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Kirkland, Washington-based wireless broadband Internet provider Clearwire has signed an agreement with  Mountain View, California-based Google that will give its 350,000 wireless customers access to the search leader's popular Web applications suite including GMail and Google Calendar, along with the Google Talk instant messaging service, the firms announced Tuesday in a joint statement. Clearwire, founded in October 2003 as a pioneer in the creation of a nationwide high speed wireless network, will begin migrating its current customers to Google's applications during the first half of 2008, and will offer Google search capabilities using Google's AdSense for Search service in its future Web portal applications, the companies said. Google says the deal with Clearwire, which Google says is "building and operating one of the world's most capable wireless broadband networks," fits well into its vision of wireless Internet access. "Our companies share a vision of giving consumers innovative choices that will the change the way they interact with each other," said Dave Girouard, vice president and general manager of Google Enterprise. "We're pleased to work with Clearwire to offer its high-speed wireless broadband customers access to our leading search and communications tools," Girouard added. The agreement will see Clearwire controlling the look and feel of the user interface to be powered by a Google controlled back-end infrastructure. History Includes Telecom Pioneer When wireless telecom pioneer Craig O. McCaw started Clearwire, which began providing its first service in August 2004, the company sought to offer customers a simple and speedy wireless alternative to what it has called "the confines of traditional cable or phone lines," and now it provides service in 46 United States cities across 16 states and in Mexico and areas of Europe. Clearwire, which posts about $150 million in sales annually, was dealt a blow in November 2007 when the number three U.S. mobile carrier Sprint Nextel made public that it was ending a partnership it had announced earlier with McCaw's firm, which would have allowed customers of each company to use both networks, each of  which is based on speedy WiMax technology that provides powerful wireless connections to entire regions. Sprint, which stopped its previously announced agreement that would have seen Clearwire help build the $5 billion WiMax network after its chief executive resigned, went on to sign an agreement with Google, which has increasingly looked at wireless technologies such as its open source mobile device operating system called Android to help break the grip wireless carriers have on choosing which software will work with their phones. Sprint and Clearwire have both left the door for future collaboration open, according to officials from both firms. Tuesday's Clearwire partnership is expected to give Google, which anticipates growth in the wireless smartphone and handset market, a manageable sized group of customers on which it can test its WiMax ambitions. Proponents of WiMax, especially in its fastest XOHM form, claim the technology is well suited at delivering high speed Internet access over a wider area and at a lower cost than traditional DSL or broadband cable signals. Clearwire's Wireless Ambitions Clearwire's chief strategy officer Scott Richardson sees his company's partnership with Google as a good match. "We look forward to expanding our working relationship with Google further enhancing our customer's access to the Internet – anytime and anywhere," said Richardson. "Clearwire is excited to launch our relationship with Google to further our commitment to deliver all the Internet has to offer to a person rather than a place. Both companies are built on the foundation of providing a simple to use, rich and open Internet experience and we believe the addition of these communications tools will be a tremendous benefit to Clearwire's customers," added Richardson. Clearwire's service presently offers Internet speeds up to 1.5 Megabits per second using a Motorola-based WiMax system, operating in the licensed spectrum at 2.5 Gigahertz - speeds which will increase once true WiMax capabilities, such as those offered by XOHM, are built and put into service. Clearwire's philosophy also appears to appeal to Google. "What we find so compelling about Clearwire is their philosophy of an anytime, anywhere, any device broadband Internet experience," Google enterprise team product management director Matthew Glotzbach said in a recent article in The Street. "They want to give users an untethered Internet experience, and we want to be part of that," added Glotzbach. Clearwire Inks Web Applications Deal with Google Shares of Clearwire stock, which reached more than $18 during 2007, were at $12.81 in Wednesday afternoon NASDAQ trading, down from a high of $14.50 Tuesday. During Clearwire's network building projects, it has seen large losses due to the building costs associated with creating an entirely new carrier framework. Google also has a similar agreement in place with Sprint. In 2007 Google noted that its Web applications are a key part of its strategy, and the Clearwire partnership announced Tuesday is seen by some analysts as being likely to help Google in this regard. The Clearwire agreement comes on the heels of Monday's Google launch of an improved suite of mobile Web applications for users of Apple's iPhone at the MacWorld conference in San Francisco. Related Links:
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11:07 pm on Jan. 16, 2008 (utc 0)