Philadelphia-area readers can expect to hear more about the WiMax-based Clear 4G mobile Internet service.
Clearwire Communications said it is expanding its sales operations for service in that market and planning TV ads. It said its service covers 1,000 square miles and about 3.6 million people in the region, with coverage “as far north as Bucks County, south to the Delaware state line below the Philadelphia airport, east to Cherry Hill, N.J., and west to the Phoenixville and Malvern areas.”
The company hopes this 4G network will be in 25 markets by year’s end. It markets the service as “similar to that provided by Wi-Fi, but without the short range limitations of a traditional Internet hot spot.” With WiMax 4G, coverage area is measured in miles, and average mobile download speeds of 3 to 6 Mbps are possible, with bursts over 10 Mbps, it says.
Home Internet service plans start at $25 per month, mobile Internet plans start at $35 per month, and a “day pass” for $10 is available. The company offers combo packages of home-and-mobile or mobile-and-mobile Internet. A dual-mode 4G/3G plan is available for $70 per month with a two-year service agreement.
Clearwire said it also is providing Samsung embedded WiMax laptops to the St. Joseph’s University Ignatian College Connection program. Laptops and service will be offered to certain high school students beginning in their freshman year.
