FCC "Approves" Clearwire PCMCIA Radio

(This article was originally posted on Broadband Wireless Internet Access / WiMAX News blog, permalink www.bwianews.com/2007/05/fcc_approves_cl.html.)

The US Federal Commmunications Comission has approved a PCMCIA radio developed by NextNet Wireless (now owned by Motorola) that Clearwire intends to use with its Broadband Wireless Internet Access service.

Clearwire is carefully wording its announcement: FCC Approves First WiMAX-Class Laptop Card To Be Offered By Clearwire. WiMAX-class... Pre-WiMAX... WiMAX-like, WiMAX-equivalent... are all euphemisms for systems that ostensibly resemble WiMAX... but aren't WiMAX. As I've stated numerous times, and (unlike Clearwire) NextNet Wireless makes no pretensions about, the NextNet Wireless system that Clearwire is using now and in the immediate future is not WiMAX. While the NextNet Wireless system is well-designed and performs admirably, it simply isn't WiMAX, and Clearwire is clearly trying to "spin itself" as a WiMAX company when it has yet to deploy WiMAX.

A source that perfers to remain anonymous supplied me with background information which included an interesting wrinkle in this product. From the FCC Grant Of Equipment Authorization:

For mobile configuration antenna(s) used with this transmitter must provide at least 20cm separation between the device and the user’s body.

That's 7.87 inches; one hopes Clearwire will make this restriction abundantly clear to customers who purchase this device.

Clearwire's announcement states that the new device will be available in the second half of this year.

By Steve Stroh

This article is Copyright © 2007 by Steve Stroh.

The US Federal Commmunications Comission has approved a PCMCIA radio developed by NextNet Wireless (now owned by Motorola) that Clearwire intends to use with its Broadband Wireless Internet Access service.

Clearwire is carefully wording its announcement: FCC Approves First WiMAX-Class Laptop Card To Be Offered By Clearwire. WiMAX-class... Pre-WiMAX... WiMAX-like, WiMAX-equivalent... are all euphemisms for systems that ostensibly resemble WiMAX... but aren't WiMAX. As I've stated numerous times, and (unlike Clearwire) NextNet Wireless makes no pretensions about, the NextNet Wireless system that Clearwire is using now and in the immediate future is not WiMAX. While the NextNet Wireless system is well-designed and performs admirably, it simply isn't WiMAX, and Clearwire is clearly trying to "spin itself" as a WiMAX company when it has yet to deploy WiMAX.

A source that perfers to remain anonymous supplied me with background information which included an interesting wrinkle in this product. From the FCC Grant Of Equipment Authorization:

For mobile configuration antenna(s) used with this transmitter must provide at least 20cm separation between the device and the user’s body.

That's 7.87 inches; one hopes Clearwire will make this restriction abundantly clear to customers who purchase this device.

Clearwire's announcement states that the new device will be available in the second half of this year.

By Steve Stroh

This article is Copyright © 2007 by Steve Stroh.