Sidecut Reports

Testing the Clearwire developer network in and around Silicon Valley — first stop is the classic Menlo Park “VC Central” Starbucks on the corner of Santa Cruz Ave. and Curtis Street: Maybe low because the patio is blocked by the building?

Here’s the Clearwire hybrid modem speed:

A second test:

Read the rest of this entry »

Cool kids at Stanford, the Googlers and folks at Cisco will be the first in the Bay area to get a taste of Clearwire’s 4G WiMAX wireless services, courtesy of the testbed network that was launched today. Some more thoughts on this later, but in the meantime Om has a good take on the importance of putting the service in the hands of innovators.

How to get service? From the press release:

To access the network, developers can purchase a Clearwire WiMAX USB modem for $49.99. Developer-owned, CLEAR network-ready WiMAX devices, such as the Samsung Mondi and WiMAX-embedded Intel-based PC’s, are also eligible for the program. To qualify, developers must register for Clearwire’s developer program and describe the WiMAX development ideas they wish to pursue. Interested developers can sign-up at http://developer.clear.com/innovation. The developers’ website will also include coverage maps and suggested drive routes for mobile application testing.

Bad map below; we’ll work on improving it! More from 4G world later…

We’ll be trying to keep a close ear on the Cisco (Nasdaq: CSCO) quarterly earnings call Aug. 5, if only to hear if the router giant discloses any more information about its partnership with WiMAX provider Clearwire Corp. (Nasdaq: CLWR) that was announced back in May.

At that earlier date, the companies talked somewhat obliquely about having Cisco gear inside of Clearwire’s core IP network, and that Cisco would develop an end-user device for WiMAX networks from its Linksys division. Since then, all has been mainly quiet on the Cisco-Clearwire front, though we are betting there are some antennas being installed atop those Borg-like buildings that line Tasman Drive, as part of the planned Silicon Valley WiMAX testbed that is sprouting towers all over the southern part of the SF peninsula, including on the Google campus in Mountain View.

Our guess is that there was probably some investment arrangement between the two companies — maybe something as simple as discounting or vendor financing by Cisco — and if such details are material, they should show up in Wednesday’s call. Any way you slice it, we stick by our original opinion that this relationship is a big deal for Silicon Valley, one that is probably going to get more high-profile this fall. Check back in after the call for an update!

UPDATE, 8/5, 3 p.m. PST — Well, we listened to the whole call and heard nothing about the Clearwire-Cisco partnership — in fact we are pretty sure the word “WiMAX” wasn’t even spoken at all. So either this is a small deal (by Cisco standards) or it is not worth talking about yet. Maybe we will hear more next week, during Clearwire’s quarterly call.

Editor’s Note: The following is an excerpt from our just-released Clearwire NTK, or “Clearwire Need To Know” report for June 2009, a $4.95 research report that delivers the most up-to-date information available about the nation’s nascent national WiMax provider. In this excerpt we take a closer look at the recent Clearwire-Cisco partnership, and what it may mean for the visibility of WiMax in Silicon Valley and beyond.

Business Update: Cisco Deal, Silicon Valley Testbed are Big Steps Forward in the Partnership Game

After Cisco bought WiMax radio supplier Navini in October 2007, industry watchers have waited and wondered why the biggest networking vendor wasn’t doing more with WiMax in the U.S. market. Now after the mid-May announcement of a multi-year deal between Cisco and Clearwire, the waiting is over — and you have to think Cisco just delivered a wake-up call about WiMax to Silicon Valley and Wall Street in one big move.

Read the rest of this entry »