New Wimax cities officially announced

[xchpstang]

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/spr...k=MW_news_stmp

[Evan702]

Good to see Los Angeles added to the official list.

[503ducati]

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/spr...k=MW_news_stmp

Newly announced markets that will see 4G in 2010 are-

- Cincinnati
- Cleveland
- Los Angeles
- Miami
- Pittsburgh
- Salt Lake City
- St. Louis

Earlier this year Sprint announced that it planned to launch 4G in Boston, Denver, Kansas City, Houston, Minneapolis, New York, San Francisco and Washington, D.C., in 2010.

[akayareal]

"Let AT&T and Verizon yak about maps and 3G coverage, we're moving forward with what customers really want -- lightening [sic.] fast internet and uncapped 4G service."

http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/23/s...tandt-and-ver/

I love it. its about time Sprint lets people know that they are aggressively expanding on their 4g footprint while still expanding voice and 3g coverage.

[503ducati]

Summary of announced markets that will see 4G this year

- Cincinnati
- Cleveland
- Los Angeles
- Miami
- Pittsburgh
- Salt Lake City
- St. Louis
- Boston
- Denver
- Houston
- Kansas City
- Minneapolis
- New York
- San Fransisco
- Washington, D.C.

Also the conversion of the remaining old "pre-WiMAX" markets this year.

- Aberdeen, WA
- Anchorage, AK
- Bend, OR
- Carson City, NV
- Chico, CA
- Dayton, OH
- Daytona Beach, FL
- Duluth, MN
- Eau Claire, WI
- Eugene, OR
- Grants Pass, OR
- Jacksonville, FL
- Klamath Falls, OR
- Lewiston, ID
- Longview, TX
- Medford, OR
- Merced, CA
- Modesto, CA
- Nashville, TN
- Redding, CA
- Reno, NV
- Richmond, VA
- Rochester, NY
- Roseburg, OR
- St. Augustine, FL
- St. Cloud, MN
- Stockton, CA
- Syracuse, NY
- Tri-Cities, WA
- Visalia, CA
- Wenatchee, WA
- Yakima, WA


http://www.clearwire.com/store/service_areas.php

[Volaris]

Also the remaining conversion of old "pre-WiMAX" markets this year.

- Aberdeen, WA
- Anchorage, AK
- Bend, OR
- Carson City, NV
- Chico, CA
- Dayton, OH
- Daytona Beach, FL
- Duluth, MN
- Eau Claire, WI
- Eugene, OR
- Grants Pass, OR
- Jacksonville, FL
- Klamath Falls, OR
- Lewiston, ID
- Longview, TX
- Medford, OR
- Merced, CA
- Modesto, CA
- Nashville, TN
- Redding, CA
- Reno, NV
- Richmond, VA
- Rochester, NY
- Roseburg, OR
- St. Augustine, FL
- St. Cloud, MN
- Stockton, CA
- Syracuse, NY
- Tri-Cities, WA
- Visalia, CA
- Wenatchee, WA
- Yakima, WA

Once they convert those slow (1.5mb!) pre-WiMax Clearwire markets into Clear WiMax I will gladly get their home service. Honestly my 25mb Comcast doesn't feel much faster than my previous 3mb DSL line... in fact some video sites (such as Vevo at times) load slower at certain times of day even though my speed tests show 25mbps...

[BlackDynamite]

Is there any estimate on when these cities will launch? My city finally made the list so I'm wondering if I'll have Sprint WiMax or T-Mobile HSPA+ first.

[503ducati]

Is there any estimate on when these cities will launch? My city finally made the list so I'm wondering if I'll have Sprint WiMax or T-Mobile HSPA+ first.

This sounds kinda dumb but seriously the most real accurate way to check is to keep an eye out for "Clear" or "Clearwire" job listings in your area. The more management or retail the job posting the closer they are to launch. What would be cool is if anyone who is traveling with WiMAX gear would check to see if there is service in a pending market.

[xchpstang]

Is there any estimate on when these cities will launch? My city finally made the list so I'm wondering if I'll have Sprint WiMax or T-Mobile HSPA+ first.

I've seen real world tests from Tmobile USB sticks average from 2-6 meg down in Philly on the HSPA+ network which is not too shabby but that 5GB cap would be a big obstacle to even consider them for any significant use.

[503ducati]

I've seen real world tests from Tmobile USB sticks average from 2-6 meg down in Philly on the HSPA+ network which is not too shabby but that 5GB cap would be a big obstacle to even consider them for any significant use.

Correct, but with no one on it. It's not like they have spectrum to spare when a decent amount of subs are on it either.

The faster the connection the faster users can burn through data. I noticed Clear has dropped their price on 3G/4G Unlimited Plan to $55/mo contract free.

[BlackDynamite]

I've seen real world tests from Tmobile USB sticks average from 2-6 meg down in Philly on the HSPA+ network which is not too shabby but that 5GB cap would be a big obstacle to even consider them for any significant use.

Yeah but there are a few of things to consider there too...

#1: I have that same 5GB cap with everyone else so it's not like I can get away from it. When Sprint launches 4G that might change but I don't know when they will be launching (that's why I asked). So if T-Mobile launched HSPA+ tomorrow (they said by June) that would absolutely be my best option for tomorrow.

#2: We don't know if T-Mobile is going to have a 5 gig cap on their HSPA+. They have it on their HSPA, but we don't know what the details will be once they officially launch the HSPA+. They are saying it will be like a 4G service, so it may very well be unlimited.

3: T-Mobile doesn't require contracts. In fact, their cheapest plans are all without a contract. So if they rolled out HSPA+ and beat Sprint's 4G by 9 months or so, it would make perfect sense for me to get T-Mobile for now and then check Sprint out when they finally launch the 4G in my area.

It all depends on when each service is launching in my area, what the price will be for each of them, and what devices will be available. T-Mobile's HSPA+ will be backwards compatible with their current HSPA. And most of their current 3G devices are capable of 7.2 meg HSPA, with all of them capable of at least 3.6 HSPA. So there will be tons of devices to use their HSPA+ at launch, though nothing with specs like that EVO. But if they get, for example an EVO with a keyboard and tilting screen, and their HSPA+ beats Sprint's WiMax to my area by 7 or 8 months, and there is no 5GB cap and no extra monthly cost, and I can get it without signing a contract on T-Mobile's current plan rates, I would be a fool to not jump on it.

On the flipside- if Sprint is launching this service tomorrow, and beating T-Mobile's HSPA+ to my area by 2 months, and will let me keep my current plan, and no 5GB caps, I would almost certainly get it the very first day. And if they beat T-Mobile's HSPA+, let me keep my current plan (which is an everything plan), removed the 5 gig cap, AND announced a version of the EVO that had a keyboard (of the Touch Pro 2 quality) and tilting screen- I would definitely get that the first second it was available.

I know sprint doesn't have the 5 gig caps on 4G data cards, but as i recall they didn't have that cap on EVDO data cards either when it was first launched. So we'll have to see what they have in store for the phone plans when they announce them. Hopefully they'll do the right thing and remove the caps and not charge any extra.

[BlackDynamite]

Correct, but with no one on it. It's not like they have spectrum to spare when a decent amount of subs are on it either.

The faster the connection the faster users can burn through data. I noticed Clear has dropped their price on 3G/4G Unlimited Plan to $55/mo contract free.

It's my understanding that everyone is on it already. You don't need any special device to use it. Any of their current 3G devices should be able to use it at whatever speed the device is capable of (3.2 is the lowest 3G device they have, some are capable of over 10 megs).

I don't know for sure if they've switched it on in Philly yet, but I thought I remembered reading that they had in at least Philly (and possibly a few other cities too).

Once they switch it on though, everyone with a 3G device on T-Mobile's network will be able to use it though. It's not like nobody will be on it.

[grem467]

I can say they are on the towers as i type this in jacksonville, fl upgrading the pre-wimax sites. They have been working on them for about 2 months now, but i have no idea when it will go live.

Im waiting patiently to switch from DSL as well!

[503ducati]

It's my understanding that everyone is on it already. You don't need any special device to use it. Any of their current 3G devices should be able to use it at whatever speed the device is capable of (3.2 is the lowest 3G device they have, some are capable of over 10 megs).

I don't know for sure if they've switched it on in Philly yet, but I thought I remembered reading that they had in at least Philly (and possibly a few other cities too).

Once they switch it on though, everyone with a 3G device on T-Mobile's network will be able to use it though. It's not like nobody will be on it.

I'll clarify, in comparison to the "big three". ie: Data Cards, MiFi's, Home Modems, etc. T-Mobile has yet to acquire that subscriber base. No one is on that network yet using any amount of data. Example; U.S. WiMAX subscribers average 7 GB data per month....average.

[BlackDynamite]

I'll clarify, in comparison to the "big three". ie: Data Cards, MiFi's, Home Modems, etc. T-Mobile has yet to acquire that subscriber base. No one is on that network yet using any amount of data. Example; U.S. WiMAX subscribers average 7 GB data per month....average.

That 7 GB per month- is that only for the mobile data cards and such, or does that include all the people who have WiMax as their home broadband service too?

Either way, point taken. I know T-Mobile subscribers surely aren't anywhere near a 7GB average. Especially if they are capped at 5GB at the moment...