Craig McCaw's Clearwire Corp., which provides high-speed Internet access through its own flavour of Wi-Max, has launched a VoIP service in Stockton, Ca. For those us in Canada, it's an interesting development because Clearwire's VoIP technology is being supplied by Bell Canada. Bell injected $100-million in Clearwire, whos investors also include Intel Corp. Clearwire offers high-speed service in 27 markets across the U.S., as well as Ireland, Belgium, Dennmark and Mexico. For McCaw, Clearwire, which recently raised $360-million in debt, offers a way for him to catch lightning in a bottle again after two big-time misses: XO Communications Inc., which went bankrupt in 2002 after trying to take on the Bells in the local phone market; and Teledesic LLC, which dreamt of offering high-speed Internet access by putting hundreds of satellites before shutting down before even putting a satellite in orbit. Then again, McCaw made $11.5-billion selling McCaw Wireless to AT&T in 1994 so it's not like he can't afford an entrepreneurial mistake. Bell launched its own Wi-Max service last month along with joint venture partner Rogers Communications.
Update: Engadget has more details on the cost of the service and features.