Though it has been quietly offering its WiMAX 4G mobile broadband service in Atlanta for at least a month, Clearwire Communications LLC officially went public with it this week.
While we don’t know yet if consumers are channeling Scarlett O’Hara (“As God is my witness, I’ll never go Internetless again!”), the CLEAR service is available to nearly 3 million people across approximately 1,200 square miles. Dubbing it “the fastest unwired city in the South,” Clearwire is promising download speeds of 4 to 6mbps with bursts exceeding 15mbps.
The company points out that this surpasses the speeds of today’s 3G wireless networks, which typically deliver download speeds of between 1 and 1.7mbps, with the burst speeds exceeding that of AT&T Inc.’s upcoming 7.2mbps HSPA upgrade.
In Atlanta, the CLEAR network utilizes an area-wide WiMAX radio system from Motorola.
CLEAR’s mobile and residential plans do not require long-term service contracts. Home Internet service plans start at $20 per month, while mobile Internet plans start at $40 per month, or customers can purchase a day pass for $10. Discounts are available for customers purchasing both home and mobile Internet services or signing up for a two-year service agreement.
Residential customers can also add in-home voice service with purchase of the CLEAR Voice Adapter for $15, and receive unlimited local and long distance service for $24.99 per month.
The USB modem for laptops, from Motorola, is available for only $59.99 or can be leased for $4.99 per month. For residential service, a wireless high-speed modem about the size of a small book connects to a PC or wireless router. It goes for $79.99 or can be leased for $4.99 monthly.
In addition to Atlanta, mobile WiMAX is available in Baltimore and Portland, Ore. Clearwire also plans to launch CLEAR in Las Vegas later this summer, followed by Chicago, Charlotte, N.C.; Dallas/Ft. Worth, Honolulu, Philadelphia and Seattle.
The company says it’s still on track to cover 80 markets and up to 120 million people by the end of 2010, including Boston, Houston, New York, the San Francisco Bay Area and Washington, D.C.
