Comcast apparently won’t be waiting for Clearwire’s nationwide WiMAX rollout to launch mobile broadband services. Comcast chief operating officer Stephen Burke told the Oregonian that Comcast will exercise its wholesale agreement with Clearwire by midyear, using its WiMAX network in Portland to offer a wireless counterpart to its cable broadband services in that market.
Comcast invested $1.05 billion, almost 1/3 of the $3.2 billion infusion into Clearwire as part of its deal with Sprint, Google, Intel and cable operators. Much of those funds will be used to build Clearwire’s WiMAX footprint to at least 8 new markets this year, and it’s probably not coincidental that many of the named markets so far are Comcast market. Philadelphia, Chicago, Seattle, Dallas and Altlanta are all Comcast markets scheduled to receive the Clear service this year. Clearwire’s other live market, Baltimore, is also in the Comcast footprint.
Burke didn’t give the Oregonian too many details about its mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) launch, saying only Comcast would likely bundle the rebranded WiMAX service with its wireline voice, video and data services. That would give Comcast its first mobile offering since its aborted wireless partnership with Sprint. A WiMAX service though would likely be a very different animal, focusing on mobile data services rather than voice. Clearwire and Comcast could potentially wind up as competitors using the same network as Clearwire sells Clear as a residential broadband as well as a mobile broadband service.
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