, with Remaining Markets Planned for Mid-2013

BELLEVUE, Wash., April 26, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) –Clearwire Corporation (Nasdaq:CLWR) today announced that New York City, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago and Seattle will be among the 31 cities where the company will launch its TDD-LTE network during the first half of 2013. Deployment of Clearwire’s TDD-LTE network will target high demand “hot zones” in major urban centers where demand for 4G mobile broadband access is high and the need for deep 4G capacity resources is most acute.

“Our new 4G network will show that not all LTE networks are created equal,” said Erik Prusch, President and CEO of Clearwire. “Clearwire’s LTE Advanced-ready network will deploy our deep spectrum resources for the next great era in mobile broadband in which capacity is king. We’re positioned to bring much needed capacity on a wholesale basis to address the unbridled demand for mobile data and the scarcity of spectrum in major urban and suburban markets.”

Clearwire LTE: The Next-Generation of 4G

Clearwire’s next-generation LTE Advanced-ready network will be a major advancement over the current LTE networks deployed in the U.S. By leveraging its deep spectrum holdings to commercialize large contiguous swaths of spectrum in a given market, Clearwire believes its LTE Advanced-ready network will further differentiate it as a leader in next-generation 4G mobile broadband technology, capable of serving the current and anticipated future demands of wholesale and retail customers.

The company will announce the additional cities where it will launch TDD-LTE service at a later date.