Is WiMAX’s momentum lost?

Throughout 2008, trucks with Sprint’s Xohm logo zipped around town. Under Clearwire’s current rollout schedule, Chicago probably will have to wait until fall before it sees WiMAX services.

I realize that launching commercial service in a major metropolitan area like Chicago isn’t as easy as flipping a switch. There are retail and marketing operations to consider, which have to be scaled to meet the demands of such a large market. As Chicago is a Sprint-built network, there also are integration issues. When Clearwire launched its first network in Portland, it was incompatible with devices sold to Sprint’s former Baltimore customers, as the two networks had separate back-office systems. I respect that fact that Clearwire doesn’t want to deploy a network in half-measures, but every day those hundreds of base stations lie dormant in Chicago is one less day Clearwire has to build a presence and customer base in the Windy City before Verizon rolls into town.

E-mail me at kfitchard@telephonyonline.com.