Clearwire trials WiMAX VoIP handsets

Clearwire says it is trialling mobile VoIP handsets in Portland, Oregon, where it launched commercial mobile WIMAX service in January 2009.

According to reports, Clearwire is testing voice call hand-off performance between cellular networks and its own mobile WiMAX network.

There is no word on which handset manufacturer(s) Clearwire is working with, although HTC, a Taiwanese firm, has already produced what it claims to be the world’s first dual-mode WIMAX handset, which is capable of passing voice calls between GSM and WiMAX networks.

Dubbed the HTC 4G MAX, the handset is only available on the Yota mobile WiMAX network in Russia. Like Yota, Clearwire uses the 2.5GHz frequency band.

Other WiMAX VoIP handset manufacturer candidates for Clearwire include Samsung, which has already produced such a device for KT’s WiBro service in South Korea. At a technical level, VoIP over WiBro, and voice call handover between WiBro and CDMA networks, has already been successfully demonstrated in Korea.

Clearwire is apparently looking to launch mobile voice services next year. This would give the operator’s cable partners a chance to expand their service portfolio still further through their wholesale network arrangements with Clearwire.

Hear Barry West, President of Clearwire address these issues and more in his keynote speech at the WiMAX Forum Global Congress in Amsterdam 2-3 June 2009!

Download the conference agenda now at www.wimax-vision.com/global