Investing Opinion

Clearwire's Sweet Package

Stock quotes in this article:CLWR, T, S 

Practically speaking, the only thing you need to consider when judging Clearwire's ability to compete with Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile and the others is: Can they offer more data for less money, or not? The answer to this question is very simple.

Clearwire is offering unlimited data for anywhere between $30 and $60 per month depending on the device you use. The competition is offering anywhere between 2 gig and 5 gig per month for $25 to $60 per month.

A laptop or iPad user doesn't care whether it's LTE or WiMax. The user only cares about getting the fastest amount of data, at the highest quantity, and at the lowest price. This isn't a close contest, folks. If I can get unlimited service for $30 or $60, instead of 2 gig or 5 gig for a similar price, why on Earth would I pick Verizon, AT&T or T-Mobile, instead of Clearwire?

If one brand of gas station offered you unlimited gasoline for $30 per month, would you shop there? Hmm, let me think.

Verizon will surely build the finest LTE network imaginable, given what's got in terms of limited spectrum. I have no doubt that it will perform as well as it as all possible. But if Verizon can't come close in terms of competing with Clearwire on a price-per-bit basis, I don't see why anyone would serve its laptop with a potentially much more expensive modem.

Nota Bene 1: Sprint owns approximately 55% of Clearwire. Nota Bene 2: Clearwire offers service also under the Sprint(S), Comcast(CMCSA) and Time Warner Cable(TWC) brands. Nota Bene 3: Google(GOOG) is an investor in Clearwire. Imagine what they have in mind.

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At the time of publication, Wahlman was long Clearwire, Apple and Google. Anton Wahlman was a sell-side equity research analyst covering the communications technology industries from 1996 to 2008: UBS 1996-2002, Needham & Company 2002-2006, and ThinkEquity 2006-2008.

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