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Clearwire has expanded its Clear mobile Internet service to the Washington D.C. area, the company announced June 1.
Covering nearly 1 million people, the new coverage area extends as far north as Chevy Chase and Silver Springs, Md., south to Alexandria, Va., east to College Park, Md., and west to Falls Church, Va.
In WiMax coverage areas, according to Clearwire, average mobile download speeds are 3 to 6Mbps, “with bursts over [10M bps].” In areas where WiMax isn’t offered, connectivity is seamlessly handed over to a 3G network.
“We’re proud to bring the nation’s leading 4G network to the nation’s capital, and we believe that D.C. area residents, businesses and visitors can all benefit from an Internet experience similar to what they’re used to having at home or the office, anywhere around town or on the go,” Jeff Fugate, the new general manager for the Washington, D.C., market, said in a statement.
Clearwire, which is affiliated with Sprint, additionally announced that it has launched Clear service in Kansas City, with the coverage area extending to both the Missouri and Kansas sides of the metropolitan area. It has also expanded its 4G network in Baltimore – the city in which its WiMax-based technology first debuted.
Clearwire’s WiMax is considered a rival technology to LTE (long-term evolution), which AT&T and Verizon have chosen for their 4G networks, though neither has yet to announce a major rollout. While AT&T isn’t expected to begin rolling out 4G until 2011, Verizon plans to begin offering the technology later in 2010, reaching 25 to 30 markets by year’s end.
This summer, Clearwire also plans to continue the extension of its Clear service to Jacksonville and Daytona, Fla.; Nashville, Tenn.; St. Louis, Mo.; Salt Lake City, Utah; Merced, Modesto, Stockton and Visalia, Calif; Wilmington, Del.; Grand Rapids, Mich.; Eugene, Ore.; Richmond, Va.; and Yakima and Tri-Cities, Wash.
For a limited time, Clearwire is offering consumers in its new Washington D.C. coverage area an online-only mobile Internet promotion, with service starting at $15 a month for the first two months, after a $50 service credit. More information is available at the Clear site.
“Whether downloading the newest files before a meeting on Capitol Hill, hosting a video chat with friends from the National Mall, or researching an assignments while moving around an area university or museum campus, Clear provides an unmatched combination of Internet speed and mobility within the District and many of the other surrounding communities,” Fugate added.
Clearwire plans to cover more than 120 million people with its WiMax technology by the end of 2010.