While the big tech blogs fawn over the latest reason why LTE has killed Wimax long before the first LTE device is even deployed, Sprint has sold over 300,000 of it’s HTC Wimax handset in the last few days.

Although the company has not released specific figures from its June 4 debut, analyst David Dixon with FBR Capital Markets said the figure is likely close to 320,000 devices and that the carrier may have gained 100,000 new customers and 220,000 upgrades.  Sprint claims the launch marked the largest quantity of a single phone it has ever sold in one day, with the Evo 4G beating the previous records the carrier held with the Samsung Instinct and the Palm Pre. (Wimax.com)

Had this device been logoed with a half eaten fruit a talked up by its cult leader, it would have sold millions. Never the less, 300K is not a shabby number for a 2 year contract on a “dead technology”. Silence from big media on something a big as  4G handset selling big numbers is very telling.

The LTE camp hasn’t chosen to park piles of pay for opinion dollars here, so I’ll call it the way I see it unfettered. Am I a Wimax fanboy? Not a chance! I just don’t believe in declaring victory for a player who has yet to enter the arena, especially when it’s rival is actually delivering product and service. If there are currently two wireless standards coexisting in the 3G world, what is so different about 4G that changes he benefit of competing technologies in marketplace?

Congrats to Sprint for scoring a first, and a success. Maybe another player can delivery a lower priced, less crippled 4G handset? We’re watching and waiting.

All of the chatter about  4G wireless in the big tech media is really beginning to annoy me.  The wireless broadband world as of right now is 100% Wimax, and it works. In fact this post comes to you tonight via a Wimax connection that outperforms AT&T’s best DSL offering in my neighborhood, and lags behind Time Warner’s pricey 15MBPS service a bit. So, 4G wireless is here, working and destined to improve.  Today it is 100% Wimax. You’d never know that from reading posts in the big tech media. They keep telling us that something called LTE is what I’ve been waiting for. Well, excuse me, I’m not waiting, I’m using. So why is it we keep reading FUD like this in GigaOM? I think it’s pretty simple. Lots of bloggers are following the lame stream media and recycling press releases and talking points as news. Sorry to single you out Om, I really do like your blog and you’re far from  the worst offender.

Let me spell my bias out for you, and I think it’s pretty much the same as the average broadband consumer. IF an LTE based carrier  shows up with a better deal I’m a customer. But, that’s based on if and when. Today, I’m writing about what I can buy now.

I do wish we’d get past discussion of technology. It’s a no brainer that LTE has a commitment from the major cell phone operators. It’s also a fact no one really has a clear idea of what LTE will be beyond the results of preliminary lab stats. The idea behind LTE is to make an easy transition form current cell phone technology for the nickel and dime you to death cellular carriers. Wimax was never designed to do that. So far, Wimax has been deployed as a big open pipe. Try getting that from the cell phone guys. By the time LTE is expected to be available in major markets, next gen Wimax will be available and an upgrade. I see a coming 4G war not only between two technologies, but also between two business models.

Bottom line: I can promise you we’re getting no largess from either the LTE or Wimax camp. We’re based in Texas, so I’ll use a little local analogy. Today Wimax is the only horse in town, and it’s pricier than we would like and slower than we would like. At the same time, as of today, the LTE camp is all hat and no cattle. Contrary to all of the tech media propaganda, both are likely to be with us for some time to come. In fact, I doubt one will be an clear winner over the other. There’s plenty of evidence for how that could work in today’s two competing cell phone standards.

It’s extremely irresponsible to call one a clear winner over the other before both players even take the field, and we’re not going to do that.

For those of the geeky variety, and not so, starting today McDonalds open up its WiFi to all comers. Free. With some catches.

Access is free. So general surfing will be available. According to McD’s web page (here) certain services and particular access needs may still require paying for the privilege. But I am fine with that. It is a step in the right direction.

McD’s being altruistic? Not totally. Their heart is in the right place, but their core reason is profit of course. You see McD’s has been in a battle Royale with StarBucks in the morning fast food segment going on 5 years now. Both players have toyed with the idea of going free on WiFi. Fact in some segments I believe StarBucks has already done so. Why do it? Draw customers in. Once they have you inside you might just buy a cup of coffee at a minimum or pop for a whole meal in the best of cases. Least thats the thinking.

This won’t go unnoticed of course. Figure StarBucks to counter across the board very quickly.

The real question becomes does WiFi stay viable for very long? In a strong parallel, WiFi hotspots are the 21st Century equivalent of the pay phone. Useful sure. But you are ‘parked’ till you finish your communications. Yet the growth of smartphones are anathema to that model as the CPE are tied to metrowide cellular/3g/4g services unrelated to specific locale. So WiFi services that McD’s is providing will fade just like the wall payphone at the local tavern did.

I keep reading that WiMax is a fringe technology that will surely die in the shadow of LTE. Apparently, US mobile WiMax carrier Clearwire isn’t listening. While the big,  authoritative talk coming from the LTE camp’s minions in the blogosphere make it sound like Clearwire’s technology does not work, there are plenty of users whose experience indicate otherwise. In fact, if you compare raw carrying capacity, Clearwire curently has the rights to a much broader swath of spectrum than any of its LTE based competitors. That means if a speed race evolves in the wireless space, Clearwire should be the winner. Then there’s the technology itself. While LTE is in the testing phase the current version of WiMax is mature. In fact, by the time LTE is out of the test phase, second generation WiMax could be on its way. Plus, if you want 4G service today, WiMax is the only game in town. I’m not putting down, LTE. When it’s actually ready, I’ll give it an equally objective review.

With the new service Chicago and Dallas Fort Worth DSL and cable users will have a new competitive option to existing service. It will be interesting to see if a third option for those users is enough to start a price war. In the mobile space, this new pipe is a game changer. Initially, users will find themselves limited to access via traditional laptops, netbooks  and a very pricey new hand held device. In 2010, we’ll see new mobile devices entering the market that will signal the end of traditional cell service by enabling enabling VoIP as a feature on any device rather than the primary function.

For the Third Pipe readers that are lucky enough to be in Clearwire’s coverage area, our new sponsor Tucanae Services is accepting reservations for Clearwire service to be activated after November 1. Look for Tucanae’s ad here after the launch date.

Apple and AT&T have an agreement in principle that neither party would partake of supporting anything that injuries the other party in any material fashion. AT&T is concerned about users foregoing the voice components on iPhone and using the data component via VoIP. Google then shows up with an application for the iStore to do exactly what AT&T does not want. Is it rejected? Welllll, not exactly, but then you can’t download it either –

AT&T and Apple told the FCC that they did have an agreement that Apple would not help iPhone owners use VOIP calling services like Skype on the iPhone. VOIP calls use the data, rather than the voice plan, and would cut into the companies profits. Thus, Apple and AT&T agreed to cripple the Skype iPhone app so that it would only work when the iPhone used a WiFi connection.

The companies say they also agree not to let apps that stream live television, which AT&T says would strain its network.

As for Google and its app store?

Its FCC filing emphasizes that Android phone users can get apps from outside the store — unlike iPhone users. (Users can “jailbreak” their iPhones to do so, but this invalidates the warranty.)

It says only one percent of apps in its online marketplace have been rejected, mostly due to copyright or obscenity reasons.

Google did not, however, mention that it too crippled mobile apps at the request of a telecom.

T-Mobile asked Google to remove apps that let customers use their phone as a modem for a laptop, a practice known as tethering, and Google complied. T-Mobile, like all of the U.S.’s largest carriers, charges customers extra for that service. Google later re-allowed the app, but not for T-Mobile customers.

Is Google the unvarnished victim in this? The maiden for her prince to open the gates? Well not exactly either. Google is doing the same thing for T-Mobile on Android platforms. Google you can pucker up, but wash your shoes first, they reek of BS.

All this jockeying and “where’s the pea” is going for naught too. Wimax is continuing to rollout. The following cities are targeted this year — Charlotte, Chicago, Dallas, Fort Worth, Honolulu, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, Portland, Seattle. Wimax is already in Atlanta, NYC, Los Angeles and the outskirt of WashDC. So many of the mass market areas are in coverage. The upshot is the Wimax providers are not freaking out that VoIP will traverse their network. Fact some providers are offering bundles that include VoIP. So the cat’s already out of the bag. Fact some are considering using a “netbook-as-phone”.

By the way Who if on first and What is on second and Google is in the outfield. Google still has not understood how damaging their lack of 700mhz ownership means to them over the long haul.

Linky.

Significant numbers of cell phone users have been moving to lower cost prepaid plans pushing revenue per subscriber down for the wireless cartel. The Telcos have relied on over priced and quota limited mobile data to pick up the slack in keeping stratospheric profit margins in place.  The cable guys may be getting ready to upset the apple cart as thier own revenues from pay TV are beginning to decline.

Comcast is offering two combo plans: a metro service that combines home broadband and WiMAX mobile broadband for $49.99 for 12 months (after which the price jumps to $72.95), and a nationwide service that combines cable broadband with WiMAX and Sprint’s 3G network for $69.99 for the first year (it then jumps to $92.95). Clearwire, which Comcast has an investment in, is providing the WiMAX service. Considering that Sprint charges people $60 a month for mobile broadband and Comcast charges about $42 a month for its lowest tier, this second option is a great deal for the first year, and still offers savings over the long term. Think of the fast WiMAX speeds for local mobile broadband as a nice bonus. (GigaOM)

In a world swimming in wireless transmissions, how does one operate without it? Cell phone, WiFi, 900mhz phone, the list is endless. So is the FCC, hence the government’s right, to abrogate the 4th Amendment –

That’s the upshot of the rules the agency has followed for years to monitor licensed television and radio stations, and to crack down on pirate radio broadcasters. And the commission maintains the same policy applies to any licensed or unlicensed radio-frequency device.

“Anything using RF energy — we have the right to inspect it to make sure it is not causing interference,” says FCC spokesman David Fiske. That includes devices like Wi-Fi routers that use unlicensed spectrum, Fiske says.

The FCC claims it derives its warrantless search power from the Communications Act of 1934, though the constitutionality of the claim has gone untested in the courts. That’s largely because the FCC had little to do with average citizens for most of the last 75 years, when home transmitters were largely reserved to ham-radio operators and CB-radio aficionados. But in 2009, nearly every household in the United States has multiple devices that use radio waves and fall under the FCC’s purview, making the commission’s claimed authority ripe for a court challenge.

“It is a major stretch beyond case law to assert that authority with respect to a private home, which is at the heart of the Fourth Amendment’s protection against unreasonable search and seizure,” says Electronic Frontier Foundation lawyer Lee Tien. “When it is a private home and when you are talking about an over-powered Wi-Fi antenna — the idea they could just go in is honestly quite bizarre.”

Alarmist? Well maybe. When you consider that the average consumer grade transmitter is running way less than a watt of RF output power, I don’t think you will be breaking the law nor the FCC being after you. The rule that the article points to was in place to go after large wattage stations and CB radios being upjacked to a 1000w linear amp.

But it is a tad troubling on the face. If a FCC guy came to the house asking. I probably would say come on in. I don’t have anything that does high watt RF transmission. But if they started acting like stormtroopers a call to my lawyer would be made long before they left.

Linky.

A whole patch of 2.5Ghz licenses are coming up for bid. This is the WiMax band. Same place that folks like Clearwire are playing in. Looking at a list of the service areas most are the rural or outskirt suburban areas. The juiciest one appears to be the Miami service area. –

So now we roll into the PN for the 2.5 GHz band auction. With Kevin Martin gone, it’s unclear whether anonymous bidding will survive. While some folks in the Wireless Bureau love it and think it is an important rule for making auctions more efficient, I know from experience that other folks in the Wireless Bureau hate it. With the 8th floor operating with only 3 Commissioners, one of whom is waiting to move on, and everyone focused on the upcoming DTV Transition June 12, this item is unlikely to attract a lot of attention. Even if the final decision happens after Genechowski and newly nominated 3rd Democrat Mingon Clyburne come on board, along with whatever Republican they finally settle on, the majority of Commissioners will be coming to a very complex issue cold.

Mr. Feld may have a minor expectation that there might be some changes in the bidding process. It could happen. But like most bureaucracies, change comes slowly especially when there are new entrants in the commissioners chairs. Unless they are given an external shove from Congress I would expect it to go down pretty much like 700mhz auction did.

The one outliers is pricing. With 700mhz still in what looks like deployment limbo for a lot of markets the WiMax WISPs might bid more than expected. I suspect they see an opening with a short window and may be willing to pay a little extra before competition drives down pricing.

Read Mr. Feld’s article here.

While WiMAX continues to provide a first, second and Third Pipe to much of the world, it’s still very much a niche product here. The real reson for this is not the superiority of LTE, but rather the more closed nature of LTE that is more appealing to the telcos. Why do the telcos matter anyway? Simple, between fixed line and air based pipes, three companies control the right of ways to the vast majority of Amricans.  Still a doubter? Consider this:

It may not have made a huge splash in the United States, but WiMax coverage continues to grow in many international markets. According to the WiMax Forum, about 100 carriers worldwide will offer the 4G wireless technology for the first time this year.

That number was first quoted in an InformationWeek article last week. Although the Forum has not published a report with that estimate, the forum’s marketing director Scenna Tabesh confirmed it in a phone call with the Industry Standard. “It’s an estimate we firmly stand behind,” she said. (PC World)

With the all to willing help of Congress, the telcos have locked up the first threee market tiers. WISP’s are nibbling at the fringes in these markets, but any serious threat is put down either through lawsuiting, lobbying for law changes or competing unfairly. When WiMAX upstart Clearwire opens in more markets this year, look for these tactics to be played out to the max. Government oversight will continue to be on the back burner as beltway thugs busily feed telco porkers “stimulus” money. If Al Capone were alive today, he’d be running a telco.

Or at least one in the OEM sense? Two things you can generally count on. A) If a product started out using propiertary R&D product but goes Linux in the end. Or B) It starts out Linux in the Lab and stays that way, then most likely one has reached the bottom of the inverted ‘S’ curve of price and performance. Well PureWave is following option ‘B’ –

The PureWave WiMAX/LTE base stations will combine the functionality of a traditional macro base station with the small footprint and lower pricing of pico base stations, claims PureWave. Designed for outdoor installations, the base stations will be mountable on towers, poles, or walls, says the company.

The base stations are said to incorporate adaptive beamforming technology that optimizes spectral efficiency, data throughput, and range. Beamforming is a signal processing technique used by sensor arrays to offer directional signal transmission or reception, and adaptive beamforming is said to better adapt to different transmission conditions.

The small form-factor systems are based on an undisclosed Freescale processor, and use a Freescale Linux distribution, which the company expects will ship with a Linux 2.6.24 kernel. The design may well incorporate Freescale’s multi-core, PowerPC-based PowerQuicc III “MPCxxxx” networking processors, or else its new PowerQuicc heir, the QorIQ.

I dare to say, is what PureWave developed here the Femtocell of WiMax? The hardware is a known quantity, though the processor PureWave intends to use has not been released yet. Same with the software suite - Enea Accelerator, has been around the block a few times. One last observation, given all the layers are known quantities, it will only be a matter of time before somebody in the FOSS community develops a Tomato or DD-WRT suite for WiMax hardware. Then wither the FCC on the whole issue.

Linky.