Another one bites the dust: Cisco steps out of the WiMAX game
By Chris Ziegler 
posted Mar 8th 2010 8:31PM
posted Mar 8th 2010 8:31PM
It's still far, far too early to call WiMAX a dead technology, but with the second major infrastructure supplier moving away from it in as many months, that's a pretty damning sign, isn't it? After Alcatel Lucent's announcement that it would be scaling back WiMAX investment last month, Cisco has now pulled the plug on its own efforts, citing a desire to stay as "radio-agnostic" as possible in the 4G race. That makes sense for a company that hasn't traditionally played in the wireless game the same way stalwarts like Ericsson and Nokia Siemens have, but the move still lies in stark contrast to Cisco's 2007 acquisition of Navini Networks that brought a host of WiMAX-focused equipment into the fold. Of course, CDMA has managed just fine in the shadow of GSM's global domination over the past decade, so these early warning signs could amount a fat load of nothing by the time we've reached a 4G steady state.
WiMax...meet HD-DVD.
@txbrandon You beat me to the punch but, I said it once and I will say it again Wimax is HD-DVD and Lte is Blu-ray!
@txbrandon LTE is the future Verizon is again already ahead of the game and AT&T is not so... far behind but at least WiMax isn't terrible
not to mention WiMAX is out
@txbrandon Funny the rest fo the world does not feel that way....
Where are the stupid Sprint Fanboys?
Congrulations on your FAILED 4G investment. At least Sprint didnt get too far developing its "FIRST!" 4G network.
@Alexpeegs
ATT is very far behind. Theyre not even working on 4G. Theyre still developing their 3G!.. That article was yesterday.
@therodt
Only the informed people feel that way. Bye bye WiMax.
@HerbieDerb
Wow somebody definitely spit in your cheerios this morning. At least Sprint HAS a 4G network. Not much that we can say for AT&T now is there? Of course VZ has their shit together as usual but Sprint's certainly not the worst player in this game at the moment.
@sfox8
haha.. didnt mean to sound grumpy. Im with VZW.. wouldnt know about crappy ATT. Id say that T-Mo is going to steal Sprint's 3rd place spot in the not so distant future.
@sfox8
btw.. putting up a few 4G towers in ramdon cities and advertising "FIRST!" really doesnt constitute a 4G network. False advertising. Go check their 4G map on their site.
@HerbieDerb
AT&T has given Ericsson and Alcatel-Lucent the task to supply their LTE network (RAN at least). And when they already have WCDMA based 3G network form the same suppliers it can be faster upgraded to LTE, like the latest 3G gear can be upgraded to LTE by software or by adding a LTE module.
And its better to wait a few years until LTE advance comes along with real 4G.
its an interesting move, sure. but i kinda do view it as the beginning of a slow end for wimax. this situation looks starkly similar to what happened to hddvd.
having said that, sprint is still pushing ahead strong for wimax and i hope it continues to. after all, having two competing protocols may help to spur some innovative competition down the road. ;)
Blu-ray>HD-DVD
LTE>WiMax
you know what's going to happen
@Alexpeegs
to add to your analogies
CD>Tape
VHS>Betamax
VZW>>>>>>>Sprint
Do we really have to go there with hd dvd I'm still in moarning damned you!!!!
@Alexpeegs
Oh hmmm, some really flaming ones
Amiga > Atari ST
no glasses 3d > glasses 3d
and then of course the uber version
Apple > MS, Google > Apple, MS and GPS, government > Google. MS and Apple have kids. Google is the seedy uncle spying on them through the wall. The government shuts down GPS and secretly makes porn films of Google, MS and Apple.
Everyone's happy!
they're busy rolling out cities.
http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/142/the-new-new-urbanism.html
It may be true CDMA has survived in the shadow of GSM but recent announcements by CDMA operators they will move to LTE do not bode well for the longevity of the technology.
@ojfl Um...what's your point exactly, companies are moving to Lte, but CDMA will stay. You know all the pre-paid and B-class operators, well chances are, in the US they will remain CDMA, just makes sense.
@1ofdakoolkidz My point is that CDMA will stay but it is not a lasting technology. Economies of scale will dictate that. Once the big guys start moving away from CDMA the prices of newer devices will start going up due to smaller volumes. So the small guys will also have to make a determination in the near future about what to do with their networks.
"It's still far, far too early to call WiMAX a dead technology" - no it isn't if you've heard that Clear is already planning their transition to LTE.
@chandler
how about sharing where you read it so we too will realize its gona be an LTE tomorrow
@xtian63
It definitely isn't WiMax today
@xtian63 http://www.engadget.com/2009/09/16/clearwire-says-its-not-married-to-wimax-for-4g-would-be-easy-t/
Happy to assist, Bye Bye Wimax, it was nice knowing you!
@1ofdakoolkidz
LOL
WiMax really should have tried to be a stepping stone to LTE. If they focused on making it an upgrade path that would have helped. Of course I'm not sure if that was possible.
Arent they changing the internet tomorrow?
Don't forget the Clearwire lawsuits that are pending, and the fact that google did not fund them a 2nd round.
wimax is dead, mostly because of the poor service , and bad connections.
Sorry Sprint.. it's you against the world. (well... USA)
Competion is healthy, but this is the case where a single standard is better.
Compiting providers, manufactures and developers is good. But it is even better if we can take our phones to any Provider. Not only it will make our phones cheaper but more productive and useful and it will force providers to have better service and prices.
Analogy: It is good to have a lot of car manufactures but it would be too bad if each car manufacturer requieres its own special road. You know what I mean?
@pinguino1
Your post makes no sense, Sprint's WiMAX is here to stay, it means nothing that they are the only wimax provider in the USA, well, actually that's wrong too, there's 5 companies that are rolling out wimax in the USA. There's only three rolling out LTE (not until next year that is, several months away). So right now, it's Sprint vs. Nobody. Another person who needs to get a clue and quit attacking what he doesn't understand.
@TheRequiem Really? Five companies rolling out WiMAX? That's news to me! Care to list them?
@TheRequiem Are you sniffing glue, maybe you should be the one to check your facts before shouting out ignorance. Lte is a "WORLWIDE" standard and wimax is not. Companies in the US and out the US are backing Lte. Sprint, as of now is the only major carrier backing Wimax, not T-mo, Verizon, At&t, Vodafone, Orange, Deustch Telcom, you get the point. So........basically it is Sprint against the world.
@1ofdakoolkidz GSM is a worldwide standard as well, but the largest US carrier is CDMA. Guess what? They can co-exist.
@Conquistador
You are missing the point. It is not if they can co-exist. It is the benefits of having a unified standard.
It is stupid that I have to buy another phone if I decide to change providers. So the greedy providers keep you captive and charge whatever they want. And it cost more to manufacture different models of the same phone with different radio. and so on and on.
Another pointless post, WiMAX is the ONLY 4G out there right now... they are polling out because the investment isn't needed. As far as WiMAX is concerned, don't really know what Engadget is talking about here, but according to www.wimax.com, WiMAX is already all over the world... I hate to put it to you people, but the by the time LTE (which has the exact same theoretical speed) is out, WiMAX will encompass 200 million Americans. By the time LTE gets upgraded to second generation, WiMAX will have been there, offering 100mb downloads speeds with theoretical highs as far as 300+, just like LTE has a theoretical limit. WiMAX is here and rep idly growing, it's going nowhere, I wish these industry leading news sites would get a clue already and quit posting bullshit stories that mean nothing. Cisco didn't pull out because it's a dead technology, they simply already got there fair share and their return will be nice.
@TheRequiem
You mean its the only 4G in widespead beta testing. Its FAIL man... accept it and move on.
@HerbieDerb
Another dummy,
It can't fail if there's no competition... where do you people come from. You must be ANOTHER Apple fan boy who is lonesome and lost? WIMAX IS THE ONLY 4G RIGHT NOW AND FOR THE NEXT YEAR!!!
@TheRequiem
Everyone heres a dummy except you? It has no competition and its failing... go look at the 4G map. At some point you'll realize that YOURE the dumb ass. Im on VZW and love it. Apparently youre on the FAIL network with the desperate CEO burning through company $$ being on TV 2x every hour.
@TheRequiem
WiMAX is not 4G!!! don't let Sprint or Clearwire fool you. 802.16m (WiMAX evolution) will maybe be considered as 4G, and that's not what they're implementing. Not even LTE is 4G! LTE-A is 4G and will come after.
About WiMAX, it's not death, but will be used for fixed broadband access where there is no fiber. Most of the "networks" you see in wimax.com are fixed based, and even the mobile ones, are just used for nomadic broadband access, mainly in countries where there is no proper infrastructure (most of them in LatAm, Africa, Asia) and in some developed countries where the operators have the frequency and know it's cheaper than running fiber optics. LTE has commitment for all the major operators in the world.
...in other words, your current GSM/ CDMA/ WCDMA access will evolve to LTE and LTE-A... and in the other hand, your current DSL connection might evolve (migrate) to WiMAX, in case there is not enough fiber in your location...
Sprint and Clearwire, are both discussing LTE with all the vendors (Ericsson, Nokia Siemens, Huawei, etc) for their mobile networks.
WiMAX will be used for fixed networks, but it has already lost the mobile broadband war.
Maybe ill go back to tmobile, but I love sprint . I wish sprint and verizon were gsm and tmobile, att were cdma
@david9944
Stange comment.. if youre budget.. its either Sprint or T-Mo. One CDMA, on e GSM. You have a choice.
We get way too caught up in these arguments here, the general public could give two shits whether they use CDMA/GSM or WiMax/LTE.
They care if they get the service they want at what they consider a fair price, that is THE ONLY thing that matters. NO ONE around here,(southeast Virginia) uses VZW because they are CDMA, they use them becuase they have the best coverage, PERIOD. The same will apply to 4G, if Verizon does not price themselves out of competition then LTE will win, only because of the coverage, no other reason.
@skurfa
Verizon has a history of being the most expensive provider. I doubt there high termination fee's and excessive abuse of lying and deceiving customers will last. There $69,99 okan for example is voice only, if you want data you need to tack on another $30 a month. At least with Sprint, I pay and know what I am getting. i doubt Verizon will be cheap, in fact, probably far from it. Good luck on that lasting you.
@TheRequiem
You will one day have to switch from your soon-to-be-bankrupt Sprint. Good luck to you in choosing providers as pieces of your failed company will be bought at auction by very expensive VZW.
@HerbieDerb
Yet another dummy. Sprint Bankrupt? Here's some news for you... they have an operating income of SEVERAL BILLION DOLLARS A YEAR. If you look at debt, AT&T and Verizon both have MORE debt then Sprint does, LOL! You guys are seriously hilarious! While AT&T & Verizon spend billions of dollars to play catch up, Sprint will have already invested what they need to make 4G a reality. It doesn't surprise me that your another programmed idiot. I'm a tech engineer in the business with 20+ years and Sprint is just fine, Im not even with Sprint yet, but I will be when the Supersonic launches! Ill be streaming 720p video on my phone a whole year before the other guys.
@TheRequiem
You should go pick up some Sprint (S).. its at $3 and change... what a bargain!
@skurfa I understand what your saying but this is not the same, we are not talking about a price war we are talking about what will be, and what will not be. People really forget how hot HD-DVD took off, with big name backers, but at the end of the day those of you who have the worthless X-box HD-DVD player know, all that means absolutely nothing. It is going to come down to one standard, has to, that is just the way it is. Hey remember how Apple was only going to use firewire, how many macs just have firewire without USB, that life accept it.
@1ofdakoolkidz Actually it is the same, X-Box HD-DVD's and MacBooks with FireWire were big investments, and you had no promise of any devices that would use them, actually these two prove my point, they did nothing for the consumer that he saw value in so they died. If a the comsumer sees value in a wireless USB dongle for 4G, he will buy it, or sign the contract that gets it to him free. Again, the tech behind it is meaningless, the only question for the consumer is "does it do what I want for a price I see as fair" seriously, how many people on the street can even tell you what GSM or CDMA are?
On different subjects: No, WiMax and LTE are not yet 4G, but thats what the carriers are going to call them to keep them seperate from 3G, so we might as well go along with it. They both will be 4G soon enough.
And to those of you who seem to take joy in the idea of Sprint going belly up. you must be friggin morons, Even though you may have never put a penny into Sprint's coffers as long as they are around you are benefiting from them, I mean, seriously, do you think Big Red and the Death Star would be promoting $70 unlimited voice plans if Sprint wasn't here? We need the competition!
hahahaha im so amused that in the Philippines Globe Telecoms(Verizon in the US) took in only WiMax for 4G and is touting that it now has 4G while its Smart Communications(AT&T in the US) invested bigtime on BOTH WiMax and LTE technologies, though they payed a hefty price they have invested on the throne of owning 4G in the Philippines for the long haul