Clearwire Corporation (stylized as clearw˙re) was a telecommunications operator which provided mobile and fixed wireless broadband communications services to retail and wholesale customers in the United States,
Belgium
Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...
,
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
and
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
. Clearwire traces its roots to 1998, when Sierra Technologies, Inc., spun off certain assets to form a new company, Clearwire Technologies Inc.
In October 2003,
Craig McCaw
Craig McCaw (born August 11, 1949) is an American businessman and entrepreneur, a pioneer in the cellular phone industry. He is the founder of McCaw Cellular (now part of AT&T Mobility) and Clearwire Corporation (now part of T-Mobile via the Sprin ...
purchased Clearwire Technologies, Inc. parent company Clearwire Holdings and moved the company headquarters to
Kirkland, Washington. In 2012, Clearwire moved the company headquarters to
Bellevue, Washington
Bellevue ( ) is a city in the Eastside region of King County, Washington, United States, located across Lake Washington from Seattle. It is the third-largest city in the Seattle metropolitan area and has variously been characterized as ...
.
A large percentage of Clearwire shares were previously owned by a number of large companies including Sprint Nextel Corporation (now
Sprint Corporation
Sprint Corporation was an American telecommunications company. Before it merged with T-Mobile US on April 1, 2020, it was the fourth-largest mobile network operator in the United States, serving 54.3 million customers as of June 30, 2019. The ...
and later merged with
T-Mobile US
T-Mobile US, Inc. is an American wireless network operator headquartered in Overland Park, Kansas and Bellevue, Washington, U.S. Its largest shareholder is a multinational telecommunications company Deutsche Telekom AG, which , holds 48.4 pe ...
),
Comcast Corporation,
Time Warner Cable
Time Warner Cable, Inc. (TWC) was an American cable television company. Before it was acquired by Charter Communications on May 18, 2016, it was ranked the second largest cable company in the United States by revenue behind only Comcast, operat ...
Inc.,
Bright House Networks, LLC,
Google
Google LLC () is an American Multinational corporation, multinational technology company focusing on Search Engine, search engine technology, online advertising, cloud computing, software, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, ar ...
Inc. and
Intel
Intel Corporation is an American multinational corporation and technology company headquartered in Santa Clara, California. It is the world's largest semiconductor chip manufacturer by revenue, and is one of the developers of the x86 seri ...
Corporation. Sprint Nextel was Clearwire's largest single shareholder, owning a 50.8% combined stake and control of the company.
On July 9, 2013, Sprint Nextel completed acquiring the remaining shares it didn't already own, becoming sole owner of Clearwire Corporation. The day after, on July 10, 2013, Sprint Nextel and
SoftBank Corp
is a Japanese multinational conglomerate holding company headquartered in Minato, Tokyo which focuses on investment management. The Group primarily invests in companies operating in technology, energy, and financial sectors. It also runs the Vi ...
. announced the completion of their merger, where Softbank invested $21.6 billion in Sprint.
Clearwire provided services to 88 markets in the United States covering 134 million potential subscribers. Sprint Corporation owns rights to radio frequency spectrum in the 2.5 GHz range which provides service primarily using the 4G 802.16e mobile
WiMAX
Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX) is a family of wireless broadband communication standards based on the IEEE 802.16 set of standards, which provide physical layer (PHY) and media access control (MAC) options.
The WiMAX ...
standard. Clearwire also provides service to customers in 17 U.S. cities using the Motorola Expedience 802.16d radio interface which the company refers to as "Pre-4G".
[
Clearwire was ranked as the fifth largest wireless provider in the U.S., prior to being acquired, with roughly 11 million subscribers who used the WiMAX network as of January 2012. Sprint ceased operations of the Clearwire Network on November 6, 2015.
]
History
Clearwire traces its roots to 1998, when Sierra Technologies, Inc. spun off certain assets to form a new company, Clearwire, Inc., based in Arlington, Texas. Clearwire Technologies was formed by a number of investors including Sierra CEO Jim Gero and Edward "Rusty" Rose, a former co-managing partner of the Texas Rangers. Clearwire Technologies raised about US$100 million from Goldman Sachs, in conjunction with another client who held licenses for spectrum
A spectrum (plural ''spectra'' or ''spectrums'') is a condition that is not limited to a specific set of values but can vary, without gaps, across a continuum. The word was first used scientifically in optics to describe the rainbow of colors ...
allocated to various educational institutions; the former Instructional Television Fixed Service (ITFS) band now known as EBS or Educational Broadband Service.
After Goldman provided the funds—which were supposed to be used to roll out the system in key markets across the U.S.—they used a provision of the agreement to take control of the company; hiring a new CEO, Leo J. Cyr, who ousted the entire management team, including Clearwire CEO Brian Nerney, while diluting the strength of the founders still on the Board of Directors.
A holding company controlled by Craig McCaw
Craig McCaw (born August 11, 1949) is an American businessman and entrepreneur, a pioneer in the cellular phone industry. He is the founder of McCaw Cellular (now part of AT&T Mobility) and Clearwire Corporation (now part of T-Mobile via the Sprin ...
, Flux LLC, acquired Clearwire Inc's then parent company, Clearwire Holdings, in March 2004. After assuming control, McCaw installed executives from McCaw Cellular
McCaw Cellular Communications was a cellular telephone pioneer in the United States. Savvy licensing of cellular spectrum in the early 1980s put McCaw Cellular in an extremely strong position, quickly outpacing the growth of the "Baby Bells" in t ...
in the key leadership positions at Clearwire Corp.[
On June 3, 2004, McCaw purchased Clearwire Inc. for an undisclosed amount and used its name and resources, as well as technology developed by another McCaw-owned company, NextNet Wireless Inc., to launch his latest effort. On October 26, 2004, Intel Corp. teamed up with McCaw to develop and deploy a technology for portable wireless Internet access. The partnership included an investment by Clearwire Corp.
Clearwire grew from 1,000 customers in September 2004 to more than 443,000 customers by May 2008. Clearwire claimed in September 2006 that 20% of its markets had more than 10% penetration of households covered.
Clearwire took a $900 million infusion of capital from ]Intel
Intel Corporation is an American multinational corporation and technology company headquartered in Santa Clara, California. It is the world's largest semiconductor chip manufacturer by revenue, and is one of the developers of the x86 seri ...
and Motorola
Motorola, Inc. () was an American multinational telecommunications company based in Schaumburg, Illinois, United States. After having lost $4.3 billion from 2007 to 2009, the company split into two independent public companies, Motorol ...
in July 2006, shortly after pulling its initial public offering
An initial public offering (IPO) or stock launch is a public offering in which shares of a company are sold to institutional investors and usually also to retail (individual) investors. An IPO is typically underwritten by one or more investme ...
. Clearwire's equipment manufacturer Nextnet Wireless was sold to Motorola as part of the exchange. This investment by these two industry giants had been reported as an attempt to accelerate the development and deployment of WiMAX
Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX) is a family of wireless broadband communication standards based on the IEEE 802.16 set of standards, which provide physical layer (PHY) and media access control (MAC) options.
The WiMAX ...
networks worldwide.
An unspecified source claims that AT&T
AT&T Inc. is an American multinational telecommunications holding company headquartered at Whitacre Tower in Downtown Dallas, Texas. It is the world's largest telecommunications company by revenue and the third largest provider of mobile te ...
sold Clearwire a slice of 2.5 GHz spectrum for about $300 million. The spectrum covers markets in the southeast of the U.S. and was formerly owned by BellSouth
BellSouth, LLC (stylized as ''BELLSOUTH'' and formerly known as BellSouth Corporation) was an American telecommunications holding company based in Atlanta, Georgia. BellSouth was one of the seven original Regional Bell Operating Companies after ...
. The spectrum solidifies Clearwire's position as the second largest holder of 2.5 GHz spectrum after Sprint Nextel
Sprint Corporation was an American telecommunications company. Before it Merger of Sprint Corporation and T-Mobile US, merged with T-Mobile US on April 1, 2020, it was the fourth-largest mobile network operator in the United States, serving 54.3 ...
. AT&T had to sell the spectrum as a condition of its merger with BellSouth.
Clearwire and Sprint Nextel announced a partnership in July 2007 to accelerate deployment of WiMAX technology across the US. The deal was to include a swap of spectrum and markets between the two companies, as well as providing roaming capabilities for customers traveling between the companies' networks. The partnership was terminated at the end of 2007. In 2008, Sprint's new CEO Dan Hesse started serious discussions about forming a joint venture between the two companies in the hopes of bringing in outside funding from Google, Intel, and Best Buy. On March 26, 2008 an anonymous source stated that Sprint and Clearwire may get as much as $1 billion from Comcast and $500 million from Time Warner Cable
Time Warner Cable, Inc. (TWC) was an American cable television company. Before it was acquired by Charter Communications on May 18, 2016, it was ranked the second largest cable company in the United States by revenue behind only Comcast, operat ...
in financial backing.
Clearwire filed for its initial public offering with the Securities and Exchange Commission in May 2006. The company's underwriters included Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley and JPMorgan Chase. Trading began March 8, 2007 under the ticker symbol "CLWR" on the Nasdaq. Clearwire offered 24 million shares at $25 a share, and raised approximately US$600 million. Before the Sprint merger, Craig McCaw was the largest shareholder of the company with a majority of the shares.
On May 7, 2008, Clearwire and Sprint Nextel
Sprint Corporation was an American telecommunications company. Before it Merger of Sprint Corporation and T-Mobile US, merged with T-Mobile US on April 1, 2020, it was the fourth-largest mobile network operator in the United States, serving 54.3 ...
's wireless broadband unit Xohm XOHM was the brand name Sprint Nextel Corporation was using to promote its WiMAX services, currently labelled by Sprint Corporation simply as 4G. Sprint was the first service provider in the United States, with its partner Clearwire, to announce th ...
announced their intent to merge, combining Sprint's 4G WiMAX
Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX) is a family of wireless broadband communication standards based on the IEEE 802.16 set of standards, which provide physical layer (PHY) and media access control (MAC) options.
The WiMAX ...
network (Xohm) with Clearwire's existing pre-WiMAX broadband network. Sprint owns 54% of the firm, with ex-Clearwire shareholders owning 27% – a consortium of Comcast, Time Warner Cable
Time Warner Cable, Inc. (TWC) was an American cable television company. Before it was acquired by Charter Communications on May 18, 2016, it was ranked the second largest cable company in the United States by revenue behind only Comcast, operat ...
, Intel
Intel Corporation is an American multinational corporation and technology company headquartered in Santa Clara, California. It is the world's largest semiconductor chip manufacturer by revenue, and is one of the developers of the x86 seri ...
, Google
Google LLC () is an American Multinational corporation, multinational technology company focusing on Search Engine, search engine technology, online advertising, cloud computing, software, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, ar ...
, and Bright House Networks
Bright House Networks, LLC also simply known as Bright House, was an American telecom company. Prior to its purchase by Charter Communications, it was the tenth-largest multichannel video service provider and the 6th largest cable internet prov ...
invested $3.2 billion and owns the balance. Clearwire and the cable companies will buy 3G mobile broadband from Sprint as MVNOs. Clearwire/Sprint Nextel officially launched Portland, Oregon
Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the list of cities in Oregon, largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, Columbia rivers, Portland is ...
, as the first market using the new service. Clearwire's 4G service was branded as CLEAR, except in those markets where the Clearwire name has already been established and where CLEAR service is not available. CLEAR 4G was available in 35 of the country's 40 largest metropolitan statistical areas
In the United States, a metropolitan statistical area (MSA) is a geographical region with a relatively high population density at its core and close economic ties throughout the area. Such regions are neither legally incorporated as a city or tow ...
, covering 130 million people.
On March 9, 2009, Clearwire named Bill Morrow as CEO, succeeding Benjamin Wolff, who became co-chairman with Craig McCaw
Craig McCaw (born August 11, 1949) is an American businessman and entrepreneur, a pioneer in the cellular phone industry. He is the founder of McCaw Cellular (now part of AT&T Mobility) and Clearwire Corporation (now part of T-Mobile via the Sprin ...
. Morrow, 49, stepped down as CEO of Pacific Gas & Electric Company. Morrow had previously held a number of senior positions at Vodafone.
In April 2009, a class-action lawsuit
A class action, also known as a class-action lawsuit, class suit, or representative action, is a type of lawsuit where one of the parties is a group of people who are represented collectively by a member or members of that group. The class actio ...
was filed against Clearwire. The suit was dismissed in April 2009 but was appealed by the complainant. The suit claimed that the company's actual Internet connection speeds were slower than advertised and was sometimes unavailable.
On December 31, 2010, McCaw resigned as chairman of Clearwire and was replaced by John W. Stanton. On March 10, 2011, Bill Morrow resigned as CEO and was replaced by interim CEO John W. Stanton. On August 10, 2011, Clearwire promoted COO Erik Prusch to president and CEO, and named John Stanton executive chairman.
Clearwire stated that it might not honor a $237 million debt covenant due on December 1, 2011, in order to conserve cash. However, on December 2, 2011, the company announced that not only had it made that payment, but it had made a new four-year deal with Sprint to receive funding for network buildout and investments valued at $1.6 billion.
Complete acquisition by Sprint Nextel
On October 14, 2012, it was announced that Japanese telecommunications company SoftBank
is a Japanese multinational conglomerate holding company headquartered in Minato, Tokyo which focuses on investment management. The Group primarily invests in companies operating in technology, energy, and financial sectors. It also runs the Vi ...
would purchase 70% of Sprint Nextel Corporation for $20.1 billion. This initially led to speculation that Sprint would buy out Clearwire, but "two well placed sources" within Sprint said that such a maneuver would not occur.
Sprint, however, announced on October 18, 2012, that it acquired a majority interest in Clearwire by buying a stake from Clearwire's founder, which gave Sprint a 50.8% ownership and control of Clearwire. On December 17, 2012, Sprint announced that it entered into a definitive agreement to acquire the remaining stake in Clearwire that it did not then own for $2.97 per share, which equaled $2.2 billion.
Over a period of approximately six months, a bidding war with DISH Network for Clearwire occurred, ultimately resulting in Sprint increasing its offer price for Clearwire to $5 per share. On July 8, 2013, Clearwire announced that its stockholders approved the merger with Sprint. Relatedly, Sprint's stockholders approved the merger with SoftBank, which closed on July 10, 2013. Subsequently, it planned to lay off about 75% of its employees.
CLEAR announced that it would shut down on November 5, 2015. On November 6, 2015, CLEAR service was terminated. The WiMAX network was operated, without CLEAR customers, until early March 2016 because of a court order.
Networks
Expedience OFDM – Pre-4G
In 17 markets in the United States and certain markets in Belgium, Clearwire provides a service it refers to as "Pre-4G" using a Point-to-Multipoint
In telecommunications, point-to-multipoint communication (P2MP, PTMP or PMP) is communication which is accomplished via a distinct type of one-to-many connection, providing multiple paths from a single location to multiple locations.
Point-to ...
system from Motorola
Motorola, Inc. () was an American multinational telecommunications company based in Schaumburg, Illinois, United States. After having lost $4.3 billion from 2007 to 2009, the company split into two independent public companies, Motorol ...
called "Expedience", part of the MOTOwi4 family of products. The service is considered true Non-Line-of-Sight ( NLOS).
The service is not unique to Clearwire. Several companies throughout the world use this same product line from Motorola, including Inukshuk Wireless Partnership of Canada, Beamspeed and Commspeed of Arizona, AccessTEL of Bangladesh, and Unitel of Guatemala.
WiMAX 802.16e - 4G
Branded ''CLEAR'', the company, on January 6, 2009, unveiled Portland, Oregon
Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the list of cities in Oregon, largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, Columbia rivers, Portland is ...
, as its first 4G WiMAX wireless broadband market, enabling consumers and businesses to access the Internet, wirelessly, at broadband speeds.
After the Portland launch, the company expanded its 4G network to 87 additional markets.
Retail products and services
4G Mobile and fixed wireless
In the United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
, Clearwire offered 4G fixed and mobile Internet access under the CLEAR brand in 88 cities. Clearwire claimed an average download speed of 3 to 6 Mbit/s with bursts over 10 Mbit/s.
In January 2011, Clearwire started offering 4G WiMax service in Spain under the Instanet brand, discontinuing services based on Motorola Expedience technology.
Clearwire provides service in Spain in the 3.4–3.6 GHz frequency range.
Clearwire offered 4G WiMax service in Belgium under the Clearwire brand.
Expedience fixed wireless
Clearwire offers Expedience based services in 17 markets in the United States and in certain markets in Belgium. Customers can choose either the Motorola Expedience Residential Subscriber Unit (RSU) or the Motorola Expedience PC Card in both a PC Card and ExpressCard. The RSU incorporates automatic adaptive modulation for increased throughput and network capacity. Users are connected to the Internet at indoor locations throughout the entire system's coverage area. The unit functions as an Ethernet bridge
A network bridge is a computer networking device that creates a single, aggregate network from multiple communication networks or network segments. This function is called network bridging. Bridging is distinct from routing. Routing allows mu ...
(Layer 2) device, interfacing a standard Ethernet over twisted pair
Ethernet over twisted-pair technologies use twisted-pair cables for the physical layer of an Ethernet computer network. They are a subset of all Ethernet physical layers.
Early Ethernet used various grades of coaxial cable, but in 1984, Sta ...
connector. The PC Card incorporates the same automatic adaptive modulation for increased throughput and network capacity with the added portability of a laptop CardBus card.
Clearwire formerly offered Expedience-based services in Ireland and Denmark until operations in those countries were purchased by Imagine Communications
Imagine Communications is an Irish internet service provider and telecommunications operator, who provide WiMAX, wireless broadband and resell Eircom telecommunications wholesale packages. The company operates in Ireland, the United Kingdom, the ...
and ERLO Group, respectively. In January 2011 Clearwire discontinued services based on Motorola Expedience technology in Spain in favor of Instanet branded 4G WiMAX service.
VoIP
Clearwire also offers its own Voice over IP
Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), also called IP telephony, is a method and group of technologies for the delivery of voice communications and multimedia sessions over Internet Protocol (IP) networks, such as the Internet. The terms Internet t ...
service in some areas for an additional monthly fee.
Wholesale products and services
Sprint Corporation (Clearwire's parent company) resold Clearwire's 4G network service as Sprint 4G WiMax in over 70 markets across the United States. Other Clearwire investors Comcast and Time Warner Cable
Time Warner Cable, Inc. (TWC) was an American cable television company. Before it was acquired by Charter Communications on May 18, 2016, it was ranked the second largest cable company in the United States by revenue behind only Comcast, operat ...
resell Clearwire's 4G mobile broadband
In telecommunications, broadband is wide bandwidth data transmission which transports multiple signals at a wide range of frequencies and Internet traffic types, that enables messages to be sent simultaneously, used in fast internet connections. ...
service in a number of markets, including New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, Atlanta and Portland among others bundled with their cable, home phone, and residential Internet services.
On June 4, 2010, Sprint Nextel introduced the first commercially available 4G cellphone in the U.S., the HTC EVO 4G
The HTC Evo 4G (trademarked in capitals as EVO 4G, also marketed as HTC EVO WiMAX ISW11HT in Japan) is a smartphone developed by HTC Corporation and marketed as Sprint's flagship Android smartphone, running on its WiMAX network. The smartphone w ...
. The device combines Clearwire's 4G network with Sprint's 3G network and Google's Android operating system, creating a multimedia-heavy device Sprint hoped would set it apart from 3G smartphones like the Apple iPhone.
Criticism
In 2005, Clearwire drew criticism from phone operator Vonage
Vonage (, legal name Vonage Holdings Corp.) is an American cloud communications provider operating as a subsidiary of Ericsson. Headquartered in Holmdel Township, New Jersey, the organization was founded in 1998 as ''Min-X'' as a provider of resi ...
. Vonage claimed Clearwire and other ISPs were blocking Vonage's services. Testing showed that contrary to Vonage's claims, Vonage calls were being connected over the Clearwire network.
In September 2010, Clearwire introduced a dynamic network management system, which, for users who consume "disproportionate" amounts of wireless data, limited the user to about 256 kbit/s of network throughput. Certain users claimed their terms of service were modified retroactively to reflect the new policy, and Clearwire itself has unofficially acknowledged this claim.
In the middle of 2012, Clearwire reached a settlement to provide partial refunds of termination fees and service credits for individuals who experienced throttling as part of their dynamic network management policy. The settlement allows Clearwire to continue throttling connections under certain circumstances as long as their advertising reflects this.
In September 2013, Clearwire in Spain, operating under the brand Instanet, cut off all of its services, web and phone lines without prior notice. It was reported at the time that Spanish consumer associations were gathering evidence of possible overcharging."(Spanish) Instanet ha paralizado su actividad tras cobrar irregularmente a sus clientes según Facua"
On April 15, 2015 (over a period of a few days), Clearwire cut off its clearwire.net email services in the United States.
On April 17, 2015, Clearwire announced Sprint would cease operations of the CLEAR 4G (WiMAX) Network and Clearwire Expedience Network on November 6, 2015.
See also
* Sprint Corporation
Sprint Corporation was an American telecommunications company. Before it merged with T-Mobile US on April 1, 2020, it was the fourth-largest mobile network operator in the United States, serving 54.3 million customers as of June 30, 2019. The ...
* Google
Google LLC () is an American Multinational corporation, multinational technology company focusing on Search Engine, search engine technology, online advertising, cloud computing, software, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, ar ...
* Virgin Mobile USA
Virgin Mobile USA was a no-contract Mobile Virtual Network Operator. It used Sprint's network for coverage. It licensed the Virgin Mobile brand from United Kingdom-based Virgin Group. Virgin Mobile USA was headquartered in Kansas City, Misso ...
* Mobile broadband
* Wireless broadband
Wireless broadband is telecommunications technology that provides high-speed wireless Internet access or computer networking access over a wide area. The term comprises both fixed and mobile broadband.
The term broadband
Originally the word ...
* Wireless internet service provider
A wireless Internet service provider (WISP) is an Internet service provider with a network based on wireless networking. Technology may include commonplace Wi-Fi wireless mesh networking, or proprietary equipment designed to operate over open ...
References
External links
*
CLEAR U.S. products and services homepage
Clearwire Belgium homepage
Clearwire Spain homepage
{{US mobile network operators
Companies formerly listed on the Nasdaq
VoIP companies of the United States
Defunct telecommunications companies of the United States
Internet service providers of the United States
Internet service providers of Belgium
Internet in Spain
Companies based in Bellevue, Washington
Defunct companies based in Washington (state)
1998 establishments in Texas
2015 disestablishments in Washington (state)
Broadband
Sprint Corporation
Telecommunications companies established in 1998
Technology companies disestablished in 2015
2013 mergers and acquisitions
2007 initial public offerings