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Both the IP-based 4G platforms, WiMAX and LTE, were clearly on show at the CTIA Wireless event this week, with bullish progress reports from their respective cheerleaders in the US, Clearwire and Verizon. Clearwire launched a developer initiative in Silicon Valley to accelerate the expansion of the WiMAX ecosystem, and talked up its spectrum advantage and the opportunities for its cableco partners. Verizon pulled back slightly on its LTE roll-out schedule but was enthusiastic about new open devices and embedded applications as well as rural broadband in its 700MHz frequencies. This was a clear and - given the squeeze on operator budgets - very positive illustration of the way mobile broadband will evolve, supporting a host of new business models, and with a role for the two major IP networks.

But battles make better headlines, and so the pragmatic and all-embracing comments of Clearwire co-chairman Ben Wolff - "the DNA of these two technologies is about 85% the same" - were drowned out by the opinions voiced by Nokia's head of sales, Anssi Vanjoki, in an interview with the London Financial Times, who made the somewhat unoriginal comparison of a technology 'war' with the Betamax-VHS showdown (with WiMAX in the role of Betamax of course). "This is a classic example of industry standards clashing, and somebody comes out as the winner and somebody has to lose. Betamax was there for a long time, but VHS dominated the market. I see exactly the same thing happening here," he said.

Nokia has no real need to take sides in technology wars, since it has the scale to support any platforms that will generate sales, but it has clear political interests in throwing its weight behind LTE, and particularly in a US forum, it will be looking to offer public support for the choices of Verizon, an operator which could offer Nokia its key breakthrough in the difficult north American handset market. But the approach is somewhat retro, given that, as Wolff pointed out, supporting multiple systems in 4G will be far easier than it was in GSM/CDMA (where two major networks nonetheless flourished) - and mobile broadband will support such a wide range of new devices, apps and models that multiple platforms are almost certain to be required.

Differentiation will rest mainly on spectrum and applications/services, hence the similar themes explored by both Clearwire and Verizon. Clearwire's most obvious advantage is its vast bandwidth, with an average of 120MHz in most markets - Wolff pointedly said that the ITU was recommending "ideally 100MHz, 40MHz at a minimum" for 4G apps. No other US operator hopes to get so much, but Verizon was also focused on spectrum differentiators, notably its holdings of low frequency 700MHz licenses, well suited to rural roll-out.

On the applications side, Clearwire is upping the ante by launching the WiMAX Innovation Network to help Silicon Valley developers develop applications for 802.16e. Clearwire is using its spectrum to cover more than 20 square miles in the hi-tech mecca, to bring WiMAX to campuses there. Early participants will include Clearwire investors and Valley giants Google and Intel, and another influential backer of the open internet model espoused by the WiMAX community, Cisco, will provide the IP core network infrastructure. Qualified developers will have free access for one year, and service will be available by late summer, ahead of Clearwire's commercial launch in the area next year. "This is going to be an explosive opportunity for developers to do so much more than they did for the wireline internet," said Wolff.

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