According to Clearwire, 4G is coming to 3 more cities by the end of this year. 4G Mobile broadband will be coming to New York City by November 1st through a joint effort between Clearwire, Sprint, and Time Warner Cable. Clearwire, Comcast, and Sprint will bring 4G connectivity to San Francisco in late December. 4G will come to Los Angeles via Clearwire and Sprint on December 1st.
WiMAX is the technology powering the new 4G networks, which boast speeds somewhere from 5 to 7Mbps download, with a 1.2Mbps upload (according to Engadget). To put that in perspective, 6Mbps is what you might get from a basic broadband connection from your local cable company. It’s not the fastest connection ever, but it’s quite capable of doing just about anything you’d ever want to do online. We already have 4G here in Atlanta and I can’t really tell the difference between 4G and my wireless connection at home. It’s very nice.
It’s not a surprise that 4G is launching in these cities, but it is definitely an important milestone in the development of the next generation of mobile connectivity. These are cities where there are a huge volume of professionals and tech enthusiasts sporting the fanciest mobile devices. Success in these cities will hinge on the experiences of these customers. Apple and AT&T have taken a lot of heat because of poor performance and data connectivity in these locations.
An interesting point about this launch is the internal conflict between Sprint and Clearwire. Sprint owns 55 percent of Clearwire and is launching 4G using space on Clearwire’s network. At the same time, Sprint and Clearwire are competing for the same customers as Clearwire works to expand its network. Three top Sprint executives recently resigned from Clearwire’s board because of this tension.
Another point to note is that Sprint+Clearwire is not the only game in town. Verizon is launching its own high-speed mobile network. It’s set to cover 38 cities and 110 million people by the end of the year. Clearwire has promised 120 million people in the same time frame. Verizon is the number one mobile provider in the US followed by Sprint at number four.
The more networks we have offering high-speed mobile connectivity, the easier it will be for the average person to get a decent Internet connection. People in the black community may not have computers or even cable TV, but probably have a mobile device. High-speed connectivity in combination with the latest crop of smartphones could be a game changer.