Point taken. What I was trying to get at is there the big difference between the market power of Leap Wireless and a Verizon Wireless. Verizon can easily get a handset maker to support its different classes of spectrum and technology. But Leap will need to procure combo TD-FD LTE devices in two band classes, as well as get CDMA support at AWS and PCS. By no means impossible, but these aren’t going to be the standard issue phones from Samsung and Huawei.

Rather, the great divide affecting interoperability — as seems to be for all LTE worldwide — is band class. Devices that access the Clearwire LTE network will need to incorporate antennas, amps, and filters for band class 41 (i.e. BRS/EBS 2600 MHz).

Thus, much as VZW band class 13 devices separate themselves from AT&T band class 17 devices — even though both VZW and AT&T use the same LTE FDD flavor — so, too, will Clearwire band class 41 devices likely separate themselves from the rest of the pack.

Sadly, the combination of the so called “spectrum crunch,” MIMO, and svelte devices is likely to be a scourge on LTE interoperability for years to come.

AJ