Clearwire's WiMAX ordained with official Atlanta launch

Sure, Clearwire has actually been running its WiMAX network in Atlanta for six weeks already, but that technicality isn't stopping the company from deciding now is the time to "launch" the service in the metro area, with an appropriately-sized marketing blitz to boot. Portland travelers already using the service should feel at home now with their own personal 4G network to keep them company while they engorge on the recommended dosage of Chik-Fil-A sandwiches and Varsity chili dogs. Prices are identical to what we've already heard and, yes, even though the company just quietly launched the service in Las Vegas, expect to see the delayed red carpet rollout for that city sometime later this Summer.

[jjbecerra909 @ Jun 16th 2009 3:20AM]

WiMax Over LTE ALL DAY son......

[jjbecerra909 @ Jun 16th 2009 3:21AM]

1st

[elbarto83 @ Jun 16th 2009 3:25AM]

You're right, you're the 1st loser.

[jjbecerra909 @ Jun 16th 2009 5:49AM]

Haaaa Hilarous..loser wow really man your funny

[elbarto83 @ Jun 16th 2009 9:32AM]

thanks. it comes with intelligence, wits, and smarts, which you clearly don't have. Now go post "1st" on every other post and continue to be a total douchebag, there's no hope for you.

[Lancelot @ Jun 16th 2009 3:27AM]

I've used this service & can't wait for it to get to Tampa. Then maybe we'll finally have some competitive pricing. As it stands now Brighthouse & Verizon have us by the throat (not what I wanted to say) & are
squeezing for all its worth. Once Clearwire arrives & I can buy their 4G wireless plan for $25.00 per month I'll be sending my DsL modem back with a nice little note expressing how much I've appreciated their service,
Yes Right..

Heck, for $46 per month you can get their 4G at home & a G4 card for your notebook.. NOw that's pricing I appreciate..

[UnixSystemsEngineer @ Jun 16th 2009 11:18AM]

Should have said balls.

[Nick @ Jun 16th 2009 3:45AM]

Chicken-Fila! Varsity! I live just out of area! Noooooooooooo!!!!!! /darth

[Que Pasa Cochino @ Jun 16th 2009 11:24AM]

Im an atlien too and chick-fil-a is the ish, especially when you go places they dont have it and you want it! Varsity is good to. Damn Clear people at the mall trying to get me to buy into this

[Tony @ Jun 16th 2009 11:42AM]

Chick-Fil-A is the only reason to travel south of New Jersey.

[dustin.l.hodge @ Jun 16th 2009 4:00AM]

Uh, stop me if I'm wrong, but doesn't 802.11n kick the crap out of WiMAX?

[Broo @ Jun 16th 2009 8:58AM]

802.11b/g/n are WiFi standards- used for your laptop to connect to a router in your house/business and are limited in range (usually 50' - 100').

WiMax is similar to EVDO/EDGE/3G data plan for a cellular wireless card; it requires a specific card to connect and it can be used anywhere within the coverage area.

WiMax is at 4Mbps- and that should be fast enough for most web browsing. I think it falls between 3G and HSDPA in terms of speed.

I think the bid deal is they offer an 'unlimited' option- where AT&T, Sprint, and Verizon all charge for >5MB/month usage.

[JSForbes @ Jun 16th 2009 9:22AM]

Stop.

[cocoviper @ Jun 16th 2009 11:17AM]

Wimax is a lot faster than HSDPA, the 4Mbps they advertise is a guarenteed speed vs. HSDPA's 7.2Mbps which is the theoretical speed. HSDPA's real world speed tends to be about 600Kb-1.5Mbps.

Wimax's theoretical speed is ~70Mbps and if you uncap the connection Clearwire's network is capable of about 15Mbps.
http://gizmodo.com/5174718/exclusive-wimax-uncapped-speed-tests

[Fade2blac @ Jun 16th 2009 4:06AM]

Mmmmmmmm Chik-Fil-A and Wimax. Mmmmmmmmm, one can only dream.

[Matt @ Jun 16th 2009 4:27AM]

Clearwire offers both Pre-Wimax and true 4G Wimax. As far as I can tell, they are incompatible. I was confused about how they would differentiate them on their website, but it looks like Pre-Wimax is on Clearwire.com and Wimax is on Clear.com I'm hoping they upgrade all the pre-wimax areas to wimax soon since that is my only choice besides satellite for high speed internet here. I'm just outside the coverage area, so reception is not the best, and hopefully true wimax will help. Their pricing is better in the new wimax areas too.

[macserv @ Jun 16th 2009 12:17PM]

Yes, "Clear" is the brand name for ClearWire's WiMAX 4G service. Sprint, in partnership with ClearWire, is also in the process of replacing its XOHM WiMAX brand with the Clear name.

[digitallysick @ Jun 16th 2009 5:11AM]

Its to bad the company is ran by a bunch of douche bags, They might get somewhere if management doesn't mess it up

[Zane @ Jun 16th 2009 5:47AM]

Finaf*ckingly! ATL has finally gotten something. Now only if the bozos in upper management don't screw it up.

And Varsity? The first and only time I went there was in freshman year at Tech almost 7 years ago. The food and place is just horrible. There are a gazillion better places that server better food in and around midtown.

[fashionista @ Jun 16th 2009 10:37AM]

Dude, you have no respect for tradition. You don't belong here. The Varsity is an ATL institution.

WHADDA YA HAVE?

[WilfordBrimley @ Jun 17th 2009 12:07AM]

Blasphemy!

[wrs589 @ Jun 16th 2009 6:55AM]

So WiMax is coming to Cumming?

[bondsbw @ Jun 16th 2009 7:57AM]

It's "Chick-fil-A", with a c before the k, just like in chicken... why does everyone insist on spelling it differently than chicken?

[UnixSystemsEngineer @ Jun 16th 2009 11:19AM]

Maybe the "eat moar chikin" cows?

[MrGutts @ Jun 16th 2009 8:01AM]

If you are a gamer, I would advise not getting this.. The latency is a issue on WiMax.

[T at Clarkson @ Jun 16th 2009 8:13AM]

Most Chik-fil-A locations have free Wi-Fi already...so it's a bad example.....but u shood all go owwwt and eet mor chik-n!

[jay jay @ Jun 16th 2009 8:19AM]

Man i can't wait till this comes to NYC

[Nik @ Jun 16th 2009 8:59AM]

Yes! Woodstock's on Engadget!

[NateDog @ Jun 16th 2009 9:18AM]

Ross, you mentioned Varsity chili dogs, yet omit their delectable, artery-clogging fried apple pies?

[Mizzike @ Jun 16th 2009 9:44AM]

Coming to the UK much?

[JCShroyer @ Jun 16th 2009 9:57AM]

Holy Hell yes please! This is great, I can't believe something cool came to my city at the beginning for a change. I'm so going to give this a shot!

[natejwhalen @ Jun 16th 2009 11:13AM]

WiMax is not Mac OS compatible with the hardware you have to buy. Just checked clear.com

[rv @ Jun 16th 2009 12:11PM]

Exactly. Why are they fucking around with Atlanta, Vegas, BALTIMORE???

Bring it to the financial capital of the world.

[Hurricane @ Jun 16th 2009 1:12PM]

Or at least to DC. Come on, we've got the Pentagon, White House, Congress, etc. ATL has what, Mike Vick?

[Zerohour @ Jun 16th 2009 1:54PM]

Actually, Mike Vick is from, and is currently residing in, VA. Quite a bit closer to DC than Atl.

And what we 'have', is some of the slowest average broadband speed in the country, so we need every advantage that we can get.

[gbrandstrom @ Jun 16th 2009 12:16PM]

Word! This is sweet!

[ryanrvogel @ Jun 16th 2009 12:39PM]

@natejwhalen - I just spoke with a Clear rep and she told me that the mobile modem is not compatible with OS X, but the home modem is.

I had also read around that Clear has been blocking ports for p2p, etc. When I asked the service rep, she flatly told me "We do not block ports".

I'm living in Atlanta and am incredibly happy to see a new broadband service that isn't tied to a particular neigborhood. Hopefully as this and other similar companies spread throughout the country, it will force the monopolistic cable copanies and Telcos to be price competitive. I am worried about the technology as it's basically the same as a high speed cellular data connection which as we all know doesn't exhibit some blanket coverage area as the maps imply. Also I imagine as more and more people hop on the network, speeds will either naturally decline or they will initiate port blocking/traffic shaping algorithms just as the cable companies have.

[dajncsu @ Jun 16th 2009 3:39PM]

www.surfclearwire.com or www.surfwimax.com is offering the best promotion. Looks like they are offering up to a $100 VISA gift card if a PICK 2 promotion is activated with a 2 year agreement. They also offered me $50 for the PICK 2 promos if I chose to go month to month. Different promos for each market though.

[dajncsu @ Jun 17th 2009 9:10AM]

Go to www.surfclearwire.com to activate if you are in Atlanta, Portland, or Las Vegas. These guys give you the best deal by offering a gift card or free months of service and let you try it for 7 days to make sure you want it.

Clearwire expects to bring service to 80 markets and up to 120 million people by the end of 2010. Some of the additional markets planned to launch in 2009 include Chicago, Charlotte, Dallas/Ft. Worth, Honolulu, Philadelphia and Seattle. Markets planned to launch in 2010 include New York, Boston, Washington, D.C., Houston and the San Francisco Bay Area.

[Paul Stamatiou @ Jun 17th 2009 10:40AM]

I was at the launch event yesterday, lots of coverage and pics from the event on my blog and flickr:

http://paulstamatiou.com/clear-launches-4g-wimax-in-atlanta
http://www.flickr.com/photos/pauls/sets/72157619833721474

[Dale @ Jul 22nd 2009 8:40PM]

How come CLEAR's spo shy about talking about money?

Even this article declines to mention the cost - except to say that it'll be around what was previously reported.

What about the half-dozen or so of us who haven't been hanging on every word you guys publish?

Amateurish, to say the least.

[Thomas @ Aug 6th 2009 6:45PM]

Jason Jones [3:21:13 PM]: Welcome to our real-time support chat. How can I help you today?
Thomas [3:21:13 PM]: I want to know if you cap bandwidth or block certain types of traffic.
Jason Jones [3:23:08 PM]: My understanding is that we do not cap bandwidth, but p2p and other especially heavy applications are monitored and violate our acceptable use policy.
Thomas [3:23:28 PM]: Why do they violate the AUP?
[3:24:04 PM]: The AUP says only illegal activity, business activity, and 24 (or close) hour unattended usage
[3:24:40 PM]: Why would using BT to download Ubuntu be against the AUP?
[3:25:02 PM]: It's not listed.
[3:25:35 PM]: Are you going to ban anything else arbitrarily? Like gaming?
[3:26:10 PM]: How can I sign a contract if you're going to ban things willy-nilly and allow yourselves to change the rules without releasing me from the contract?
[3:27:42 PM]: And when is this added "no peer-to-peer applications" going to be added to the AUP? Were you planning to inform your potential customers that you are intending to ban certain types of traffic in contradiction with FCC common carrier rules?
[3:27:53 PM]: Is VoIP next?
Jason Jones [3:28:15 PM]: If you have detailed questions on that AUP, you can speak with our Tech support team. They can be reached at [phone], menu option 3, seven days a week between 9am and 10pm your time.
Thomas [3:29:22 PM]: Well, I think you're going to lose a lot of customers over this internet neutrality violation