Clearwire goes live in second WiMAX city

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Clearwire goes live in second WiMAX city

By CAROLINE GABRIEL

Published: 6 January, 2009

READ MORE: Clearwire | WiMAX

Today sees the launch of the second WiMAX city by the newly merged Clearwire, with services going live in Portland, Oregon, traditionally a hotbed of new wireless and broadband technology in the US. The company - formed late last year from the original Clearwire and Sprint's Xohm unit and with financing from Intel, Google and three cablecos - will be looking to differentiate itself in a busy market with strong pricing plans compared to broadband providers, and the chance for users to integrate home and mobile usage, and to roam on to Sprint's CDMA network.

This is the second piece of the Clearwire WiMAX jigsaw, which will be marketed under the 'Clear' brand and will initially focus heavily on notebook-based access and on home/mobile services. The first Clear network went live last fall in Baltimore, launched by Sprint Xohm when it was still a separate entity. The Xohm brand will now be merged into that of Clear.

Portland area residents have been able to sign up for service since early December, but today will see the marketing campaign kick off, marking the official debut of the Clear brand. Portland, which was an 'old Clearwire' project, will provide a wider range of options than are currently available in Baltimore, ranging from a $20 per month subscription for basic access, designed to undercut conventional DSL offerings in the region, to a mobile broadband package at $80 a month, that supports two devices. A combined home/mobile service, one of the hallmarks of the Clearwire offering and its major differentiation from DSL and fixed cable, is priced at $60 a month. All plans offer unlimited data, within acceptable usage limits and the operator will soon launch the Clear Voice Adapter, which will link the WiMAX home modem to the landphone, to support VoIP, with unlimited calls in north America for $25 a month.

Clearwire's chief strategy officer Scott Richardson says that service plans will be harmonized across the merged company soon, with new pricing based on feedback from the first two cities. He also promised roaming between the former Xohm and the new Clearwire networks, and Sprint recently announced a 'Sprint 4G' option with dual-mode CDMA/WiMAX devices that allow Clear subscribers to roam on to wide area systems - important while the WiMAX system remains confined to a few launch cities. Clearwire already has coverage in 40 markets based on its original pre-WiMAX system, focusing mainly on fixed home services.

Initial devices for Portland users will include a desktop modem and USB device, plus there is a growing list of laptops with WiMAX built in via Intel or other chipsets. Customer equipment will be sold in retail stores and via Clearwire's site. Compatibility testing is required but this is very simple compared to 3G networks, and so standard WiMAX clients should work easily on either Clear system.