Clearwire CEO Open To Switching 4G Wireless Technologies
By Roger Cheng, Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
NEW YORK -(Dow Jones)- Clearwire Corp. (CLWR) Chief Executive Bill Morrow said
he would be open to switching fourth-generation, or 4G, wireless technologies
down the line if it helped the company.
Clearwire is rolling out a mobile broadband network running on a technology
called WiMax. Much of the rest of the wireless industry, however, is heading
toward a different standard called Long-Term Evolution. Clearwire and majority
backer Sprint Nextel Corp. (S) have staked their claim to have the first 4G
network in the U.S.
If LTE becomes the dominant 4G technology, Clearwire can easily switch
technologies given its newly built infrastructure, Morrow told Dow Jones
Newswires.
"We're the only carrier that can do this," he said. "We'll do what's right for
the business. Whether it's LTE, WiMax, future technology X, it doesn't matter to
me."
Speculation of a potential bid by Deutsche Telekom AG (DT) for Sprint arose
recently. A deal would call into question Sprint's commitment to WiMax, since
Deutsche Telekom has already committed to LTE as its 4G technology.
Morrow declined to comment on the speculation, but noted Clearwire was ready
to handle shifts in strategy. The changes would require a simple software
update, since many of its routers are compatible with both technologies.
For now, Clearwire is committed to WiMax. Morrow noted that, "WiMax is here
today, and LTE is not."
Clearwire shares recently rose to 5.5% to $8.97.
-By Roger Cheng, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2153; roger.cheng@dowjones.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
09-15-091228ET
Copyright (c) 2009 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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