Clearwire's mobile WiMAX subscribers are burning through around 7 GB of data per month, according to a company executive, and the company's business plan seems to be predicated on keeping up with that demand.
Mike Sievert, Clearwire's chief commercial officer, disclosed the statistic in an interview with GigaOM. Sievert said the company's deep spectrum position--it owns up to 150 MHz in some markets--will allow it to continue to boost speed and capacity, which Sievert said will give Clearwire a leg up on forthcoming LTE competition. He said as the company continues to build out markets--it plans to have 80 commercial markets by year-end--its spectrum advantages will become more apparent.
Sievert's comments are notable because Verizon Wireless and AT&T Mobility have strongly hinted they will move toward usage-based data pricing, possibly in conjunction with the launch of their respective LTE networks. Last week, AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson said he did not know if LTE would be the trigger for usage-based mobile broadband pricing, but that the industry was moving toward that model. Verizon Wireless CTO Tony Melone recently said unlimited data pricing "is the big issue that has to change."
Currently, Clearwire offers unlimited mobile data usage for $40 per month, and the carrier does not cap subscribers' data use; most cellular carriers limit monthly data consumption at 5 GB.
For more:
- see this GigaOM post
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