Clearwire holding back on lanching the next form of WiMax

With no sight of any clear threat from rival competitors, Clearwire isn’t going to do anything rash that would compromise a clear advantage for their next generation network. They’ve already taken the leap with Sprint in launching their WiMax 4G network to a nation of users still adjusting to the readily available 3G networks across the country. The 802.16m Mobile WiMax standard should be finalized sometime during the middle part of the year; according to sources at the IEEE. This new technology can really place WiMax at the forefront of blazing connection speeds which can deliver 120 Mbps downstream and 60 Mbps upstream by using 4X2 MIMO antenna configurations with a single 20 MHz TDD channel. All of this points to the possibility of Clearwire gaining another level in the form of a “WiMax 2” deployment. According to Clearwire’s CTO, John Saw, the biggest Mobile WiMax carrier isn’t in a hurry to test or deploy this technology – even going further to say that "I don't think it's going to be this year. I think it's going to be much more likely 2011." Taking a conservative approach in broadening its existing network configurations will most likely be the primary goal – especially when 4G technology may still seem somewhat alien to some people. Right now both Samsung and Russian WiMax operator Yota are already testing the technology overseas – with a hopeful launch sometime this year.

via DSLReports