How CLEAR is Changing the Game for Small & Medium Business

While most of the attention on CLEAR has been focused on the Consumer space, a new partnership with Cisco and new business-class communication solutions are providing opportunities in the Small & Medium Business (SMB) markets.

Wireless Broadband Perspectives - WiMAX.com Weekly Series Sponsored By: For the next several months, WiMAX.com and Cisco will be featuring weekly topics and perspectives from the WiMAX & wireless broadband industries.   This week, while at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, we had the opportunity to talk with both CLEAR and Cisco to understand how WiMAX and communication solutions are providing flexibility and better value for small and medium sized business.

Those who manage the phone and data communication networks for small and medium-sized businesses with legacy-based systems know how challenging they can be.  Provisioning new T1 data circuits can take weeks, and making even small changes to a PBX based system--such as moving extensions and configuring voicemail and other services--can be complicated and costly.

Fortunately, in the world of standards-based, all-IP communication solutions, help is not far away.  Combined with new access technologies such as WiMAX, these systems can provide enormous flexibility and cost savings for businesses.

To target these opportunities, CLEAR has assembled B2B sales teams and is working with Cisco and others to design packaged solutions to meet the needs of small businesses.  In addition to its communication products, CLEAR will also be tapping into Cisco's extensive reseller channel and leveraging their relationships and customer base.

Services for Businesses

While perhaps not offering the full 1.5Mbps symmetrical connection of a T1, CLEAR provides a suite of both fixed and mobile business services for the SMB market which provides plenty of bandwidth for most applications.  CLEAR's services on average provide 3-6Mbps on the downlink (busting to 10Mbps), with an average of 1Mbps on the uplink.

"What we can provide the SMB market is a T1 alternative," says Patrick Scannell with CLEAR's Embedded Devices & Market Development Group.  "Provisioning a T1 from a traditional carrier can take weeks, not to mention the higher cost.  With this product, our customers can be up and running in just hours with the flexibility to turn it on and off as needed."

To enhance its product offerings in the SMB market and address potential issues with low signal strength in communication's closets located deep inside buildings, CLEAR is planning to certify new Cisco branded outdoor WiMAX modems for use on its network.  These modems are completely self contained and need only a POE (power over Ethernet) cable to connect them to a company's data and communication network.


Cisco Outdoor WiMAX Modem, CES 2010


Simplified Communication Services for Small & Medium Business

Complimenting CLEAR's WiMAX service is a complete line of Cisco branded Small Business Pro series routers and unified communication solutions.  Launched last year, the products are designed to help small and medium sized businesses improve productivity, while minimizing time spent managing the network.  Headlining the list is the UC-500, which is designed to work with CLEAR's WiMAX network and provides enterprise-class communication services for up to 64 users without a land line connection.  When used with CLEAR's service, the entire system is essentially a "small office in a box" and can be easily deployed or moved as needed.


Cisco UC-500 Unified Communications System, CES 2010

"Working with CLEAR, we have packaged complete communication solutions for small & medium businesses that are designed for easy plug and play installation, while providing increased security and QOS (Quality of Service)," says Kittur Nagesh, Director of Service Provider Marketing for Cisco.  "These solutions allow companies to focus on running and growing their business, while not having to worry about managing their network."
 

Tuesday, January 12, 2010 in Business  | Permalink |  Comments (2)