Clearwire's WiMAX rollout rolls on: NC, WA, TX, IL and HI get lit
By Darren Murph 
posted December 1st 2009 10:36AM
posted December 1st 2009 10:36AM
Think LTE is the future? How's about the present? Clearwire is expanding its national footprint in a big, big way today by announcing WiMAX services in a slew of regions in a smattering of states. Starting today, 4G access can be found in both Honolulu and Maui, Hawaii, which effectively removes the last sane reason to not visit and / or relocate there. In fact, CLEAR is now available to 800,000 citizens of America's finest state, with service extending 1,759 square miles over Oahu, Maui, and Lanai. Moving on, residents of Charlotte, Greensboro and Raleigh, North Carolina can also buy in, right along with those folks in Dallas/Ft. Worth, San Antonio and Austin, Texas who mistakenly think their BBQ is superior. Closing things out, we've got new access throughout the Puget Sound area (including Seattle and King County, Pierce County, Kitsap County, and Snohomish County), not to mention a green light to hop on the 4G superhighway in the Chicago region. If you're anxious to ditch 3G, you'll find plans starting at just $30 per month.
Oh come on now, why is it that we Texans are mistaken about our BBQ superiority?
@dclutz Clearly you've never had BBQ from Lexington, NC -- only the finest in the world!
@dclutz
have u ever had true southern bbq liek is NC or south GA?
if u had then you would know
@DarrenMurph Eastern NC BBQ is better than Lexington-style. *ducks*
@dclutz
Apples and Oranges. Texas BBQ requires a BBQ sauce (and that sauce varies wildly from cook to cook) where other regions call anything cooked on a grill BBQ regardless of basting or seasoning. Both are good in their own right but only in Texas is it actually BBQ.
@(Unverified) Oh, yeah -- Eastern NC BBQ rules as well!
I think I can settle this. As a native Houstonian that has lived in Charlotte now for 10 years, man does the BBQ around here suck something awful.
@dclutz I have tried the BBQ in Memphis, KC, Dallas, Raleigh, etc. You haven't experienced BBQ until you've had Mesquite BBQ from Mesquite, TX. Bodacious BBQ in Tyler, TX is a close second.
Texas BBQ is the only BBQ period.
@ArhcAngel
To clarify: The rest of the country refers to BBQ as a sauce, not just Texas. In the Carolinas, Georgia, and Alabama (and eastern Tennessee) BBQ refers to a food, not a sauce.
To me, BBQ is a method of preparing pork. When referring to any other meat or sauce, we will specify such. If you're in North Carolina and you ask for BBQ you won't get a bottle of sauce, you'll get a plate full of pork.
And what wonderful pork it is. Boo to all naysayers!
@OriginalPrime
Let me clarify.
Texas is the only place in the world that makes BBQ.
The rest of y'all just make grilled chicken. :D
And WTF is up with shafting the Houston metro area out of WiMax??? We're the 4th largest city in the US. We should be a great candidate for it, despite the extra expenses of safeguarding the towers from my thug brothas. We can test out how well WiMax fares in extreme conditions!
We actually have more universities than D/FW. College students need their internets!!! D/FW sucks monkey balls. And they do not have enough universities to justify them having it.
I don't mind Austin having WiMax though.
@ArhcAngel Huh? Real Texas BBQ is served without sauce. Without. Not with. If you're in Texas and you get sauce on your meat, you'e doing it wrong.
@akw
indeed, the sauce just spoils the meat, the best BBQ is simple good quality beef, well cooked over charcoal not propane.
for me BBQ is not a sauce, it's the activity of grilling your meat outside on an open flame.
Why is DC still in the dark?
@d1hamby
Don't worry it's coming soon. I brought a 4G modem I borrowed up to Arlington for a convention and I was surfing with 3-5 Mbps.
@quadrain Under what service?
I was wondering what those ads in Union Station were all about today in Chicago. This seems like a great deal, might have to dump my vzw card for this
@wjr1985
If you are planning to use it in only the areas there is 4G coverage, do it! The speed will be way faster.
How dare you insinuate with your italics that Texan Barbecue is inferior to that of the Carolina's.
Good day sir!
@(Unverified) I prefer Texas BBQ to the Carolinas. Its a sauce thing, not down with the vinegar base.
Let's hope Sprint will be announcing a 4G phone soon. Rumors say sometime in 2010 I believe.
Maybe 4G Palm Pre?
@krische
Please, god no. I don't want a Pre with a battery life that's diminished further by a faster network. I'll hope for an Android phone (or WM 7). Outside of that, I won't be too optimistic.
Here is to the likely chance of Instinct 4G!! Yippee!...
@MLO
Yeah, a lot of the searching I have done speculates a 4G Samsung Android phone.
Are the called CLEAR or Clearwire? Now I'm confused...
@scoobydooby
Clear, formerly Clearwire.
@scoobydooby
Clearwire ->(transformation sounds) CLEAR
@scoobydooby Officially, Clearwire is the service provider, while CLEAR is the service it provides.
@scoobydooby They were "clearwire" and they're rebranding to "clear"
@scoobydooby
Clearwire is the company and Clearwire is mostly used for the 3G (Expedience service) while CLEAR is used for 4G (WiMAX service)
@scoobydooby
Clear as in there's no* signal at all.
*no to little. more on the no side. Fuck D/FW.
It's also live in parts of DC. Been using it for a while.
@triptych Where and which carrier/device? I'm in Arlington and often spend time in DC and Fairfax; would love to hop on the current closest thing to ubiquitous Internet.
+1 for the accurate BBQ reference. Eastern NC BBQ is hands-down the best.
@GoHeels I can't stand your favorite school, but I won't argue there. Eastern NC BBQ is truly amazing.
@DarrenMurph
There must be something in that sauce of yours that makes y'all hallucinate and think that your BBQ is the finest in the world.
Delirious bunch y'all are up there.
i wish they would expand thier offerings in GA im like 10 miles out form there service area :( They do do a good job of covering *most* of the big ass metor area that is ATL
Your 'idea' that Austin BBQ is not superior is only an indication that you are looking in the wrong places.
I hope they are going to add some more markets in the Midwest. Granted Chicago is the biggest city, I would like to see more in like Milwaukee, Minneapolis, Indianapolis, etc.
o'man i cant wait for them to come to nyc, once they do that i can switch from my present carrier to them.
You know what this means: surfing the internet on the beach at North Shore. Now if only the airfare was cheaper.
I signed up for Clear in Chicago, live in the middle of the city, and couldn't get a signal... still waiting on my refund
@redbenn They have a lawsuit pending for not giving back refunds
@redbenn
I just signed up in Portland and I'm going to be canceling my account today. It only works in my home when I open my windows-- the signal strength is pathetic.
Eastern NC (pulled pig with vinegar) is the ONLY BBQ. All that other stuff is ketchup on a string.
Also, Clearwire also has licensed a bunch of towers around US 64/I-95 recently - but not yet lit them up.
The bigger these guys get, the more interested I will be in canceling my cellular service and using sip.
I use sip all the time at coffee shops, my home and wherever there is a fast enough wifi (or wimax in this case).
At $30 a month, it would provide me with the data I need and voice connectivity!
Thankfully living in Seattle it's abundant. While I long for warmer climates, the connectivity in our city is just to drawing.
Now, I need to be able to connect to their service WITHOUT an extra card... just the wifi enabled device(s) I already have!
@thecolor I'm wanting to do the same thing. Looking at using a cradlepoint or clearspot router with an N900 and pre-paid T-mobile SIM for backup, or possibly with an N810 Wimax Edition. What device are you using for SIP calls? Inbound, too?
It's a shame that you people must belittle Texas BBQ just because your state/region isn't synonymous with the term.
@tcheramie
im sorry but texas bbq is not actually bbq they use beef
bbq requires either pork or chicken
@DefPoet
Clearly you have never had the pork ribs at The Salt Lick outside of Austin. Or the BBQ chicken at the City Market in Lockhart. Both in Texas and only slightly representative of the finest BBQ around.
Now, if I don't care about the taste of the actual meat and just want to wash my mouth out with vinegar, then I'll be sure to visit a "BBQ" establishment in NC.