Newly-dubbed "Clear" WiMAX service hits Portland, Oregon

It just been a few short days since it finally closed the deal with Sprint, but Clearwire is already out there busily rebranding its newly-acquired WiMAX assets, with Portland, Oregon first to get the new "Clear" WiMAX service, which the company humbly describes as "like lightning, but faster." To get in on that, you'll have to fork over between $30 and $50 a month (for unlimited service), or ten bucks for a 24 hour pass, with Clear's own USB modem setting you back an extra $50 (a desktop modem is also available for $5 a month). Somewhat interestingly, the company is also promising to offer WiMAX-ready laptops "soon," but it unfortunately isn't providing any further details on those just yet. Hit up the link below to check the exact availability of the service, and look for it to hit Las Vegas, Atlanta, and Grand Rapids, Michigan in the not too distant future.

[Thanks, Stephen K.]

[Peter @ Dec 3rd 2008 5:47PM]

there's a Vancouver, Oregon?

[phail @ Dec 3rd 2008 5:49PM]

of course not

[Dan @ Dec 3rd 2008 5:51PM]

That's Washington.

[kp @ Dec 3rd 2008 5:56PM]

Vancouver is in Washington State. That pic of the map doesn't label the two states divided by the Columbia river.

[a ham sandwich @ Dec 3rd 2008 5:54PM]

dammit! everybody always beats me to these comments!

[Peter @ Dec 3rd 2008 5:58PM]

Thanks for the correction Dan

[DBrim @ Dec 3rd 2008 11:15PM]

Peter, I like how your avatar turns grey when you're low ranked. I wish it would turn blue if you were high(est) ranked.

[DBrim @ Dec 3rd 2008 11:46PM]

Okay, now you're just screwing with me.

[Burt Reynolds @ Dec 4th 2008 12:02AM]

Sadly there is a Vancouver, WA...

They're all a bunch of annoying cheapskates who live in Washington and cross the border to avoid sales tax among other things.

[John Russell @ Dec 4th 2008 1:28AM]

And then the Vancouverites want the government to spend $4.2 Billion on a little bridge deal, so they can clog up Portland's roads with even more of their single-occupant sports-utility-vehicles. Hurray for suburbia!

[Unshaded Monk @ Dec 5th 2008 9:06PM]

Is it really the fault of the residents of Vancouver/Clark County that they're more qualified and willing to work in the great city of Portland than the residents of Portland themselves? If you want those pesky Vancouver-ites to stay out of your city don't make those job openings so attractive.

It's not like most major businesses in Vancouver charge Oregon residents sales tax either. The "freeloading" that you speak of works both ways. The symbiotic relationship between both cities is more beneficial to each of them than you think.

[Brian @ Dec 3rd 2008 5:56PM]

Wewt! WiMAX is almost here! Netbooks will really take off once WiMAX is widespread... soon, only a select few will be able to justify NOT carrying a computer everywhere they go. :)

Ahhh... the future...

[bur40win @ Dec 3rd 2008 10:07PM]

Those select few will be known as... "iPhone users"

[JWC @ Dec 3rd 2008 6:02PM]

I saw this billboard that said "Lte's Eb Eclar" or something like that on the side of the road (in Portland). I thought, what?? Then decided the ad sucked and I didn't care. Turns out I do. But wow bad ad campaign.

[JWC @ Dec 3rd 2008 6:05PM]

Available in Portland*
* not my part of Portland

[t3yf5g @ Dec 3rd 2008 6:21PM]

coverage is available to west vancouver, but thats it :(
Looks like in moving across town

[keithwwalker @ Dec 4th 2008 6:46AM]

Yes, I saw this on 99E in SE Pdx. Home use is $40/month. I could cancel Comcast and save at least $13 month if I cancel Comcast TV and internet. If I keep TV, then the savings is only $3/month...

[steve @ Dec 3rd 2008 6:16PM]

Just ordered my service. I called on the phone and they waived the $35 activation. Woot!

[MoeJoe @ Dec 3rd 2008 6:19PM]

Not available in my part of Alaska. You betcha...

[J.Mac @ Dec 3rd 2008 6:22PM]

Ooooooh.... So let's see - I need to get a WIMAX enabled adapter... then I need to pay for service...
Seems rather silly with all the options out right now (Internet Enabled Phones which internet could be included for less, Cell Phone Internet laptop cards which can go outside city limits and you don't need a different subscription to each city you go to..)

Um... w00t?

[Yusssss @ Dec 3rd 2008 7:28PM]

Cell service isn't nearly as fast as WiMAX

[J @ Dec 3rd 2008 7:39PM]

Yeah... but fast enough to pay $50+ per month for each one?

[Kid Dynamic @ Dec 3rd 2008 7:40PM]

That brings up a good point -- if you have a Clear account in one city, can you use it in another? I would hope so!

As to the 3G-o-philes, I remember when 3G was a pipe dream and the mobile internet was teh sux. It's just a matter of time before this stuff is ubiquitous, and 3G will be a joke. I can see this service completely supplanting standard wireless service, using VoIP etc.

I just wish it wasn't Clearchannel making this happen. I feel dirty even talking about it. |-L

[Kid Dynamic @ Dec 3rd 2008 7:41PM]

Oops. My bad. ClearWIRE, not Clearchannel. Whew!

Note to self: read slowly and sound out every word.

[Stephen @ Dec 3rd 2008 7:47PM]

@Kid Dynamic - Clearwire and Clear have NOTHING to do with Clearchannel whatsoever.

[OCEAN = CLAK 20th @ Dec 3rd 2008 6:21PM]

wimax lol, ill just sit here laughing with my iphone 3g lol

[OCEAN 'CLAK' 20th @ Dec 3rd 2008 6:27PM]

'i' agree

[DBrim @ Dec 3rd 2008 11:17PM]

There's two of you now? God help us all.

[ajai @ Dec 5th 2008 1:24AM]

Heh.... you forget WiMax is 4G.... 3G is old (the US is a bit behind the rest of the planet as usual).

[gonzo1082 @ Dec 3rd 2008 6:24PM]

i tried 97211 and i'm good to go. too bad they told me the nokia n810W tablet isn't supported yet. =(

[Dat @ Dec 3rd 2008 7:00PM]

It's because you live in NOPO!

[SomeGuy @ Dec 3rd 2008 7:30PM]

I also tried 97211 and they said there was no coverage here. What the hell?

[gonzo66 @ Dec 3rd 2008 6:27PM]

wimax > 3g

[J.Mac @ Dec 3rd 2008 6:29PM]

$50/Month and very limited range better? I guess it's fine if you spend all your time on the same side of the city. I wonder if the reception and spped is just as good in doors, to justify getting rid of the wireless router and cable internet... cuz that's really the only reason I could see for using it

[jacob.larson @ Dec 3rd 2008 9:24PM]

soon intel will put WiMax chips in phones and 3g will become obsolete...

[Rainier @ Dec 3rd 2008 9:58PM]

Soon carriers will put LTE in phones and WiMAX will be obsolete...

LTE > WiMAX

[krische @ Dec 3rd 2008 10:41PM]

Rainer,

Has the LTE standard even been finalized yet? Is there even any hardware for it yet? LTE is at least 4-5 years away from where WiMAX is today.

[wickedpheonix @ Dec 4th 2008 1:31AM]

J.Mac: Put WiMax in a laptop, and $50/month is $10/month cheaper than what both ATT and Verizon are charging now for laptop 3G usage. Still not cheap enough to get me to pay up, even if it is truly unlimited just because I'm a starving college student - I can't justify anything above $30/month and it had better be unlimited or pretty damn close to it (think quarter-terabyte/month limits or something high like that) or else I'm going to blow right through it in the first week.

[Lonin @ Dec 3rd 2008 6:44PM]

98685 is a no go, that's NW Vancouver. I wish they'd just put up a coverage map.

[ttime4four @ Jan 14th 2009 2:43PM]

Here's the coverage map you are looking for...

http://www.intel.com/pressroom/kits/wimax/Portland_coveragemap.pdf

[digitallysick @ Dec 3rd 2008 6:46PM]

What is the latency like on WiMax? for gaming or voip , i know clearwire offers voip but i dont know if its any good

[devwild @ Dec 3rd 2008 8:11PM]

I had some hands on time with it, and it's about 20ms slower than my cable. still under 100ms to most sites, so fast enough for gaming and most voip. Also, the performance varies depending on where in the building you are, so be sure to test locations.

[nikster @ Dec 4th 2008 4:01AM]

Below 100ms is pretty fucking awesome for wireless. I am on EV-DO with 800ms being the norm (don't even think about gaming, unless it's chess).

4Mbps isnt' all that exciting though it would still be better than real-life 3G connections.

[Yusssss @ Dec 3rd 2008 7:25PM]

I've been waiting for this for a LOOONG time. As soon as they come out with a WiMAX laptop I'll be getting this.

[Dat @ Dec 3rd 2008 6:55PM]

Data Plans/Overages

For Clear Accounts only.

You will be entitled to use the Clear Service for the bandwidth amounts and download speeds (collectively referred to as the "Plan Amount") listed on your Order Confirmation. If you exceed your allotted Plan Amount, Clearwire will automatically charge you and you agree to pay an additional internet service usage fee of $10 per GB of additional bandwidth (the "Overage Charge"). You may track your current usage by visiting the usage meter found at www.clear.com/my_account/. Your Plan Amount does not roll-over, but expires at the end of each month with all unused amounts forfeited.

[Yusssss @ Dec 3rd 2008 7:27PM]

That's why there's an unlimited plan for $10 month more.

[wimaxed @ Dec 3rd 2008 6:58PM]

The service has been active in Portland for quite some time but the company waited for the merger to complete.

http://www.WiMAXED.com

[Jon Nelson @ Dec 3rd 2008 7:05PM]

Lol, since when is Grand Rapids considered a big enough city to get brand-new technology before somewhere like Detroit? Or Lansing?

I find that incredibly odd.

[Kevin Smith @ Dec 3rd 2008 7:46PM]

I thought the same exact thing ..... ??? G-rap is a hole. What gives WiMAX?

[apnmi @ Dec 3rd 2008 8:32PM]

grand rapids is bigger than lansing
but i have to agree it's a very odd choice