McCaw forms BWA venture

WASHINGTON--Making a rare public appearance at the Wireless Communications Association conference, telecom magnate Craig McCaw today revealed his plans to launch a nationwide broadband wireless network using spectrum and technologies his holding company has been piecing together over the last year.

Using equipment from NextNet, the non-line-of-slight BWA vendor McCaw purchased last month, and the 2.5 GHz MDS/IFTS spectrum picked up around the country, McCaw’s latest venture, ClearWire, is laying out plans to launch fixed wireless networks across the country, starting with Jacksonville, Fla., and internationally with trials already launched in Mexico City and the Ivory Coast. McCaw gave no timeline for the rollout of new markets.

Delivering a cryptic keynote at the conference, McCaw said Clearwire would succeed where others had failed by offering a cheap, simple solution that required minimal installation and practically no troubleshooting. The non-line-of-sight capabilities of NextNet’s equipment were key to getting the penetration levels and reducing truckrolls, thus keeping costs and customers’ frustration levels low, McCaw said. "I’m dyslexic," McCaw said. "I like to keep things simple."

McCaw acquired the wireless assets and name of Clearwire last month and installed himself as CEO and chairman. Though Clearwire had only one trial network up and running, it had an exclusive agreement with the ITFS alliance, a coalition of broadcast license holders with spectrum dotting the 2.5 GHz to 2.7 GHz band. McCaw inherited that contract and, along with other licenses he’s picked up in the last two years, claims to have a hefty portfolio of MDS spectrum to feed his national network.