Today, during their Q3 2010 earnings call, WiMAX network operator Clearwire announced that it would be slashing 15% of its workforce and instituting several “cash conservation measures” in an attempt to raise “short-term funding.” As the earnings brief reads:

While the Company is cautiously optimistic it will resolve its short-term funding needs in the near future, there can be no assurances. Thus, it is implementing a series of significant cash conservation measures to reduce costs, including: a substantial reduction in sales and marketing spending, a suspension of additional retail channel market launches of the CLEAR-branded operations in select markets including Denver and Miami, delays in the introduction of CLEAR-branded smartphones, a substantial reduction in the contractor workforce, a 15% reduction in the number of employees, and the discontinuation of development activities for sites not required for its current build plan. The Company currently has thousands of sites in various stages of planning and construction beyond its current build plan, and it intends to suspend zoning and permitting in a portion of those sites until such time as additional funding becomes available. These contemplated initiatives are intended to result in potential cost savings of between $100 million to $200 million in 2010 and again in the first half of 2011.

That certainly doesn’t sound good. We contacted Sprint for comment — as their 4G network depends on Clearwire — and they were kind enough to provide us with a statement. Hit the jump to read Sprint’s take on Clearwire’s situation.

Dan Hesse recently stated that Sprint has been in discussions with Clearwire regarding the financial status of its ongoing operations as well as Sprint potentially providing new financing. We expect those discussions to continue as we review alternatives with Clearwire. There is no assurance that the discussions will result in any transaction with Clearwire.  Sprint is providing no additional comments on this matter at this time.

At Sprint, our 4G plans remain unchanged:
• Sprint has demonstrated unparalleled leadership in 4G.  This dates back to our technology selection in 2006 and includes over two years’ experience running a 4G network which now covers 80 million people in over 60 markets.  We will continue to demonstrate network leadership and innovation in 4G in the years to come.
• This leadership has resulted in increased market share, especially in iconic devices like the EVO and Epic 4G.  Sprint currently offers a dozen 4G devices and is on its third generation of several 4G devices before the competition’s launch of a single device.
• While our leadership will resolve these matters, Sprint’s sales teams and retail associates will remain focused on leveraging 4G to enrich the lives of our customers and deliver solutions that save businesses time and money.

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RIM’s sell to the carriers back in the day, who were incredibly hesitant on supporting the “wireless data revolution,” was that RIM’s architecture and back-end infrastructure meant carriers could trust them to optimize and in a sense, load balance their users (BlackBerry subscribers). This worked great when people were sporting monochrome displays and transferring little bits of data over GPRS networks. It was smart, and you know what, it was necessary. The thing is, we’re in a year called 2010, and if you haven’t noticed, people are doing all sorts of things on wireless networks. RIM’s pitch to carriers about data conservation doesn’t mean a single thing. It’s just another scam, and another bullshit tired line while RIM constantly delivers lackluster news and updates.

Wireless networks are being positioned to one day take over regular data at home. There’s the already-launched WiMAX service and the upcoming 4G roll outs from AT&T and Verizon in the U.S. alone. Do you really expect carriers to give one shit about BlackBerry’s “conserving” data when people are buying MiFi devices and having their entire mobile office jump on their networks? While people are downloading torrents over 3G, streaming video, downloading MP3s, and running servers from their data cards? What’s so scary is that looking forward, data conservation isn’t the answer. It’s the opposite. You need to support what people want, and people don’t conserve. That’s just the way it is, and manufacturers don’t care about the carriers like RIM does, let alone people. People leave their water running while people are dying of thirst. People buy things they don’t and won’t ever need. You think people really give two shits about data on their smartphones? No.

Data conservation is why almost every data-related activity on a BlackBerry is painful. That’s why I have to wait for my email to load when I scroll down too fast, because RIM is “conserving that data.” That’s why my attachment viewing experience is so fucking terrible that I forward all of my attachments to my iPhone. That’s why file sending is non-existent on a BlackBerry, because it chunks the data into little kilobyte packages and makes it useless.

Things that might have worked a couple of years ago are already outdated, and things that worked ten years are instantly a non-starter. This is just another sad sign that either RIM is delaying their entire reinvention, or they’re slowly losing it with each passing day. Since I’m a RIM-loving BlackBerry-toting thoroughbred, I surely hope it’s the former, though none are exactly ideal.

I mean, Microsoft is hot again…

These days, it seems staying green and environmentally friendly is on the top of everyone’s list. People drive hybrids, recycle their gadgets (the non-sentimental ones, anyway) and conserve where they can. To help consumers, and the planet, Nokia, Samsung, Sony Ericsson, Motorola and LG Electronics have teamed up to make a common rating system for energy chargers. Believe it or not, when you unplug your BlackBerry, Touch Diamond, iPhone or any other phone from the charger, it will still draw electricity unless you unplug the charger from the wall unit. We all know just how much energy we can drain being gadget freaks, but by removing your charger from the wall when your gadget is done charging, you can save tons of energy. “If the more than three billion people owning mobile devices today switched to a four- or five-star charger, this could save the same amount of energy each year as produced by two medium sized power plants,” Nokia said in a statement. So, look for energy saving chargers when considering a replacement or a spare. Now all we can hope for is that manufacturers can agree on one universal charger for all gadgets and devices, but it seems hope is all we’re stuck with for the moment.

[Via Phonescoop]

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