WiMax will live; Xohm dies
 

I have it on good authority that the Xohm network will be transferred to a multi-billion sort of joint venture headed by Clearwire. The venture includes Comcast, other CATV companies, Intel and Google. Apparently, the deal couldn't be finished in April but will be announced soon. I have no details on the pace of the network buildout or release date of N810 wme.

Re: WiMax will live; Xohm dies
 

That's been in the news for weeks (speculative) and was confirmed by several sources yesterday.

But your subject is misleading-- Xohm isn't dead.

Re: WiMax will live; Xohm dies
 

OK, I didn't know it was confirmed.

And my understanding is that the WiMax service will not be sold under the Xohm brand, part of the nitty gritty of the deal

Re: WiMax will live; Xohm dies
 

Yeah, I saw that under the rumor category on gizmodo.com here. Their story links to articles in the new york times and wall street journal as well. I'm still reading through all the stuff, but it looks pretty legitimate to me. Just as long as I can one day get wimax service on a handheld linux box with a decent browser and a keyboard I'll be happy. I don't care who provides it. 8)

-John

Re: WiMax will live; Xohm dies
 

And such a good idea it is, too. As far as I see it, there isn't much difference between "Xohm" and "WTF" as a brand name.

Re: WiMax will live; Xohm dies
 

I believe this is what is in the news wire this morning so Xohm in a way is dead or at least renamed.

Re: WiMax will live; Xohm dies
 

I would say "recalled to life" -- to my thinking, this makes Sprint's WiMAX far less likely to fade away.

Whether we'll see Xohm in the ads or the effort is re-branded doesn't seem as significant as the finances promised in support of it.

Re: WiMax will live; Xohm dies
 

Dead, renamed, what's the diff? (Provided one believes the right wierd reincarnation things, not much, I guess...)

Re: WiMax will live; Xohm dies
 

Renamed works for me.

I'm not just being pedantic I don't think-- saying something is "dead" tends to start the kneejerk rumors flying by those who read quickly and incompletely. ;)

Re: WiMax will live; Xohm dies
 

I think you guys (especially the rat) are missing the important point. Xohm was owned and controlled by Sprint. The new entity is a joint venture of which Sprint is merely one of several minority members - the JV is a new and DIFFERENT entity, controlled and managed in a different way. In particular, CATV companies are calling some of the shots now. This is far from a mere renaming or a rebranding.

Since the JV is a new entity, all of the vendor contracts with Xohm (Sprint) for network buildouts, devices, etc., may but do not NECESSARILY transfer to the new entity. In other words, they may (or may not) have gone "poof". The brand name is definitely not being transferred, and is dead. It is a good thing IMO because Xohm was already developing a bad reputation as hype, and it's good to let people know that Xohm is dead but another Wimax service will take its place.

Re: WiMax will live; Xohm dies
 

Okay, renamed and half-sold-out; whatever. The trouble is, the headline makes it sound like Xohm, and consequentially, Sprint's WiMAX, is no longer coming, but someone, somewhere, is valiantly struggling on.

Perhaps a better title would have been:
Xohm is dead; long live Xohm!
Which, though rather non-literal, would have made the entire situation clear by inference.

Re: WiMax will live; Xohm dies
 

Trust me, I am all too keenly aware of (and to an extent involved in) the important point, which I most assuredly did not miss.

At the risk of more axle-wrapping over semantics, I simply expressed concern over a subject wording that could lead to more hyperbolic rumor-mongering that does nothing but disrupt this place and feed the Engadget Monster. But I won't lose sleep over it. ;)

EDIT: okay, okay, "renamed" doesn't work... I like "absorbed" then. :D

Re: WiMax will live; Xohm dies
 

But the real question, when will it roll out world-wide esp. in the EU!

Re: WiMax will live; Xohm dies
 

no no no, Canada gets it first. You Euros have other options for now, us poor slobs in Canuckistan have no wireless data services worth using. And to the south, well, that's a different planet.

:cool:

Re: WiMax will live; Xohm dies
 

Let them eat back bacon!

:p

Re: WiMax will live; Xohm dies
 

Om, fiercewireless and others besides the Engadget monster are describing it the same way as I did. Sprint's loss of managerial control and concessions to JV participants are also being reported now, such as the Wimax service being resold under Comcast and TW brands, etc.

Re: WiMax will live; Xohm dies
 

*sigh*

Is this No Fun Wednesday or something?

:p

Re: WiMax will live; Xohm dies
 

Whiny Wednesday I thought :p

Re: WiMax will live; Xohm dies
 

No offence to the US, but they don't have a mobile network yet ;-)
But seriously, I'm more worried that if they don't it will end up with the EU having some new tech and then them both costing a fortune for large data plans.

"no fun Wednesday", also known as mid-week depression

Re: WiMax will live; Xohm dies
 

I think the consortium should have compromised and called the product ClearXohm.

:p

Re: WiMax will live; Xohm dies
 

> and concessions to JV participants are also being reported now, such as the Wimax service being resold under Comcast and TW brands, etc.

Well, duh, that's why the cable companies invested. Because they want to offer wired internet/wireless internet/and TV in a single package, just like the telecoms.

Re: WiMax will live; Xohm dies
 

Every day is No Fun day on itT! Now GET BACK TO WORK!

Re: WiMax will live; Xohm dies
 

Whatever the symantics, this probably spells more delays for WiMax roll-out while tactics are buttoned up. Nokia was no doubt counting on something happening sooner. Releasing N810WE in the absense of an imminent national roll-out is going to be a drag for them. They should really be on the cusp of realeasing the next piece of hardware if this finally gets momentum (by the end of 2008?). It's even possible that this delay is affecting their overall timeline for hardware roll-out.

Re: WiMax will live; Xohm dies
 

Actually, Sprint is 51 percent owner of the new company.

Re: WiMax will live; Xohm dies
 

Yes, but they don't RUN the new company. The deal is quite a bit more complicated than comparing relative percentages of equity.

Re: WiMax will live; Xohm dies
 

I see no reason to preemptively worry. We'll see how things play out in the next few days.

Re: WiMax will live; Xohm dies
 

Yeah.

Kinda like last Thursday, where Work meant starting at 6:30 am, continuing to 11 pm, getting back up to check on a project with the Czech Republic at around 2:30 am, then 4:30 am, then 6 am.

If it wasn't for the 5 minutes I spent annoying people here, I'd have no fun at all! :p

Re: WiMax will live; Xohm dies
 

Like I said six months ago, Xohm is dead. It's intended to be Clear WiMax, TimeWarner WiMax, etc.

It should be apparent now too that the XOHM vendor contracts are in peril...

http://www.reuters.com/article/techn...BrandChannel=0

Re: WiMax will live; Xohm dies
 

¨Dead...vendor contracts are in peril...¨ That article never made such assumptions.

Re: WiMax will live; Xohm dies
 

I have to go with Heavyt-- slowdown <> death.

Re: WiMax will live; Xohm dies
 

walking dead=Xohm brand
living in peril=vendor contracts with Xohm

Re: WiMax will live; Xohm dies
 

The new company is 51% owned by Sprint. Also, Sprint is still operating as a company of its own. I would guess one or both companies would have legal troubles if they didn't fulfill the terms of a signed contract.

Re: WiMax will live; Xohm dies
 

Oh well. I much prefer the XOHM name to Clearwire. XOHM sounds 21st century while Clearwire sounds like a dot-com bust.

Either way, I'm sure they'll stay at 2.5 GHz since thats the range their hardware supports, and they'd be bloody fools and terrible businesspeople to change that. So, we as users and investors of this great WiMax technology should be fine. I shall miss the XOHM name if it goes (I don't think it will- a name change would confuse people, and thus, be a bloody stupid business move), the 2.5 GHz WiMax should survive, at least in the medium long term.

Re: WiMax will live; Xohm dies
 

That doesn't mean what you think. Sprint doesn't have managerial control. I don't know whether Sprint is left with any legal trouble or not. (see iPCS)Since the new company is a JV, and did not acquire Sprint, they are not necessarily responsible for the Xohm contracts. See post #10.

Re: WiMax will live; Xohm dies
 

I read today that the new name of the service will be "Clear". Which is terrible. I say stick with XOHM.

Re: WiMax will live; Xohm dies
 

"Let’s Be Clear

The company also announced today that, while its company name will remain Clearwire, its new mobile WiMAX services will be branded Clear™. The Clear™ brand will apply to all new mobile WiMAX services to be offered by Clearwire in the U.S. and will be phased in to those markets where Clearwire offers pre-WiMAX services, as these existing markets are upgraded to mobile WiMAX technology.

In the coming months, the Clear brand will replace the XOHM service name previously used by Sprint Nextel in the Baltimore, Md. market. Clearwire expects current XOHM customers will not experience any impact as a result of the transaction, and they will continue to enjoy the current benefits of various notebook computing, portable multimedia and Internet devices, service plans and features.

In addition, the company unveiled a new marketing tagline, “Let’s Be Clear,” that will be used in conjunction with the new Clear service brand in upcoming market launches. The new marketing efforts will clearly communicate the service’s unprecedented combination of speed, mobility and simplicity."

http://newsroom.clearwire.com/phoeni...cle&ID=1231029

Re: WiMax will live; Xohm dies
 

"if"?? (You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink...)

I thought of you DC area users today when i read this ("put on hold"). Good luck

http://www.muniwireless.com/2008/12/...a-possibility/

Re: WiMax will live; Xohm dies
 

I'm with you 100%!

Plus Clearwire still has the word "wire" in it, which to me connotes a land connection. I hear Clearwire and I think "fiber".

Break "Xohm" into "X Ohm", and you get "no resistance". That resonates IMO.

Re: WiMax will live; Xohm dies
 

Just as the US has managed to thrive on supporting GSM and CDMA simultaneously (after some admitted rough times early on), I expect WiMAX and LTE can co-exist, too. Clearwire would be smart to invest in both... Nokia has. ;)

Re: WiMax will live; Xohm dies
 

The deal only closed on friday, and the new website is already up.

www.clear.com

It's almost as if they decided to replace the Xohm brand with Clear (to me, it sounds like a Window cleaner) months ago

/sarcasm