Dell sells WiMax addon
While making a point to assert it’s looking into LTE as well, Dell has for now jumped on the WiMAX bandwagon by announcing it’ll offer the technology as an option on its Studio 15, Studio 17, and Studio XPS 16 laptops. US customers can pick the Intel 5150 WiMAX / Wireless-N combo card for $60 under the wireless card tab when customizing. Right now, we’d wager a few people living in Portland, Atlanta, or pockets of Baltimore just got mighty happy.
Broadband, Dell, Devices, WiMax Dell, wimax
MetroPCS & LTE Combine
Wall Street reports fourth quarter earnings of MetroPCS in 2008 to be the highest ever in company history. When it came to increasing subscriber numbers, MetroPCS hit it out of the park with its $50 unlimited non-contract price to entice those savvy consumers out there worried about the economy and budget. Right now, MetroPCS has a total of 5.4 million subscribers, 5th place in the world of mobile operators. T-Mobile with 32.8 million subscribers, Sprint with 49.3 million, AT&T with 77 million, and Verizon with 72.1 million.
In other news, MetroPCS might be the first mobile operator to offer LTE…Wait what? Without a smartphone in the market, how can it even utilize this huge pipe? My guess is that the company will be releasing some new phones this Q3 from a secret Canadian company to offer a smartphone and pc card. Expect MetroPCS to start advertising in 2010
Oh no! I never even tried WiMax…sad
Broadband, LTE, MetroPCS, Mobile Carriers at&t, LTE, MetroPCS, smartphone, sprint, subscribers, unlimited plan, verizon, wimax
Is WiMax worth it for Sprint?
With Verizon claiming LTE (Long-Term Evolution) rollout to be in the later phase of 2010 with 4G like speeds, Sprint is going full speed ahead into the 4G space with its deployment (and sizeable investment) in WiMax with Clearwire. With worrisome fourth-quarter earnings performances from both companies, you sure can tell who’s willing to gamble as carriers lock down on subscribers and reduce churn by introducing deep price cuts to keep their current customers happy. Sprint reported -$1.6 billion in losses and over 1.3 million subscribers lost in the fourth quarter compared to Verizon’s 1.4 million and AT&T’s 2.1 million subscriber gains for the fourth quarter alone. Sprint ended the year with 49.3 million subscribers and is likely to continue this hemorrhaging for many months until new products and lines of services are introduced like WiMax and the Palm Pre.
But here’s the fundamental question… Is WiMax worth it? Does the subscriber model still apply? Do we need these speeds when we have 3G and HSPA nationwide? How can you justify the cost when you travel and it’s only in these two cities? Can hardware manufacturers (LG, Intel) stay in the WiMax business offering WiMax chips when there no one is buying them? Is this too early in the adoption curb?
Let’s see if WiMax can continue its deployment into more cities and expand its footprint nationally going beyond Baltimore and Portland. I would like to see this deployed in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Washington DC. If deployment takes any longer, Sprint may have to reconsider its investment and call this 4G race lost, or else Sprint will have to start looking to cut more jobs and offer steeper discounts.
Offer this in Los Angeles and I’ll be the first one subscribing to it
Mobile Carriers clearwire, HSPA, LTE, sprint, subscriber, verizon, wimax