A first look at Xohm

“Given that Xohm’s business model is so different, and that Sprint is going to roll out its own branded version of the service, Sprint is keeping Xohm separate,” Stroberg said. After Sprint and Clearwire’s deal to form a separate WiMAX carrier closes, Sprint will essentially become an MVNO using the new Clearwire’s WiMAX network, Stroberg said. Sprint will sell dual-mode WiMAX-CDMA EV-DO devices, which will offer true broadband connectivity where WiMAX is available and revert to the 3G network in other areas. When the deal closes, Xohm will no longer be owned directly by Sprint though the company will have a high stake in the venture. It will be free to sign similar wholesale deals with other operators, including Sprint’s competitors.

Though only two devices were available at today’s launch, Xohm has several more in the pipeline. Later this year, Xohm will offer a ZTE USB modem as well as its first embedded devices, the lynchpins to Xohm’s business model. In an interview earlier this month, West said that embedded devices will allow the service to scale far beyond that of typical wireless service. Instead of selling what is a souped-up phone embedded with the capabilities of multiple consumer devices, a market fed by low-cost WiMAX chipsets could put wireless connectivity into any consumer appliance. Such a market would allow customers to have multiple devices connected to the network, all of which would be subject to a single Xohm service plan rather than multiple individual contracts. The model has the flexibility to offer different pricing increments for different types of service, West said. An MP3 player that connects to the Internet only to download the occasional song track could be billed by the download while an Internet tablet would be billed a regular monthly service charge.

“We’re making the price of adding WiMAX to a device more like the price of adding Wi-Fi,” West said. “At certain point that price becomes immaterial.” While the cost of adding new silicon to any electronic device will never scale to zero, the new functionality that WiMAX connectivity will bring as well as the potential for service revenues due to that connectivity will outweigh that cost, West said. “We have a technology that creates a new business model,” West said. “This will be as significant as or even more significant than the original cellphone’s invention.”

In the next few months, Xohm will offer a WiMAX version of Nokia’s N810 Internet tablet, a Linux-powered handheld computer supporting a full Web browser and standard PC communications tools. Xohm will also support a number of WiMAX-powered devices in the coming months. Though no specific PC vendors were named in the launch, Intel has begun selling to computer makers its Centrino 2 WiMAX-WiFi platform, embedded with its Echo Peak chipset. West said that other devices will follow quickly. Xohm will benefit from the recent attention focused on hybrid data devices such as Apple’s iPhone and HTC’s Android-powered G1, just launched on the T-Mobile network. “Believe me, the iconic devices will be there,” West said.