Clearwire has launched Mobile WiMAX services in Salem, Oregon (pop: 154,510), and Milledgeville, Georgia (pop: 18,757)
But Paul Kapustka of Side Cuts points out that Clearwire is also available in Philadelphia (pop: 1,447,395). The company started selling services in the 6th largest city in the United States on Oct. 1st, 2009.
It’s a “soft” launch, ahead of official ceremonies sometime later in the month. Clear’s website says they’ll be launching soon in Austin, San Antonio and Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas, Charlotte, Greensboro and Raleigh, NC, and Chicago, Illinois. Chicago WiMAX service will be available on October 6th, says Chicago-based Broadband Reports, which received an invitation to the launch.
Network Acquisition Co. took over the ailing Philadelphia WiFi network in June, 2008, paying an undisclosed sum for the infrastructure in place. While EarthLink charged residents $20/month for Wi-Fi access, NAC is providing it free in public areas. That spurred a surge in usage to 28,0000 unique users per weekday, says Derek Pew, NAC’s chief executive. EarthLink said it had only about 5,000 subscribers for the network.
But NAC is focused on developing the network as a business, says Rick Rasansky, a member of NAC’s board of directors, with companies and other organizations paying to use the network.
Good luck with that.
I’ve been using a Clear WiMAX modem here in Portland since December, 2008. Rates start as low as $20/month for unlimited 780Kbps service. Works for me.
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