Xohm

Xohm was the consumer-facing brand used by Sprint Nextel Corporation to promote a mobile broadband network based on WiMAX technology. The initiative represented Sprint Nextel's attempt to establish a large-scale fourth-generation wireless data business before the modern 4G market had fully taken shape. Rather than positioning Xohm as a conventional mobile-phone service, Sprint presented it as a high-speed, mobile Internet platform intended to connect laptops, modems, and other compatible devices over a metropolitan and eventually nationwide network. Sprint worked with Clearwire on the deployment of the network. The partnership was significant because Sprint and Clearwire were among the earliest major United States service providers to announce plans for a mobile WiMAX system. The Xohm program received industry recognition in 2007, when its mobile WiMAX initiative earned the Best of WiMAX World award for Industry Innovation. This recognition reflected the importance then attached to WiMAX as a possible alternative to the wireless technologies that later became dominant in the American 4G market. The rollout was planned in stages. Chicago, Baltimore, and Washington, D.C., were identified as initial test markets, with Boston, Philadelphia, and Dallas expected to follow. Sprint subsequently announced delays to the planned soft launch at the 2008 CTIA conference. Xohm nevertheless launched officially in Baltimore on September 29, 2008. Service was later deployed in additional markets during 2009, 2010, and 2011, although the service increasingly appeared under Sprint's simpler 4G branding rather than as a standalone Xohm product. The brand's independent existence was short-lived. In 2008, Sprint and Clearwire combined their WiMAX-related operations into a new Clearwire venture. Sprint held a majority stake in the resulting company, while former Clearwire shareholders and a consortium that included Comcast, Time Warner, Intel, Google, and Bright House held the remaining interests. The combined business adopted the Clear name, creating a single commercial identity for the service and making the Xohm label redundant. Clearwire announced on December 1, 2008, that Xohm would be phased out during 2009 and replaced by the joint Sprint/Clearwire Clear brand. The underlying WiMAX network continued operating for several years under Sprint 4G and Clear branding, so the retirement of Xohm did not immediately mean the end of the infrastructure associated with the project. Sprint later notified customers that the CLEAR 4G WiMAX network and the Clearwire Expedience network would cease operating on November 6, 2015. Xohm is therefore best understood as an early, discontinued telecommunications service brand whose technology and commercial assets were absorbed into the Clear and Sprint 4G businesses.

Xohm emerged as Sprint Nextel's brand for a mobile broadband initiative based on WiMAX, a wireless-broadband standard that was widely viewed in the late 2000s as a potential foundation for next-generation mobile Internet services. Sprint sought to use the brand to distinguish a data-oriented network from its conventional cellular offerings and to promote broadband connectivity across laptops, modems, and other compatible devices. Sprint's project was developed with Clearwire. The two companies were early proponents of mobile WiMAX in the United States and announced plans to build a broad network using the technology. The initiative attracted industry attention and received the Best of WiMAX World Award for Industry Innovation in 2007. Sprint initially outlined a staged market strategy, naming Chicago, Baltimore, and Washington, D.C., as initial test or launch markets, with Boston, Philadelphia, and Dallas expected to follow. The company later acknowledged delays to the planned soft launch at the 2008 CTIA conference. Commercial service began in Baltimore on September 29, 2008. Additional deployment followed in later years, including activity in 2009, 2010, and 2011. In practice, however, the Xohm name had little time to mature as an independent consumer brand. Sprint and Clearwire combined their WiMAX-related activities in 2008, forming a new Clearwire business. Sprint owned 54 percent of the combined company, while former Clearwire shareholders held 24 percent and a consortium consisting of Comcast, Time Warner, Intel, Google, and Bright House held the remaining 22 percent. The combined operation selected Clear as its commercial brand. On December 1, 2008, Clearwire announced that the Xohm identity would be phased out during 2009. Sprint subsequently marketed related service under Sprint 4G, while Clearwire used the Clear name. Thus, Xohm functioned as the initial launch identity for a network whose underlying technology and market proposition survived the brand's retirement. The network's later history was tied to the broader fortunes of WiMAX in the United States and to the eventual migration of wireless operators toward other 4G technologies. Sprint announced in 2015 that customers would lose access to the CLEAR 4G WiMAX network and the Clearwire Expedience network on November 6 of that year. This shutdown marked the end of the operational network lineage associated with Xohm. Xohm's historical importance lies less in its duration as a brand than in its role in Sprint's early attempt to commercialize mobile WiMAX and create a nationwide mobile Internet platform before LTE became the prevailing 4G standard.

1. 2015Associated WiMAX networks are shut down

   Sprint announced that the CLEAR 4G WiMAX and Clearwire Expedience networks would cease operation on November 6.

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2. 2008Planned rollout is delayed

   Sprint announced delays affecting the planned soft launch of Xohm at the 2008 CTIA event.

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3. 2008Commercial launch in Baltimore

   Xohm officially launched in Baltimore on September 29.

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4. 2008Xohm is absorbed into the Clear brand

   Following the combination of Sprint and Clearwire's WiMAX operations, Clearwire announced that Xohm would be phased out in favor of Clear.

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5. 2007Xohm receives industry innovation recognition

   The Xohm mobile WiMAX initiative earned the Best of WiMAX World Award for Industry Innovation.

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An early high-speed mobile Internet brand built around WiMAX technology, positioned as a flexible broadband alternative for connected computers and other data devices rather than primarily as a traditional voice-mobile service.

• Xohm mobile InternetMobile WiMAX broadband2008

  Xohm was Sprint Nextel's branded mobile broadband service built on WiMAX. It was intended to provide high-speed wireless Internet access for computers and other data devices across metropolitan markets, with a planned expansion toward nationwide coverage. The service launched commercially in Baltimore and was later associated with Sprint's broader 4G offering.

• Sprint 4G WiMAXWireless broadband network2009

  After the Xohm name was retired, parts of the same WiMAX network were marketed under Sprint 4G. This was a continuation of the network technology and service proposition rather than a separate Xohm-branded product. The network was ultimately retired along with the CLEAR 4G WiMAX service.

• 2008Combine Sprint and Clearwire WiMAX operationsM&A

  Sprint and Clearwire sought to consolidate their mobile WiMAX activities into a single business and commercial platform.

  What changed. The companies formed a new Clearwire venture. Sprint held 54 percent, former Clearwire shareholders held 24 percent, and a consortium of Comcast, Time Warner, Intel, Google, and Bright House held 22 percent.

  Aftermath. The combined business adopted Clear as its brand, and Xohm was scheduled to be phased out during 2009.

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• 2008Replace Xohm with ClearStrategy

  Maintaining separate Xohm and Clear identities after the Sprint-Clearwire combination would have created overlapping brands for the same WiMAX business.

  What changed. Clearwire announced that Xohm would be phased out and replaced by the joint Sprint/Clearwire Clear brand.

  Aftermath. The Xohm name disappeared as a standalone commercial identity, while related service continued under Clear and Sprint 4G branding.

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• 2015Sprint announces the shutdown of the CLEAR 4G WiMAX network

  Sprint notified customers that the CLEAR 4G WiMAX network and Clearwire Expedience network would stop operating on November 6, 2015.

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• 2008Sprint announces delays to the planned Xohm soft launch

  Sprint disclosed delays affecting the planned soft launch of its Xohm mobile WiMAX service at the 2008 CTIA event.

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• 2008Xohm launches in Baltimore

  Xohm officially launched in Baltimore on September 29, beginning commercial operation of the branded mobile WiMAX service.

  Product launch
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• 2008Clearwire announces the phaseout of the Xohm brand

  Clearwire announced that Xohm would be phased out in 2009 and replaced by the joint Sprint/Clearwire Clear brand following the combination of their WiMAX operations.

  M&A
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• 2007Xohm mobile WiMAX initiative receives Best of WiMAX World industry award

  The Xohm mobile WiMAX initiative was recognized with the Best of WiMAX World Award for Industry Innovation.

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1. Xohm