Clearwire today announced the launch of WiMax service in New York City and five other markets, including Hartford and New Haven, Connecticut, Tampa, Florida and Trenton and New Brunswick, New Jersey.
Regionally, the New York network serves six counties in North Jersey from Middlesex to Bergen County and the five boroughs of New York City. A detailed coverage map can be found at http://www.clear.com/coverage.
CLEAR starts at $35 for the home while unlimited mobile plans start as low as $45. Bundled service plans such as Home and Voice start at $50 per month.
With today’s announcement, Clearwire’s 4G mobile broadband network now serves 62 markets and covers 82 million people in the U.S.
IPWireless uses unpaired 2.5 GHz frequencies in a dedicated public service network, covering New York City’s 322 square miles (map). The public-safety and city communications network is used for traffic light transmissions, video surveillance and automated meter reading. The IPWireless network is based on TD-CDMA, making it incompatible with TD-LTE or WiMAX. IPWireless claims their unpaired TD-CDMA system penetrates better than OFDM-based LTE or WiMAX and uses less spectrum.
The NYC Wireless Network (NYCWIN), announced in 2006, supports more than 19 municipal departments and more than 50 discrete applications. The network (pdf), consists of approximately 400 cell sites spanning all five of the New York City boroughs, and utilizes licensed 2500 MHz spectrum.
The $500 million NYCWiN network was funded mostly by the city itself; only $20 million came from the Department of Homeland Security.
Clear’s WiMAX network in NYC also operates in the 2.5-2.6 GHz band.
Clear’s WiMAX network was built at no cost to taxpayers. It has the additional advantage of interoperability, voice, increased bandwidth, inexpensive clients, mobile hotspots, and phones like the EVO-4G for 2-way video.
New York’s NYCWIN network uses just 10 MHz of licensed spectrum in the 2.5 GHz band. With CDMA, the same frequency can be used on adjoining sectors. The need for spectral efficiency was one reason Northrup Grumman chose IPWireless as a vendor rather than WiMAX, said Jon Hambidge, vice president of marketing for IPWireless. WiMAX towers generally use 10 MHz per sector (30 MHz total).
NYCWiN became operational in May, 2009, about 18 months earlier than New York City’s WiMAX system goes online for everyone. Interoperability between IPWireless and Clear? Furgetaboutit.
Clear’s WiMAX service hopes to cover 120 million people with interoperable WiMAX broadband by the end of 2010.
