Sprint has turned on a new batch of 4G markets, bringing its WiMAX service to Los Angeles, Miami, Washington, D.C, Cleveland, Cincinnati and Columbus, Ohio. The launch means Sprint 4G is available in 68 markets across the US, with the carrier tipping San Francisco 4G service on December 28.
Sprint reckons subscribers to its 4G service will see download rates of around 3-6 Mbps, versus 600-1.7 Mbps for traditional 3G. More information at www.sprint.com/4G.
Press Release:
Sprint 4G Rolls Out in Los Angeles, Miami, Washington, D.C., Cleveland, Cincinnati and Columbus, Ohio
Sprint Expands the Power and Immediacy of 4G to 68 Markets Nationwide
San Francisco Market expected to launch 4G Service on Dec. 28
OVERLAND PARK, Kan. (BUSINESS WIRE), November 29, 2010 – Sprint (NYSE:S) today officially unleashed the power of 4G – enabling fast mobile downloads, wireless video chat and turbo-charged mobile Web browsing up to 10 times faster than 3G service1 – in Los Angeles, Miami, Washington D.C., Cleveland, Cincinnati and Columbus, Ohio. Customers in these metropolitan areas can now take full advantage of the Sprint 4G network using a wide range of 4G-capable devices. With the addition of these six markets, Sprint 4G is now available in 68 markets2 across the country, including Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Houston and New York City. Additionally, the wireless carrier announced that it expects to launch the San Francisco market – home to Silicon Valley and thousands of tech enthusiasts – on Dec. 28.
How will 4G benefit Sprint customers in these areas? With the Overdrive™ 3G/4G Mobile Hotspot by Sierra Wireless, a visitor to Washington, D.C., (including Northern Virginia and parts of Maryland) can connect to the Internet with a laptop or any Wi-Fi enabled device to check the news at speeds that are up to 10 times faster than 3G. A hungry tourist in Miami, Fort Lauderdale or Palm Beach can search for the best food truck in their vicinity using one of the food-truck applications in the Android™ Market on Samsung Epic™ 4G. If sports fans in Cleveland, Cincinnati or Columbus are looking for up-to-date scores, no problem – it’s easy and quick to find on HTC EVO™ 4G. And, surfers in Los Angeles can forgo the waves and surf the Internet on-the-go using the first 3G/4G-embedded netbook and notebook from Sprint – the Dell™ Inspiron™ Mini 10 (1012) netbook and Dell™ Inspiron™ 11z notebook.
“We have witnessed a great demand from our customers for 4G speeds, power and capabilities in these cities already and today they officially have it,” said Matt Carter, president-Sprint 4G. “We are proud to deliver on our commitment to serve our customers and deliver 4G to more major metropolitan areas in 2010.”
Sprint first launched 4G in Baltimore in September 2008 and since then has delivered a comprehensive consumer, business and public sector strategy and a robust portfolio of devices, consisting of phones, USB aircards, notebook/netbook products, mobile hotspots and routers, that are being used by satisfied consumers and businesses.
To get an insider’s view about how Sprint is making sure that 4G is ready for its customers, visit the YouTube Web video series “Wiring Up 4G.” Videos are available for Los Angeles and New York City.
Sprint is delivering the power of 4G as the majority shareholder of Clearwire, the independent company that is building the WiMAX network. For more information, visit www.sprint.com/4G.
About Sprint Nextel
Sprint Nextel offers a comprehensive range of wireless and wireline communications services bringing the freedom of mobility to consumers, businesses and government users. Sprint Nextel served more than 48.8 million customers at the end of the third quarter of 2010 and is widely recognized for developing, engineering and deploying innovative technologies, including the first wireless 4G service from a national carrier in the United States; offering industry-leading mobile data services, leading prepaid brands including Virgin Mobile USA, Boost Mobile, Common Cents Mobile and Assurance Wireless; instant national and international push-to-talk capabilities; and a global Tier 1 Internet backbone. Newsweek ranked Sprint No. 6 in its 2010 Green Rankings, listing it as one of the nation’s greenest companies, the highest of any telecommunications company. You can learn more and visit Sprint at www.sprint.com or www.facebook.com/sprint and www.twitter.com/sprint.
1 “Up to 10x faster” based on download speed comparison of 3G’s 600 kbps vs. 4G’s 6 Mbps. Industry published 3G avg. speeds (600 kbps-1.7 Mbps); 4G avg. speeds (3-6 Mbps). Actual speeds may vary by plan or based on other factors.
Seems like Sprint wants to get every last lick of 4G coverage in before Verizon flips the switch on LTE — today, its joint venture with Clearwire is launching WiMAX in the City of Angels a day ahead of schedule. Lest you think Los Angeles is getting special treatment, five other cellular markets can now also get a taste of 5Mbps to 7Mbps download speeds, including Miami, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Columbus and our nation’s capitol, Washington D.C. That brings the total number of regions where you’ll get some mileage out of that $10 surcharge up to 68, in case you’re keeping track. What’s next? If the press release after the break is correct, San Francisco will finally satisfy its need for speed on December 28th. Not that any of these locales haven’t been secretly enjoying 4G already, of course.
The headline says it all on this one, folks. Thanks to a tweet by Sprint representative Stephanie Vinge we know that company and Clearwire will be flipping the switch on 4G service in LA sometime before December 1st, following on recent successes in New York City, Tampa, Hartford, and many other lovely locales. Of course, we all know it isn’t actually 4G, but it’s as close as we’re going to get right now, and we’ll certainly take it.
Update: Lots of folks are indicating WiMAX is already well and truly working in the greater Los Angeles area, so go ahead and enjoy those download speeds early — unofficially, of course.
Though it reported record growth in both revenue and subscriber count, Clearwire’s bad news outweighed the good as it announced its fourth quarter earnings today. Here’s the meat of it:
“The Company is actively pursuing a number of options to resolve its need for additional capital. The Company is in discussions with a number of its major shareholders and other third parties about a number of options, including potential strategic transactions, additional debt or equity financings and/or asset sales. While the Company is cautiously optimistic it will resolve its short-term funding needs in the near future, there can be no assurances. Thus, it is implementing a series of significant cash conservation measures to reduce costs, including: a substantial reduction in sales and marketing spending, a suspension of additional retail channel market launches of the CLEAR-branded operations in select markets including Denver and Miami, delays in the introduction of CLEAR-branded smartphones, a substantial reduction in the contractor workforce, a 15% reduction in the number of employees, and the discontinuation of development activities for sites not required for its current build plan. The Company currently has thousands of sites in various stages of planning and construction beyond its current build plan, and it intends to suspend zoning and permitting in a portion of those sites until such time as additional funding becomes available.”
Translation: they’re running low on cash, they’re looking for ways to raise more of it, and until they do, they aren’t launching those promised Clear-branded phones or opening any more retail locations. They’re also cutting staff by 15 percent, scaling back Clear marketing, and suspending network planning beyond stuff that’s already in the works — a pretty drastic step considering how much build-out Clearwire’s network still needs. Though Sprint depends heavily on Clearwire for its current WiMAX setup, it’s unclear whether Sprint would be willing to continue to dump cash into the partnership — particularly considering the recent rumors that they’re looking to reach out to other carriers — and Comcast has already gone on record saying they don’t see themselves turning into a Clearwire ATM.
Obviously, both Clearwire’s spectrum holdings and its infrastructure are extraordinarily valuable and we wouldn’t sound any alarms that Sprint’s WiMAX network is in any danger of disappearing, but we’re sure this is sounding some alarms at Sprint headquarters that it’s time to make some strategic moves. Should be interesting to see how this all plays out.
We gave a fortunate sect of consumers a taste of WiMAX during our recent reader meetup in the Big Apple, but now it’s available to all: as promised, Sprint has just gone live with New York City’s first 4G network. With the holiday sales season just around the bend, this honestly couldn’t have come at a better time, and considering the bandwidth strain that hamstrings the city, it could very well make things easier on everyone if the adoption rate is high. Moreover, Sprint has blessed Hartford, New Haven, New Brunswick, Trenton and Tampa with WiMAX as of today, bringing the grand total of lit cities to 61. So, LTE — whatcha waitin’ for?
Update: Naturally, Clearwire has launched 4G in NYC as well. Of course, we’re splitting hairs with branding by now, but there it is.
Sprint has officially launched its 4G WiMAX network in New York City, as well as Hartford, New Haven, New Brunswick, Trenton and Tampa, taking its total coverage to 61 markets. Meanwhile Clearwire is pushing out various promotions offering 50-percent off WiMAX service for the first two months in the new areas.
You can check coverage in NYC here, though be warned it’s not all-pervasive. WiMAX is still a work in progress, so devices like the HTC EVO 4G also pack 3G connectivity as well for roll-back purposes. Some of Clear and Sprint’s standalone modems or mobile hotspots do not, however, though there’s usually a price advantage in that case.
Press Release:
Sprint Unveils First 4G Mobile Network in the Big Apple
Sprint Expands the Power and Immediacy of 4G to 61 Markets, Now Available in New York City, Hartford, New Haven, New Brunswick, Trenton and Tampa
OVERLAND PARK, Kan. (BUSINESS WIRE), November 01, 2010 – The wait is over, starting today, Sprint (NYSE:S) 4G – the next generation in wireless service – is available to customers in New York City, Hartford, New Haven, New Brunswick, Trenton and Tampa. With Sprint 4G, wireless customers can experience mobile downloads, video chat capabilities and turbo-charged Web browsing up to 10 times faster than 3G service1 – all on the first wireless 4G network from a national carrier.
Customers around the country can take advantage of the Sprint 4G Network with a range of 4G-capable devices already available from Sprint. New Yorkers and tourists visiting the Big Apple can quickly access information about the latest Broadway shows and find the latest, greatest places to eat with their Samsung Epic™ 4G and use Google Goggles to pull up facts about each using visual search technology powered by Sprint 4G. They can use video chat on their HTC EVO™ 4G to show friends a live view of Yankee Stadium, and coffee-house dwellers can power up the Overdrive™ 3G/4G Mobile Hotspot to share 4G speeds with up to five WiFi-enabled devices – such as an iPad™, laptop, camera or game console – making downloads, streaming video and Web browsing fast.
“Sprint has provided customers with 4G service since 2008 and we’re proud to extend our leadership to six more cities today, including New York City,” said Matt Carter, president of Sprint 4G. “Sprint is the first national wireless carrier to make 4G a reality for our customers and with the addition of these six new markets we are now in 61 cities, including Chicago, Baltimore and Houston, and are growing. By the end of the year Sprint 4G plans to light up several major new markets including Los Angeles, San Francisco, Miami, Denver and Washington DC to name a few.”
Sprint is delivering the power of 4G as the majority shareholder of Clearwire, the independent company that is building the WiMAX network. For more information, visit www.sprint.com/4G.
Sprint and Clearwire have characterized LTE as complimentary to WiMAX time and again, but if that doesn’t allay your suspicions of turncoat tactics in the wireless data space, take it from Sprint CEO Dan Hesse’s lips. “Our 4G strategy is WiMAX, full stop!” he told GigaOM, adding that LTE isn’t necessarily on Sprint’s roadmap. Quizzed about WiMAX partner Clearwire’s LTE trials, however, he dropped a very intriguing hint about the possible shape of phones to come: “We have so much spectrum that we decided to do tests so in case we have multi-modal phones with other air interfaces, we can add LTE on top of WiMAX and run both networks,” he told the publication. Dual-mode WiMAX / LTE smartphone, anyone?
Dan Hesse, CEO of Sprint, said recently of the company, “Our 4G strategy is WiMAX, full stop.” Of course I had no idea what “full stop” meant when I read it, so I had to look it up, and of course it’s just another way of saying “period,” as in the mark at the end of this sentence. That means that the ONLY plan Sprint plans on enacting for their 4G strategy is WiMAX. The WiMAX interface was the only interface available at the time when Sprint first had the opportunity to make the move to 4G, and according to Hesse, “it was perfect with the spectrum we owned [2.5GHz.]”
Sprint also merged its spectrum with Clearwire which now provides the 4G pipe. Then of course, there’s the LTE trials run by Clearwire (during which they achieved a speed of 90 Mbps down, which is pretty neat. “We have so much spectrum that we decided to do tests so in case we have multi-modal phones with other air interfaces, we can add LTE on top of WiMAX and run both networks,” he said. “We have not announced a decision to put LTE anywhere in our network, and we are not intending to.”
Continuing on spectrum, Hesse said, “The greatest single asset Clearwire has, more than any other [wireless] company is the spectrum it owns, and it is its greatest competitive advantage.” On the news September of this year that Clearwire might be selling some spectrum to T-Mobile, Hesse has doubts, “My own view is that they won’t be doing that.” Clean and clear.
Then there’s the eventual shutdown of other networks: “2G will eventually come to an end. CDMA will come to an end. GSM will come to an end and iDEN will come to an end,” Hesse said. “Over time, as fewer customers are using our 2G networks, we can use that spectrum for the CDMA/EVDO network.” And the crushing fingers of the gods did collect all the souls of those who would enjoy a faster phone connection. Repent now.
Yes, that’s right: we said LTE, not WiMAX. The patron saint of WiMAX in the US has long toyed with the idea of switching over to the LTE technology path in the long term, and the results of its first live LTE trial — based in Phoenix — are looking pretty promising. Two configurations were tested, spanning both LTE’s frequency- and time-division flavors; the TD trial ran with a total of 20MHz of spectrum and clocked peak downlink speeds of 50Mbps, while FDD pushed as high as 90Mbps down and 30Mbps up using 40MHz of spectrum in paired 20MHz chunks. That’s a lot faster than the max 10Mbps down you can get with Clearwire’s WiMAX network today, but then again, these trials are using a lot more spectrum — twice as much in the TD configuration. Though these trial numbers never end up holding up in real-world use, it’s notable that the company achieved these speeds while driving around, not sitting in a lab wearing white coats with the base station a few yards away. Question is, is this enough spectrum to run Engadget’s servers on yet?*
Clearwire and Sprint have announced that, as of November 1st 2010, New York City will be bathed in beautiful WiMAX, with Los Angeles following on come December 1st and San Francisco in late December. The move will see the companies partner with other firms in each location: Time Warner Cable in NYC, and Comcast in San Francisco.
Each will have their own branding and market offering, though we can’t imagine there’ll be much competition on price at first. Of course, that will likely all change when Verizon turn on their LTE networks, also promised for the end of this year.
Press Release:
Clearwire, Sprint and Time Warner Cable to Launch 4G in New York City 4G Mobile Broadband Coming to New York City on November 1
Clearwire to Offer CLEAR(R)
Sprint to Offer Sprint 4G
Time Warner Cable to Offer Time Warner Cable Mobile Internet
KIRKLAND, Wash. & OVERLAND PARK, Kan. & NEW YORK, Oct 18, 2010 (BUSINESS WIRE) –
Clearwire Corporation (NASDAQ: CLWR), Sprint (NYSE: S) and Time Warner Cable (NYSE: TWC) today announced plans to launch their respective 4G mobile internet services in New York later this year. Each of the companies will offer 4G services under their own 4G brand.
Clearwire, Sprint and Time Warner Cable will each launch commercial 4G service in New York City on November 1, with official launch events and retail store openings to follow in each market. Consumers and businesses should expect to see additional network expansions throughout New York City, along with a wide-range of independent marketing and advertising initiatives.
The 4G customer experience from Clearwire, Sprint, and Time Warner Cable is similar to Wi-Fi but without the short-range limitations. The network uses wireless 4G technology that differs from Wi-Fi because it provides service areas measured in miles, not feet. Outside the 4G service area, dual-mode 4G/3G modems keep users continually connected by leveraging Sprint’s 3G data network.
Customers in the New York City area will now be able to increase their mobility and productivity in many ways: from instantly downloading large files to get work done on the run, to browsing the web just like at home from across the city, or watching online videos and movies nearly anywhere around town.
Subscribers will also be able to purchase a wide range of 4G devices, including: compact USB modems, numerous Intel(R) embedded WiMAX laptops and netbooks, portable Wi-Fi/4G hotspots, and other wireless devices, all aimed at making lives in 4G cities more mobile and efficient.
CLEAR
Clearwire’s 4G service, CLEAR(R), is take-it-with-you internet service for businesses and consumers. Customers will be able to purchase service online at www.clear.com, followed by retail store and dealer openings. Today, in advance of Clearwire’s commercial 4G launch in New York, dual-mode 3G/4G service is now available to consumers in select areas. This targeted pre-launch promotion provides early adopters with broad 3G coverage and limited 4G coverage while final work on Clearwire’s 4G network is completed. 4G-only mobile services are not yet being offered as part of this pre-launch promotion. For more information about pricing, services, devices, and local retail locations, visit www.clear.com.
Press Release:
Clearwire and Sprint to Launch 4G in Los Angeles 4G Mobile Broadband Coming to Los Angeles on December 1
Clearwire to offer CLEAR(R)
Sprint to offer Sprint 4G
KIRKLAND, Wash. & OVERLAND PARK, Kan., Oct 18, 2010 (BUSINESS WIRE) –
Clearwire Corporation (NASDAQ: CLWR) and Sprint (NYSE: S) today announced plans to launch their respective 4G mobile internet services in Los Angeles later this year. Both companies will offer 4G services under their own 4G brand.
Clearwire and Sprint will both launch commercial 4G service in Los Angeles on December 1 with official launch events and retail store openings to follow. Consumers and businesses should expect to see additional network expansions in Los Angeles, and a wide range of independent marketing and advertising initiatives.
The 4G customer experience from Clearwire and Sprint is similar to Wi-Fi but without the short-range limitations. The network uses wireless 4G technology that differs from Wi-Fi because it provides service areas measured in miles, not feet. Outside the 4G service area, dual-mode 4G/3G modems keep users continually connected by leveraging Sprint’s 3G data network.
Customers in Los Angeles will now be able to increase their mobility and productivity in many ways: from instantly downloading large files to get work done on the run, to browsing the web just like at home from across the city, or watching online videos and movies nearly anywhere around town.
Subscribers will also be able to purchase a wide range of 4G devices, including: compact USB modems, numerous Intel(R) embedded WiMAX laptops and netbooks, portable Wi-Fi/4G hotspots, and other wireless devices, all aimed at making lives in 4G cities more mobile and efficient.
CLEAR
Clearwire’s 4G service, CLEAR(R), is take-it-with-you internet service for businesses and consumers. Customers will be able to purchase service online at www.clear.com, followed by retail store and dealer openings. Today, in advance of Clearwire’s commercial 4G launch in Los Angeles, dual-mode 3G/4G service is now available to consumers in select areas. This targeted pre-launch promotion provides early adopters with broad 3G coverage and limited 4G coverage while final work on Clearwire’s 4G network is completed. 4G-only mobile services are not yet being offered as part of this pre-launch promotion. For more information about pricing, services, devices, and local retail locations, visit www.clear.com.
Press Release:
Clearwire, Comcast and Sprint to Launch 4G in San Francisco 4G Mobile Broadband Coming to San Francisco in Late December
Clearwire to Offer CLEAR(R)
Comcast to Offer XFINITY(TM) Internet 2go
Sprint to Offer Sprint 4G
KIRKLAND, Wash. & PHILADELPHIA & OVERLAND PARK, Kan., Oct 18, 2010 (BUSINESS WIRE) –
Clearwire Corporation (NASDAQ:CLWR), Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) (NASDAQ:CMCSK) and Sprint (NYSE:S) today announced plans to launch their respective 4G mobile internet services in the high-tech mecca of San Francisco later this year. Each of the companies will offer 4G services under their own 4G brand.
Clearwire, Comcast and Sprint will each launch commercial 4G service in the San Francisco Bay Area in late December, with official launch events and retail store openings to follow across the region. Consumers and businesses should expect to see additional network expansions throughout the city, and a wide range of independent marketing and advertising initiatives.
The 4G customer experience from Clearwire, Comcast, and Sprint uses wireless 4G technology that differs from Wi-Fi because it provides service areas measured in miles, not feet. Outside the 4G service area, dual-mode 4G/3G modems keep users continually connected by leveraging Sprint’s 3G data network.
Customers in San Francisco will be able to increase their mobility and productivity in many ways: from instantly downloading large files to get work done on the run, to browsing the web just like at home from across the city, or watching online videos and movies nearly anywhere around town.
Subscribers will also be able to purchase a wide range of 4G devices, including: compact USB modems, numerous Intel(R) embedded WiMAX laptops and netbooks, portable Wi-Fi/4G hotspots, and other wireless devices, all aimed at making lives in these 4G cities more mobile and efficient.
CLEAR
Clearwire’s 4G service, CLEAR(R), is take-it-with-you internet service for businesses and consumers. Customers will be able to purchase service online at www.clear.com, followed by retail store and dealer openings. For more information about pricing, services, devices, and local retail locations, visit www.clear.com.
Clearwire and Sprint have announced that, 
