"First" US WiMAX deployment goes live in Jackson Hole, Wyoming
By Darren Murph 
posted July 1st 2008 11:49AM
posted July 1st 2008 11:49AM
[Image courtesy of TerryDreams]
posted July 1st 2008 11:49AM
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ok. this was a total surprise!
never even heard of them
LOL...
So, does this mean we have to stop them so SkyNet can't take over their network in the future?
@blackstar,
oddly enough, I have internet access via a long-range fixed wireless connection, and the company is actually named "SkyNet". lol.
On a different note, the title of this article is misleading. It should say first MOBILE Wimax deployment goes live, seeing as clearwire has been providing regular fixed WiMax service for years in different cities...
Wow, there must be nothing to do there! "Hey Dale! Wanna go over the mountain again? Yeah sure!"
:D
now they have wimax in the hole
WTF is Wyoming? lolz.
Wyoming is an old Indian word for "No state here"
I thought Engadget made a funny but its an actual place.
Makes more sense to roll out services like that in smaller areas than in large cities. It gives them a smaller footprint to cover, plus they don't have the competition. Where I live, I can't get DSL (in the middle of the city) and cable internet is RIDICULOUS, but I and thousands of others in our city use an indoor wireless modem that has a 20 mile range and works great.
this is like reporting that someone got wifi in their house.
Possibly one of the best ski areas in the country and next door to Yellowstone National park. This is a tourist mecca.
Some engadget posters may need to get out of the house or office.....
I will be there in a couple of weeks. Doing a trip through CO, into Cheyenne, up into Jackson, and then to Yellowstone. Should be a good vacation.
Have fun! I did there. And i guess if you have a WiMax device, you can take full advantage of it too!
They should have done like N.Y., S.F. or in L.A.
Another lame move on Sprint's part!
you do realize that sprint had nothing to do with this right? Its a local carrier why would a carrier in wyoming care about NY?
Sprint didn't do this, DigitalBridge Communications did dumbass.
Read->Comprehend->Post.
I suspect it's more of a "last mile" where the telcos fear to tread kind of deployment. We can't get DSL or broadband cable here in Jackson Hole but the kind folk at DigitalBridge Communications have done us a solid and given us high speed wireless. If Sprint were really smart they would be doing the same thing with their WiMax.
Actually Digita Bridge has rolled out the WiMAX d product in Idaho region before Jackson Hole. THier e Nomadic Mobility WiMAX is to be deployes soon, but yes this is a Last mile solution in highly under-served rural areas. the price points are good. The Cable MSO's or RBOC's in these areas have in many instances chose not to deploy Broadband Internet in these locale's.
Anyone wanting to know more, ping me.
And all 11 people there who have gadgets that support it are really happy - WTFBBQ??1?!
why bbq??
welcome to the internet
because it's tasty.
You guys have obviously never been to Jackson, Wyoming. It's one of the most beautiful and affluent (average home price is well over $1million) places in the country to live. Nothing to do? Jackson Hole is one of the top ski resorts in North America and Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks are at their doorstep where around 3 million people a year visit.
harrison ford and dick cheney live there too
They don't actually live in Jackson, they just own vacation homes there. Tiger Woods, too.
dick cheney lives there...
he probably brings a gun w/ him to the slopes. you never know when he feels like shooting someone in the face.
Good for Wyoming!!
No one is denying it's not a beautiful place but, just very small. Im down in Miami and if I was going skiing I would sooner go to Colorado then Jackson Hole, Wyoming or Big Sky, Montana etc. Again that's all preference but you know how it goes....opinions are like @$$holes and everyone walks around thinking theirs doesnt stink.
@ Chad: Good for you guys! No more dial up I suppose.
you probably wouldn't go to Jackson Hole cause you're poor.
Mountain folk and their Wi-fi.
Hey we're getting it in south dakota too.
I wonder which Sprint exec has their lodge there... :->
One more reason for me to want to move there....
That and it having the best ski area EVER
Wow, this makes no sense. Does Jackson Hole even have full time residents?
The First? Juneau Alaska has had WiMAX for almost a year now via AT&T. Alaska gets some of the faster wireless technologies sooner than you lower 48 people :P We were one of the first to have EVDO too, about 4 years ago.
http://www.broadbandreports.com/shownews/ATT-WiMax-in-Alaska-86403
Hawaii has had WiMax from clearwire as well. Probably about the same timeframe.
Sorry, sometimes we just forget about you guys up there. Sort of like Canada and Puerto Rico, we don't remember you're there till we need fishing guides or rum...or grizzly bears, respectively.
Yeah I know those manly woodsmen living out in a cabin in the middle of the forest are always on the bleeding edge of technology. It makes sense to roll wimax out in Alaska before anywhere else. But I think the oil tycoons are the ones behind it all.
An important omission is that the actual ski area, Jackson Hole, is about a 20 minute's drive from the pictured town of Jackson.
Is it free, local business financed WiMax run by a non-profit organization of Linux like tech volunteers who won't sell your data, shape packets, remove anonymity, or monitor traffic? If not, I'll just use my neighbors WiFi that works for the little Internet time I use.
That's a nice looking town. It looks like someone built it with SimCity!
I've had WiMax in Rexburg, Idaho from the same company since last fall...
Yeah, me too. Digital Bridge has WiMax in Twin Falls and Idaho Falls as well. Maybe more. I guess Jackson Hole was just the "first" for places people care about.
yeah, but that had NOTHING to do with Sprint. That was just citywide wifi, if I'm not mistaken.
I used to sell phones in Idaho Falls.
No, no - this was genuine 802.16 W-i-M-a-x.
Neither I, nor this article, attributes this WiMax launch to Sprint.
Here's a link to Digital Bridge Communication's list of town's that they administer WiMax to:
http://www.digitalbridgecommunications.com/OurTowns/tabid/69/Default.aspx
This is not the first US deployment. WiMAX has been in Seattle since 2004, using the Space Needle as the antenna. Someone needs to do a little research.
Slightly off topic, but I went there a few years ago (beautiful place, great slopes), I remember the tour guide said Harrison Ford lives in the area and one time (him being an aircraft nut) actually flew his private helicopter to rescue some stranded hikers on the mountain. How bad ass is that! Imagine the shock of the hikers when you see Harrison Ford in the cockpit picking you up, makes you think he's filming Indiana Jones or something.