Published: August 30, 2010
Clearwire Introduces Rover: Instant Gratification to the Internet Addicted
KIRKLAND, Wash. - (BUSINESS WIRE) - Clearwire Corporation (NASDAQ:CLWR) today unveiled Rover :
the nation's first pay-as-you-go 4G mobile broadband service for
tech-savvy Gen Y customers. The Rover brand is designed for digitally
addicted youth who refuse to settle for long-term contracts, overpriced
internet service, or speeds slower than what they've become accustomed
to at home.
Rover is available in all of Clearwire's 49 4G markets across the U.S.
at rover.com.
Rover is also available at CLEAR stores, Best Buy stores and select
independent wireless dealers in Houston and St. Louis.
"Simple, commitment-free wireless services are wildly popular with the
Gen Y crowd, and Rover provides them with the first pay-as-you-go
unlimited mobile internet offering at 4G speeds," said Mike Sievert,
chief commercial officer for Clearwire. "We've built Rover from the
ground up with products, pricing and features designed specifically to
serve a younger market who knows how you get connected is just as
important as where. Expanding our offers to meet this underserved
segment is an important new business opportunity for Clearwire as we
continue to extend our leadership in mobile broadband."
"The opportunity for pay-as-you-go mobile broadband should not be
underestimated," said Carrie MacGillvray, program manager and wireless
analyst at IDC. "Prepaid - or pay-as-you-go - data provides an option
for consumers to experiment with the power of mobile broadband without
being saddled with a two-year commitment. A prepaid mobile broadband
service can offer consumers the ability to access and share Internet
service, at home or on the go, in an affordable way."
PUCKS AND STICKS
Friends with Benefits
Rover's flagship device is the Rover Puck: an ergonomically designed
portable Wi-Fi hotspot that lets you share broadband access, or "Puck" ,
with up to eight devices at home, out on the town or nearly anywhere the
feeling strikes you. The Rover Puck can easily slip into a purse or
backpack and serve as an on-the-go broadband access point for devices
such as laptops, netbooks, the iPad , the iPod touch,
smartphones, PSP systems, game consoles, and Wi-Fi enabled
digital cameras, among others. Users have the option to connect up to
eight Wi-Fi enabled devices simultaneously.
The Rover Puck features mobile download speeds of three to six mbps,
with bursts over 10 mbps (up to 4x faster than conventional 3G), using
Clearwire's 4G network. The Rover Puck is available today for $149.99
(plus tax).
Going Solo
The Rover Stick is a personal 4G USB modem that connects any
notebook, laptop or desktop to the Rover 4G Service. The Rover Stick is
compatible with MacBook and MacBook® Pro laptops
using Mac OS X, as well as netbooks and notebooks running Windows
XP, Windows Vista and Windows® 7. Offering the
same super-fast internet speed as the Rover Puck, the Rover Stick is
available today for $99.99 (plus tax).
No Commitment Issues
New users receive two free days of service to ensure Rover's
metro-focused 4G coverage fits their mobile lifestyle. Rover has a
14-day no-hassle return policy for any device purchases made on
rover.com or in CLEAR stores.
Rover is priced at $5/day, $20/week, or $50/month for unlimited 4G
internet usage. Depending on the retail channel, customers will be able
to purchase a Rover Re-Up PIN code or physical Rover Re-Up card in $20
or $50 denominations. Rover Re-Up is available online at rover.com, at
all retail outlets carrying the Rover Puck or Rover Stick, as well as at
Rover Re-Up specific retail locations. Rover does not require a credit
card to activate service and is designed to bring broadband internet to
a new audience.
GENERATION Y
The Rover brand is designed for a demographic that has grown up in a
wireless world. They manage their life through the internet, and their
devices signify status. Rover provides products and service to meet
their need for all things internet.
"Rover's target audience has never known life without internet. They
love their devices and they want as much speed and capacity as possible,
without the limits and commitments of most mobile options," said Seth
Cummings, GM, Rover. "Rover offers iconic devices along with
straight-forward pricing, and plans where unlimited truly means
unlimited. It is not in Rover's DNA to be constraining, confusing or
complex."
MARKETING CAMPAIGN
Launch campaign
Rover's initial communications will showcase the dramatic ways in which
4G mobile broadband can change human behavior in previously unimagined
ways. More information is available at www.evology.com.
Life @ 4G
Rover.com invites users to experience "Life @ 4G." Rover-sponsored
athletes and music artists will be profiled, showing how Rover
influences their careers and lives as they live Life @ 4G. Sporting a
Rover wingsuit, base jumper JT Holmes, who travels up to 150 mph during
freefall proximity flying, lives life with the Rover Puck and no strings
attached.
Rover Activity Badges
Rover believes in loyalty, and will introduce a badging system that
rewards users for participating in Rover activities. For example, the
"Trendsetter" badge recognizes early adopters of Rover in each market,
and the "Friends with Benefits" badge acknowledges users who refer
friends to the Rover service. Badges have become wildly popular on
location-based apps and are expected to resonate with the youth consumer
and motivate usage.
THE BIG PICTURE
4G Network of Networks
Rover is the newest brand connected to the Clearwire 4G network, joining
brands which include CLEAR, Sprint 4G, Comcast High-Speed
2Go, Time Warner Cable Roadrunner 4G, Best Buy Connect and Cbeyond.
Today, the Clearwire 4G "network of networks" is available in select
cities throughout the United States, where approximately 56 million
people live.
Detailed coverage maps of service availability can be found at www.rover.com/coverage.
For press, broadcast and bloggers: Video footage can be linked from www.youtube.com/rover4g.
Product and brand images and company logos can be downloaded from the
Clearwire Newsroom at www.clearwire.com/newsroom.
To subscribe to Rover RSS news feed, click
here.
For more information about Rover, visit www.rover.com.
Clearwire company information is available at http://www.clearwire.com.
About Clearwire
Clearwire Corporation (NASDAQ:CLWR), through its operating subsidiaries,
is a leading provider of wireless broadband services. Clearwire's 4G
network is currently available in areas of the U.S. where approximately
56 million people live, and the company plans to continue to expand its
4G coverage. Clearwire's open all-IP network, combined with significant
spectrum holdings, provides an unprecedented combination of speed and
mobility to deliver next-generation broadband access. The company
markets its 4G service through its own brands called CLEAR
and Rover, as well as through its wholesale relationships with Sprint,
Comcast and Time Warner Cable. Strategic investors include Intel
Capital, Comcast, Sprint, Google, Time Warner Cable, and Bright House
Networks. Clearwire is headquartered in Kirkland, Wash. Additional
information is available at www.clearwire.com.
Important Information
Rover performance claim is based on average download user speed
results achieved during tests conducted by Rover on the Rover commercial
network. Other carriers' performance based on their recently published,
download speed information. Actual Rover network performance may vary
and is not guaranteed.
Day=24 consecutive hours; week=7 consecutive days; month=30
consecutive days.
Unlimited plans subject to Rover's Acceptable Use Policy, posted at www.rover.com.
Clearwire, CLEAR, Rover, the Rover logo, Rover Puck, and Rover Stick
are trademarks or registered trademarks of Clearwire Communications LLC.
All other company, brand and product names and trademarks are the
property of their respective owners; use of these names does not
indicate support or endorsement of Clearwire products/services or any
affiliation with Clearwire. (c) 2010 Clear Wireless LLC. All Rights
Reserved.
Forward-Looking Statements
This release, and other written and oral statements made by Clearwire
from time to time, contains forward-looking statements which are based
on management's current expectations and beliefs, as well as on a number
of assumptions concerning future events made with information that is
currently available. Forward-looking statements may include, without
limitation, management's expectations regarding future financial and
operating performance and financial condition; proposed transactions;
network development and market launch plans; strategic plans and
objectives; industry conditions; the strength of the balance sheet; and
liquidity and financing needs. The words "will," "would," "may,"
"should," "estimate," "project," "forecast," "intend," "expect,"
"believe," "target," "designed," "plan" and similar expressions are
intended to identify forward-looking statements. Readers are cautioned
not to put undue reliance on such forward- looking statements, which are
not a guarantee of performance and are subject to a number of
uncertainties and other factors, many of which are outside of
Clearwire's control, which could cause actual results to differ
materially and adversely from such statements. Some factors that could
cause actual results to differ are:
-
We are an early-stage company with a history of operating losses
and we expect to continue to realize significant net losses for the
foreseeable future.
-
Our current and future plans are subject to a number of conditions
and uncertainties, including among others, our ability to manage
ongoing market development activities (including the development of
over 10,000 sites), our performance in launched markets and our access
to additional funding.
-
We regularly evaluate our plans, and we may elect to pursue new or
alternative strategies which we believe would be beneficial to our
business, including among other things, modifying the pace at which we
build our 4G mobile broadband networks, augmenting our network
coverage in markets we launch, changing our sales and marketing
strategy and or acquiring additional spectrum. Such modifications to
our plans could significantly change our capital requirements.
-
We believe that we require substantial additional financing to
maintain our current business plans, and if we are unable to raise
such financing on acceptable terms we will need to modify our plans
accordingly.
-
We may fail to realize all of the anticipated benefits of the
transactions with Sprint and the strategic investors.
-
We have deployed a wireless broadband networks based on mobile
WiMAX technology, and would incur significant costs to deploy
alternative technologies. Additionally, such alternative technologies
may not perform as we expect on our network and deploying such
technologies would result in additional risks to the company.
-
We currently depend on our commercial partners to develop and
deliver the equipment for our legacy and mobile WiMAX networks.
-
Many of our competitors are better established and have
significantly greater resources, and may subsidize their competitive
offerings with other products and services.
-
Our substantial indebtedness and restrictive debt covenants could
limit our financing options and liquidity position and may limit our
ability to grow our business.
-
Sprint Nextel Corporation owns a majority of our shares, resulting
in Sprint holding a majority voting interest in the Company, and
Sprint may have, or may develop in the future, interests that may
diverge from other stockholders.
-
Future sales of large blocks of our common stock may adversely
impact our stock price.
For a more detailed description of the factors that could cause such
a difference, please refer to Clearwire's filings with the Securities
and Exchange Commission, including the information under the heading
"Risk Factors" in our Annual Report on Form 10-K filed on February 24,
2010 and our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q filed on August 5, 2010.
Clearwire assumes no obligation to update or supplement such
forward-looking statements.
Photos/Multimedia Gallery Available: http://www.businesswire.com/cgi-bin/mmg.cgi?eid=6411136&lang=en
JLM Partners for Clearwire
National Media and Industry
Analysts
Mike DiGioia, 206-381-3600
mike@jlmpartners.com
Jeremy
Pemble, 206-381-3600
jeremy@jlmpartners.com
or
Clearwire
Corporation
Midwest, Northeast, Southeast Regions Media
Contact
Chris Comes, 312-282-0539 (mobile)
847-993-9661
(office)
christopher.comes@clearwire.com
Jim
Grimes, 214-803-5385 (mobile)
jim.grimes@clearwire.com
or
Western
Region Media Contact
Debra Havins, 303-210-7269 (mobile)
debra.havins@clearwire.com
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