US WiMAX service provider Clearwire yesterday announced plans to trial LTE technology this year, news that helped detract attention from a slightly disappointing set of second-quarter financials. The WiMAX supporter has previously said it is keeping a close eye on LTE, calling for closer integration between the two rival technologies, but public disclosure of the trials are the clearest indication yet that Clearwire is seriously considering a switch to LTE. Significantly, Clearwire said the tests – to be conducted in ‘the fall’ and throughout early 2011 in Phoenix, Arizona – are “expected to demonstrate real-world download speeds ranging from 20-70 Mb/s, significantly faster than the 5-12 Mb/s expected from other operators in the US [such as Verizon].” Clearwire will use its vast swathe of 2.5GHz spectrum to test LTE in both the FDD (paired) and TDD (unpaired) bands, and was keen to stress that the trials are designed to test the potential “coexistence” of LTE and WiMAX. “As we have consistently stated, we remain technology agnostic, but WiMAX provides us with unique advantages to meet the needs of our customers today,” commented Dr. John Saw, Clearwire’s CTO. “Part of our technical due diligence at Clearwire is to be prepared to leverage a number of possible opportunities as we future-proof our network, and that’s the goal of these tests.” 

Saw certainly seems keen on ensuring that WiMAX and LTE can work together in the future via potential multi-mode WiMAX/LTE networks, claiming that “the 2.5 GHz spectrum band is universally allocated for global 4G deployments, so it has the potential to create one of the world’s most robust ecosystem across billions of devices.” To this end, he expects a number of “large, wireless operators” to also participate in the tests. Huawei and Samsung will provide infrastructure kit for the trials. In a later interview with Dow Jones Newswires, Clearwire’s chief executive Bill Morrow said he expects to decide where the company will ultimately go with its choice of next-generation technology by the end of the year.

Meanwhile Clearwire widened its second-quarter loss despite a surge in new customers. It posted a loss of US$125.9 million, or 61 cents a share, compared with a year-earlier loss of US$73.4 million, or 38 cents a share. The latest quarter included 9 cents in inventory allowance increases and write-offs. Revenue surged 93 percent to US$122.5 million. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters had most recently forecast a loss of 52 cents on US$132 million in revenue. Clearwire’s total subscriber base more than tripled from a year earlier to 1.7 million. The company added 722,000 net subscribers during the quarter, largely as a result of the debut of the Evo WiMAX smartphone from Sprint. Shares fell 0.7 percent to US$7.11 in after-hours trading as results fell short of analysts’ expectations. Clearwire, however, raised its estimate for total year-end subscriber count by 1 million to 3 million, including out-of-market wholesale subscribers from whom it expects nominal revenue. Separately, Clearwire yesterday also launched a personal hotspot device configured to support only Apple’s mobile products, in a move intended to attract AT&T’s iPhone customers onto its WiMAX network. The iSpot connects to Clearwire’s WiMAX network and provides WiFi access for iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch devices.