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Clearwire Corporation announced its support for the European Commission decision of May 21, 2008, aimed at harmonizing the availability and efficient use of 3400 ~ 3800 MHz frequencies in Europe and requiring that Member States quickly move to allow mobility in these frequency bands.

“The decision is meaningful for Clearwire’s European operations, where we widely utilize 3.5 GHz spectrum,” says Benjamin G. Wolff, chief executive officer of Clearwire. “With extensive holdings in Belgium, Germany, Ireland, Poland, Romania, and Spain, and our affiliate’s holdings in Denmark, our licenses cover more than 200 million people throughout Europe. This decision, which mandates Member States of the European Community to move quickly to make this spectrum range available to be used for fixed, nomadic and mobile electronic communications networks, gives us and the investment community greater certainty and confidence with respect to the opportunity to deliver mobile ‘true broadband’ wireless services across a very unique geographic footprint.”

Wolff went on to explain the significance of this decision for Clearwire: “This is an essential milestone in Clearwire’s continuing efforts to deploy our mobile WiMAX networks across Europe. We believe that the power of the mobile Internet, which offers speed and mobility, both home and away, will fundamentally transform the way that people make use of the full capabilities of the Internet.”

There has been long-standing support by the commission for the flexible use of wireless spectrum, with technical and service neutrality. In the decision, the commission specifically acknowledges that the “designation of the 3400 ~ 3800 MHz band for fixed, nomadic and mobile applications is an important element addressing the convergence of the mobile, fixed and broadcasting sectors and reflecting technical innovation.

Wolff continued, “Clearwire fully supports the commission’s view that as mobile wireless broadband services become the primary service used with this spectrum, further harmonization will favor pan-European roaming amongst these frequencies.”