US WiMAX wholesaler Clearwire is to outsource the day-to-day management of its WiMax network to Swedish vendor Ericsson.
Following an agreement between the two yesterday, Clearwire stated that Ericsson would take on the responsibility for network…
US WiMAX wholesaler Clearwire is to outsource the day-to-day management of its WiMax network to Swedish vendor Ericsson.
Following an agreement between the two yesterday, Clearwire stated that Ericsson would take on the responsibility for network engineering, operations and maintenance.
Clearwire said it would retain control of its network assets and take full responsibility for its future strategic decisions. It would also remain the “primary point of contact” with customers, wholesale partners and equipment vendors.
Clearwire’s COO, Erik Prusch, said that Clearwire’s efforts to reduce its costs and maximise efficiency, while delivering mobile broadband services, extended to all parts of the business.
He said: “By engaging Ericsson, a proven leader in managed network services, we can achieve those objectives, and benefit from their extensive global expertise and best-practices while serving clients from around the world.”
Clearwire posted a net loss of almost US$227m in its Q1 2011 results, which were released on 4 May.
More positively, it also reported a record increase in the amount of subscribers, with the number increasing by 1.8 million during Q1 to a total of 6.15 million.
This showed a steep rise from the total number of subscribers reported in Q1 2010, which stood at just 971,000.
Ericsson also manages the mobile networks of Sprint Nextel, which holds a 54% stake in Clearwire.
In the wake of the Clearwire-Ericsson announcement, media commentators speculated that it could be a sign that Clearwire is moving towards a much closer relationship with Sprint.
Separately, Ericsson is reportedly considering a bid for the patents of bankrupt Canadian vendor Nortel Networks.
Ericsson acquired Nortel’s GSM network in North America in April 2010. It declined to comment on the new speculation.
