Clearwire, Craig McCaw’s wireless broadband Internet company, launched their service in Jacksonville, Florida, today. A ribbon of coaxial cable and telephone cord was symbolically cut in front of the Main Library in downtown Jacksonville.
Jacksonville is the first city in the U.S. to receive Clearwire’s “pre WiMax” service. The high-speed Internet service uses licensed radio spectrum at 2.5-2.6 GHz (MMDS). It uses NextNet’s unique wireless modem plugged into the user’s computers.
The company’s wireless high-speed broadband Internet service is now available to over 120,000 homes in Jacksonville covering an area of over 100 square miles. The Clearwire service delivers up to 1.5 Mbps.
The launch also included an innovative partnership with Jacksonville’s new Main Library. Clearwire will make its unique wireless modems available to be checked out — free of charge — to library patrons.
“Our research shows that up to 20 percent of residential customers in Jacksonville have no access to high-speed Internet, and up to 50 percent of local businesses cannot access DSL,” said Leo Cyr, Clearwire president and COO.
Clearwire is also promoting the HomePlug Ethernet Wall Mount Module which uses existing wiring to connect computers inside the home. Simply plug it in to the wall, then run Ethernet cable to it. Several HomePlugs can share the wireless backbone. While WiFi around the home can be cheaper and more convenient, HomePlug offers extended service inside large homes.
Craig McCaw has plans for a national broadband wireless service. He has acquired hundreds of licensed MMDS frequencies and bought wireless ISPs including Clearwire, NextNet, Microcell and Inukshuk, an MMDS provider in Canada that has teamed with AOL Canada.
McCaw’s Nextel also won the bidding at $144 million for MDS/ITFS spectrum that WorldCom (now MCI) put up for sale in bankruptcy court last year. NextelBroadband.com claims speeds up to 1.5 Mbps downstream and 375 Kbps up, using the proprietary but mobilized Flarion broadband wireless system in their commercial test in Raleigh, North Carolina. The Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill region has a population of 1,036,703. Most live in 833 square mile Wake county.
Fremont, California-based NextWeb ISN’T owned by Craig McCaw, which may be news in itself. NextWeb is backed by traditional venture capital and Kaiser Permanente. NextWeb (above), started their fixed wireless Internet service in San Francisco earlier this week and claims to be California’s largest fixed wireless Internet service provider.
Jacksonville Florida had, I believe, the very first “free” hotspot in the United States.
On August 29, 2001, Jacksonville launched their WizZone using 802.11b. The WizZone kiosks were placed in economic development areas to deliver community information free of charge to anyone.
Happy Birthday, Jacksonville! You started a movement!
DailyWireless has more on National 802.16 from McCaw, Sleeper Cells, NextNet’s Mexican Revolution, NextNet Deploys in the United States, WiMax Switcharoo and Sydney Unwired. Here’s one of my Community LAN stories published in the January 2001 edition of Computer Bits.
