Clearwire and Google Collaborate to Offer Search and Communications Tools
KIRKLAND, Wash.—(BUSINESS WIRE)—Wireless broadband pioneer Clearwire Corporation (NASDAQ: CLWR) today announced it is teaming up with Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) to deliver the company's popular Google Apps™ communication suite to Clearwire customers.
Context & Ripple Effects
The deal slots into a year-long push by Google past the desktop: after Business Week reported on Google going wireless in May 2007 and the Wall Street Journal questioned in October whether an Android-based phone could win carriers over, Clearwire gives Google something neither story had — a wireless broadband operator shipping Google Apps directly to subscribers.
Timing matters. The partnership lands nine days before Google enters the 700 MHz spectrum auction on January 24th as one of three heavyweight bidders — alongside AT&T and Verizon — vying for some 1,200 licenses. A software company that owns both an applications suite and, potentially, spectrum would no longer need carrier permission to reach users; Thomas Howe's opinion piece this week arguing five constituencies will resist Android shows how contested that path already is.
First-order effects
- Clearwire customers get the Google Apps communications suite bundled into their wireless broadband service, giving the WiMAX pioneer a differentiated offer against larger rivals while handing Google a non-carrier distribution channel.
Second-order effects
- AT&T and Verizon, already squaring off against Google in the 700 MHz auction opening January 24th, now face a competitor pairing consumer-facing software with independent broadband infrastructure — raising the stakes of whether incumbents or open platforms control subscriber relationships.
Third-order effects
- If Google wins meaningful spectrum, the Clearwire model — applications preinstalled by the network operator rather than negotiated handset-by-handset with carriers — points toward a structural shift where software firms bypass carrier gatekeeping entirely, reshaping who captures value in mobile services.
The trend: Google is assembling a full wireless stack — apps distributed through operators like Clearwire plus a bid for its own 700 MHz spectrum — to reduce its dependence on incumbent carriers.