Mobile Citizen, a provider of broadband for education and non-profits, has announced that it is offering $10 per month WiMAX subscriptions to schools and non-profits in Portland, Las Vegas, Chicago and Philadelphia. Service contracts start at $120/year per account. Mobile Citizen is the first service provider in the US to offer WiMAX access exclusively to educational institutions and non-profits and are reselling Clear’s WiMAX service.
Mobile Citizen got its start when five nonprofit entities combined to transmit educational video to schools in 11 metro areas in the mid-1980s using spectrum in what is now called the Educational Broadband Service (EBS) spectrum frequencies.
The FCC allows extra spectrum in that band to be leased to commercial operators (like Clearwire) for wireless broadband. Mobile Citizen has a 30-year excess capacity agreement with a subsidiary of Clearwire, allowing Mobile Citizen to resell WiMAX services exclusively to schools and nonprofits.
Mobile Citizen has three service plans. All offer download speeds up to 6Mbps and upload speeds of up to 500 Kbps.
- Mobile Internet – just plug the CLEAR USB modem into any standard USB port on your laptop computer to get online.
- Shared Mobile Internet – add-on to the CLEAR USB modem this service creates a fully portable, secure WiFi network from your activate CLEAR USB modem. Share your connection with up to 8 WiFi enabled devices.
- Broadband Internet – offers a low-cost alternative to cable or DSL, the CLEAR modem connects to your computer or WiFI router to the internet.
Each service plan comes with a 30-day risk free trial; the user must sign up for a one-year service contract. Customers can buy the WiMAX modem from Mobile Citizen or use their own WiMAX-enabled device.
DigitalBridge Communications is another 4G wireless provider focused on delivering broadband services to smaller metropolitan areas and surrounding rural communities. Since launching its service in 2007, DBC has deployed in 15 markets and is also committed to working with communities and schools to make high speed services available to local residents and students.
