WASHINGTON DC (WiMAX Day). ABI Research believes that it is likely that Direct Broadcast Satellite (DBS) operators in the United States may seek a partnership with Clearwire for WiMAX spectrum. DBS operators have taken an aggressive approach to the Advanced Wireless Services (AWS) spectrum auction currently being held by the FCC. A consortium called Wireless DBS qualified as a bidder; it includes EchoStar, DirecTV, News Corp., Rupert Murdoch, and Charles Ergen as interested parties. However the DBS operators’ bids, although initially among the highest submitted, were largely unsuccessful, and Wireless DBS has dropped out of the bidding.

This disappointment has put a damper on plans for the satellite players to launch their own mobile service based on WiMAX and will likely pave the way for a partnership for WiMAX with an operator such as Clearwire. If that proves to be the case, it will represent a significant shot in the arm for the already vibrant WiMAX sector.

“The DBS operators are looking at how they can utilize wireless spectrum for two-way data services as well as mobile voice services,” says principal analyst Michael Arden. “The development of a mobile service connected to satellite-video service would be one more piece of a service bundle that would help to reduce customer churn and to create an opportunity for convergence of services–such as broadcast and mobile video. It looked as though they were well-positioned to become big players directly. However, given their lack of bidding success, they are going to have to rely on partnerships in provisioning mobile services.”

Any such partnership with Clearwire would strengthen its position as a formidable competitor to Sprint (who is aligned with cable operators) in the WiMAX service provider business. Clearwire was unavailable for comment on the published speculations of ABI Research.