Clearwire partners with China Mobile to Improve LTE in U.S. and Asia

Clearwire and China Mobile have announced a partnership that will make devices running on Clearwire’s planned TD-LTE network in the U.S. operable with China Mobile’s TD-LTE network in Asia.

Both companies have expressed a desire to use their unpaired spectrum holdings in the 2.5 GHz band for their network. But their equipment and devices lag behind the standard spectrum used in Verizon and AT&T’s LTE network, FDD-LTE.

The two companies began their work last September on devices compatible with the FDD-LTE standard. On Tuesday, they announced that they want to take a step further with joint testing. Eventually, devices on Clearwire’s TD-LTE network will be compatible with China Mobile’s network in Asia. If successful, the effort will expand the number of users for the technology and create more options for consumers.

Though Clearwire’s main focus right now is WiMAX, China Mobile wants TD-LTE to become a key global standard for unpaired spectrum.

Clearwire and other operators participating in the Global TD-LTE Initiative will begin lab-testing on compatibility this month. Tests will be conducted in Herndon, Va., Phoenix, and Beijing among other major cities.

Clearwire says that WiMAX will still remain functional, though the company wants to overlay key portions of the infrastructure with TD-LTE. Clearwire received some much-needed funding from Sprint, which will lease capacity on Clearwire’s network to add to its own LTE network.