Clearwire (NASDAQ:CLWR) this week officially launched its Silicon Valley testbed network, inviting companies in the country’s highest concentration of software and technology developers to give WiMax a try.
Called the Clear 4G WiMax Innovation Network, the 20 square-mile percursor to Clearwire’s San Francisco Bay Area network encompasses the campuses of investors Google (NASDAQ:GOOG), Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) and eventually supplier Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO), but it is hoping to attract interest from any number of developers both within and outside of the coverage footprint.
Investors Sprint (NYSE:S), Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA), Time Warner Cable (NYSE:TWC) and Bright House Networks will also participate in the project, agreeing to promote the network to its developers. All four will operate as mobile virtual network operators on the Clearwire network. Sprint has begun offering dual-mode 3G/4G modems, while Comcast and Time Warner have both begun to resell the WiMax service in their territories.