CHICAGO – Day 2 of the 4G World 2009 event in Chicago continued where the first day left off: High-speed wireless data services are an important evolution, not just for the industry, but for the way people live their lives. Instead of keynote speeches centered on the LTE version of that evolution, Day 2 brought out the WiMAX supporters. And a hearty bunch they were.

While perhaps lacking in the Euro-chic cache of their LTE brethren, the WiMAX crowd has the succinct advantage of being able to trot out actual deployments of their advanced network technology, both domestically and abroad –a fact trumpeted by the opening day keynote speakers, Clearwire Corp. CEO Bill Morrow and Motorola Senior VP and GM Bruce Brda.

Keeping it clear

Clearwire's Morrow used his pulpit time to tout the real-world usage of the company's WiMAX network, which has seen a recent rush of new market launches and is on track to cover 120 million potential customers by the end of next year.

The most visually stimulating demonstration was a comparison of two Apple Inc. iPhone 3GS' running side-by-side in a moving vehicle. One of the devices was using AT&T Mobility's 3G network while the other was using its Wi-Fi connection to tap into a mobile hotspot device that was backhauling through Clearwire's WiMAX network in Portland, Ore. Data sessions running over the two devices showed a definitive advantage for the Clearwire iPhone, though there was no mention of the fact that considerably fewer people were likely using Clearwire's network while AT&T Mobility's 3G network was likely piled high with other iPhone users. Nevertheless, the demonstration was echoed later in the day during a meeting with the folks from Sprint Nextel Corp., who noted that iPhone customers dissatisfied with the performance of their device running on AT&T Mobility's 3G network are only a short work around away from having their device running on a next-gen WiMAX network.

Morrow also touted the company's increasingly robust partnership program that has seen a number of telecom providers begin offering mobile virtual network operator-like services running on Clearwire's WiMAX network. Those partners include the aforementioned Sprint Nextel, as well as cable television giants Time Warner Cable, Comcast Corp. and soon-to-launch Bright House Cable. Morrow said these partnerships were providing a steady supply of capital and traffic to Clearwire, and that the company was looking at adding more partners to its network. When questioned later about the possibility of Clearwire abandoning its own commercial interests in favor of a pure “carriers' carrier” model, Morrow said Clearwire would never rule out any sort of arrangement in the future, but that it was happy with its current plans in offering its own branded service.

Morrow added that Clearwire was still looking at a traditional cellular voice component to its own branded offering that is available through its MVNO agreement with Sprint Nextel as well as a possible Voice over Internet Protocol solution running over its mobile WiMAX network. The company offers a similar VoIP service to current customers using its fixed pre-WiMAX network in select markets.

Morrow also offered a bit of a look at its future when he said that while the company was still completely behind WiMAX as its technology of choice, the carrier would not rule out a potential move to deploy LTE on its network at some point. Considering the carrier's extensive spectrum holdings – at more than 120 megahertz in most markets – the move could be relatively easy to handle and would extend the company's ability to roam on other networks both domestically and internationally.

Big-fight letdown

While Morrow was touting the benefits of its hear-and-now WiMAX offering, Motorola's Brda used his time on stage to tackle the topic on the minds of many blood-thirsty tech heads: Will LTE kill WiMAX?

Brda laid out three possible scenarios for the hoped-for battle royale: LTE kills WiMAX; the two technologies converge; the two technologies coexist.

As a company with interests in both camps, the eventual answer that both technologies would coexist due to the different spectral and service needs of carriers was of little surprise. Those differences were also expected to keep the two technologies from merging, though Brda added that 70% of research and development on both technologies is interchangeable.

The coexistence argument was backed with conventional wisdom that competition is good for both technologies and consumer choice. Brda cited the current truce between Unix-based operating systems and Microsoft Corp.'s Windows platform (though that is not a true equal-footing coexistence); and Sony Corp.'s PlayStation 3 and Microsoft's Xbox –maybe not the best examples of technologies coexisting, but the point was made.

Brda concluded his talk with a theme that was prevalent in many of the speeches headed by hosts from the Yankee Group: Consumers don't care what the technology is, they just want access to their information when and where they want it. Perhaps not the best tag line for a title fight, but a good motto for those competing in the space.