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Tag Archives: Clearwire

Friday Q&A: Clearwire Philadelphia General Manager Andrew Kupiec

clearYou might be surprised to hear that Clearwire’s General Manager of Philadelphia Andrew Kupiec thinks the city’s mobile market isn’t crowded. It’s a big market, he says, and there’s plenty of room in the proverbial sandbox.

“Mobility and speed is our focus … We don’t need to unseat any of the incumbents, the major players in the market,” the Phoenixville resident—who grew up outside Bryn Mawr—said in a telephone interview with Technically Philly Tuesday.

Since we reported that Clear’s next-generation 4G mobile network had soft-launched in early October, the company has been on a major marketing push in Philadelphia. In recent weeks, you might have spotted branded buses and billboards or browsed across localized Internet ads with the company’s slick, green logo.

But it’s just as likely that you’ve walked past one of Comcast’s High-Speed 2Go 4G wireless demo kiosks that have been setup throughout the city. Sprint, too, quietly launched 4G service in late October.

The timing is no coincidence. Sprint and Comcast both have a financial stake in the Clearwire WiMAX network, and are utilizing the Philly rollout to offer their own next generation high-speed services. Yesterday, it was announced that Sprint will invest $1.176 billion in Clearwire, with Comcast promising an additional $176 million in a new round of funding. Google, an initial investor in the network, has chosen not to fund Clearwire in this round. Some analysts see Google’s decision as a loss off faith in WiMAX technology while next generation Long Term Evolution technology gains support from major network carriers.

If we ought not say Philly is crowded, then we can certainly say that residents have mobile broadband options, and more to come. We talked to Kupiec about the Clearwire roll-out, how it is differentiating itself from Sprint and Comcast, what the company is doing to address the digital divide and more, after the jump.

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[UPDATED] Comcast Roundup: NBC deal awaits Vivendi approval, Cohen called most powerful Philadelphian and More

Updated: 11/12/09 @ 11:19 p.m.: Vivendi no comment on NBC deal

Every Thursday morning at 8:30 a.m. EST, find all the stories you need to know about your friendly telecommunications giant in the Comcast Roundup. Get an e-mail subscription for our Comcast news updates.

The Wall Street Journal reports that Comcast and General Electric have agreed to value NBC Universal in the neighborhood of $30 billion, one of the final details of their impending deal. As the Inquirer’s Bob Fernandez reports, whether or not French cable company Vivendi—with a 20 percent stake in NBC—will exercise its ability to veto the deal, may be announced today during its third-quarter earnings call. The Inquirer reports that Vivendi executives gave no comment during the call.

But Bloomberg reports that Vivendi has little reason to move on the deal and may hold out to get a better deal.

The LA Times entertainment blog reports that “no major regulatory hurdles” need to be jumped for the Comcast-GE deal to happen.

After the jump, the most powerful man in Philadelphia, rivaling ESPN and more.

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Comcast Roundup: NBC deal could be announced next week, Bob Brady fights net neutrality and More

Every Thursday morning at 8:30 a.m. EST, find all the stories you need to know about your friendly telecommunications giant in the Comcast Roundup. Get an e-mail subscription for our Comcast news updates.

After the jump, Congressman Bob Brady backs a Comcast cause, the company’s third-quarter earnings call and a dozen other Comcast stories worth noting.


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Comcast Roundup: Calling broadband stimulus packages ineligible, Yellow Pages on TV and More

Every Thursday morning at 8:30 a.m. EST, find all the stories you need to know about your friendly telecommunications giant in the Comcast Roundup. Get an e-mail subscription for our Comcast news updates.

The Inqy’s DiStefano reports that Comcast submitted data yesterday to the federal government suggesting some proposals for broadband stimulus would duplicate its services and effectively subsidize competitors. The Daily Herald adds that the company says that may make those proposals ineligible. Relatedly, a series of Philadelphia proposals for that pot of money came up short.

New York Times media columnist David Carr suggests Comcast’s “likely” bid to buy a majority stake in NBC Universal is foolhardy. If it were to get through, the Inquirer’s Joe DiStefano writes on the undercurrent conversation about whether the federal government would even allow the deal to happen.

After the jump, the latest in net neutrality, video online news and ten other Comcast links to see, including video of Brian Roberts at the Web 2.0 summit.


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Clear 4G WiMAX mobile broadband network launches; AT&T completes subway network

A map illustrating Clear's WiMAX network coverage in Philadelphia.

A map illustrating Clear's WiMAX network coverage in Philadelphia.

Philadelphia mobile users have options and plenty of them.

Last week, Philadelphia saw the launch of fourth generation WiMAX mobile broadband network Clear and the completion of AT&T’s cellular network on two SEPTA subway lines.

Clearwire’s wireless 4G network launched quietly on Oct. 1, promising download speeds of up to 4Mbps and uploads of up to 500Kbps throughout the Philadelphia region.

The network’s in-home and mobile packages are priced competitively and could raise alarm for other networks in the area.

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City CTO and community to publicly discuss broadband policy at One Web Day kick-off

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Nothing says civic duty like a town hall meeting. Now it’s Philly tech’s turn.

City Chief Technology Officer Allan Frank and a handful of influential members of Philadelphia’s technology community will hold a public panel this month to discuss broadband policy, Digital Philadelphia and the city’s technology future.

Event Details:
Broadband Policy Panel

When: 9/22, 7:00 p.m.

Where: University of the Arts, Connelly Auditorium, Terra Building, 8th Floor, 320 S. Broad Street

The September 22 panel, hailed as One Web Day Philly’s inaugural event, marks the first public discussion concerning Digital Philadelphia since Frank reached out to members of technology community earlier this year.

“With all the energy that’s gone into broadband expansion over the last few months because of the stimulus grant,” One Web Day Philly organizer Gwen Shaffer says, “we need to think about how we’re going to build on that momentum, and make sure there’s public input.”

Discussion will surround a pivotal question that Frank has been meek to respond to: If Philadelphia doesn’t receive federal broadband stimulus money, how will the city realize the Division of Technology’s Digital Philadelphia vision and the Nutter administration’s promise to expand Internet access in Philadelphia?

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WiMAX mobile broadband coming to Philly this year

clearClearwire Wireless has announced plans to expand its WiMAX mobile broadband network to eight major markets in 2009 including Philadelphia, according to a press release.

Currently, the service is available in Portland and Baltimore, and offers download speeds up to 4Mbps and upload speeds of 384Kbps. Unlimited browsing starts at $50 per month and on the lower end of its pricing tiers, a 24-hour pass is offered for $10. Clearwire has a number of devices that support its WiMAX network, including a modem for home networks and a USB modem for on-the-go use.

While we’re stoked about next generation mobile broadband access in Philadelphia, WiMAX faces tough competition from Long Term Evolution (LTE) technology, another next gen mobile broadband solution. The battle between the two network technologies is the mobile equivalent of Blu-ray versus HD-DVD.


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