Jeannie Weaver on Clearwire's 4G Service - The Future of Mobility?
There’s been a lot of buzz around 4G and what it means for innovation. Technorati contributor Nicholas Kinports recently interviewed Jeannie Weaver, Regional General Manager at Clearwire, the first 4G network already up and running, to talk about the future of mobility.
Innovation is defined as the synchronized intersection of an unmet need or insight, the idea (business model, product, or service) that meets that need and the communication that connects the two. Let's uncover the innovation behind Clearwire and what it means for the future of mobility.
What was the unmet need or insight that Clearwire is responding to?
Consumers want and need to be able to access data at broadband speeds on the go—and we don’t think that experience should be painful.
What was the idea that inspired Clearwire - how are you filling the unmet need?
The current 3G network is provided by voice-centric cell phone companies who are accommodating the data needs of consumers. Clearwire is just the opposite—we are a data centric network. The reason AT&T is having trouble bringing quality data service to market right now can be attributed to building a network based on voice and having to retrofit for mass data use thanks to the iPhone. Clearwire is built for data volume from day one.
And the communication—what has Clearwire been doing to make yourselves known to your target consumer audience?
We want people thinking about CLEAR—we want to intrigue them. We are currently implementing multiple layers that include grassroots salespeople, partnering with local businesses and street teams. We are talking to people the way they want to be communicated to.
With 400 million people already using 3G (HSDPA/WCDMA) technologies today, what is Clearwire’s plan to increase mobile usership?
We ideally want to take market share and entice those customers on an inferior network to utilize our faster 4G network.
Clearwire has been extraordinarily helpful in industries with location challenges, construction for example, where people are working in remote areas—CLEAR is plug and play and the price point is very attractive for small- and medium-sized businesses.
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