Sidecut Reports

News and views from around the wireless web:

More Dick Lynch on LTE: C/Net’s Maggie Reardon, one of our favorites on the beat, gets more LTE details in this Q&A with Verizon CTO Dick Lynch at MWC.

Spectrum Fees for Wireless Carriers? One way to balance the budget — get more bucks from carriers for their wireless spectrum, an idea in the Obama budget.

Wi-Fi in the Sky: Alaska Airlines trials its in-flight Wi-Fi, meaning the days of quiet plane rides are coming to an end soon.

Nokia Siemens Gets China 3G Deals: Infrastructure win for NSN in the world’s biggest cellular market.

Four Hours Without Gmail: What happens when the cloud goes away?

Like Esme, I think next week’s eComm show in Burlingame will be one of the more interesting communications-related events of the year. Unlike the so-called “big vendor” shows eComm to me means an intelligent discussion and review of all aspects of communications, from people who aren’t uncomfortable shedding labels and “old ways” of doing things.

In addition to hearing from and catching up with some friends of mine in the communications space, a list that includes Martin “Telepocalypse” Geddes and Stuart Henshall, among others, it’s a chance to hear smart folks like Doc Searls give their take on where communications needs to go. I am also looking forward to (finally!) meeting and hearing Sascha Meinrath, who has done all kinds of interesting things and is therefore someone to listen to when it comes to the future of wireless.

Looking over the schedule some more I see presentations on tap from Google’s Rick Whitt, Digium’s Mark Spencer and the EFF’s Brad Templeton. That’s a handful of disruptors right there. And Sidecut Reports readers get a 20 percent discount either by clicking right here to register, or by entering “SideCutReports09″ in the coupon field when registering. So you can’t lose.

Take it from Lee Dryburgh, host of the event, on why it is important to attend:

It’s clear that the mammoth sized telecom industry - including cellular - is in the process of being re-written. As such you either stand on the side to be written into the past or instead join with the growing community to write the future. Opportunities have never been so great to profit from the radical restructuring or in accelerating how humanity connects, communicates and collaborates.

Just a quick update on the snappy WiMax/Wi-Fi modem that was the big hit from the Clearwire launch of services in Portland, Ore., last month: According to Clearwire chief strategy officer Scott Richardson, the device is now scheduled to be available in March, not in February as earlier hoped.

In an email, Richardson said the product “will be on store shelves in March,” saying the brief delay was due to his wanting to “clean up some set up screens for simplicity.” Richardson, who is selfishly acting as the beta trial team, says “I have been using it religiously and love it,” getting about four hours of battery time.

Look for more similar WiMax/Wi-Fi products in the future, Richardson says. We are guessing we may hear more pricing and availability details during Clearwire’s March 5 earnings call.