Behind the end of OEN and Sprint/Clearwire

Here is an interesting story on why OEN (Optical Entertainment Network, a FTTH company in Houston) folded. Apparently there were management issues, but it seems to have boiled down to a tech matter: PON (gear from Alloptic) v. active ethernet (gear from PacketFront). The company couldn't decide. "It was a group of engineers getting together and having a serious case of vendor love."

(PON is cheaper to deploy and has a shorter reach. Active ethernet requires more active electronics, a fatter backbone and therefore looks more future-proof, but it comes at a 15-20% premium.)

By the way, look out for France where FT is a supporter of PON, v. Iliad and Neuf favoring active ethernet.

Which brings me to another (so-called) demise: the end of the intended Sprint/Clearwire partnership in rolling out WiMAX. A new ABI Research report (I haven't seen it, just the abstract) justly points to the fact that it wasn't a contract but an LoI only. I agree with Phil Solis of ABI that the parties may still come together, but I believe they need a different approach, preferably full network sharing.

And: communicating a little better with the investment community.

Update on WiMAX

Some more factoids (see also the previous update).

• Standard: the ITU approval, I would add, is a set-back of sorts. Not 4G but 3G, as Mr. Daniels eloquently put it. I suppose if you want 'xG' real-life performance, you better aim for '(x+1)G' lab-performance. (Also, compare this WiFi distance record: 382 km!)
• Sprint/Clearwire: much has been said about the consequences for Sprint, Clearwire, Intel, Motorola and the rest of the WiMAX industry. I think Sprint doesn't communicate very well about its intentions, deploying so many standards (iDEN, CDMA, WiMAX). Also, the original MoU was somewhat puzzling to me. Building out together is only logical, but why not put the network assets into a joint venture? The way it was set-up made it look like a complicated roaming deal.
• WiMAX v. cellular: KPN decided to go with HSPA, not WiMAX, for rural deployments (fixed-line replacement, with WiFi for in-home and Digitenne for TV). No surprise: cellular technology is heavily entrenched.
• Deployments: recently mostly in emerging markets.
• Auctions: coming up in Japan, Italy, Mexico and New Zealand.

WiMAX round-up

Just for convenience:

• Technology: IEEE proposes the new 802.16m standard.
• Hardware: Palm rumoured to plan a WiMAX Treo - ultra-thin, mind you.
• Roaming: WiSOA sets up the first alliance.
• IPOs: Clearwire debuted as the #3 pureplay (after xG and Towerstream).
• Plans: Vodafone and Sprint provide views.
• Tenders: Italy, Taiwan, Israel, Thailand.
• Trials: Swisscom, TVA (Brazil), Worldmax (Netherlands), Altech (South Africa).
• Deployments: BSNL in India, Dialog in Sri Lanka, Nexcom in Bulgaria, Åre Network in Sweden, Neotel in South Africa, Emax in Peru, UHT in the Ukraine, Arab Telecom in Kuwait, ABC in Canada, EgyNet in Egypt, the state of Catalonia, Telecom Namibia, ICE in Costa Rica, etc.