ANTenna Blog -- Mobile

Clearwire has been the lone wireless carrier driving the WiMAX deployment. After a few snafus, the carrier seems to be gaining some traction and is expanding its services reach in Hawaii, Illinois, North Carolina, Texas, and Washington.

WiMAX was designed as a high-speed wireless networking option. While other services typically max out at 1Mbps to 2Mbps, WiMAX is able to support transmission rates from 3M bps to 6M bps – and in certain instances as much as 10M bps. Cell phones have become more powerful and are able to support a wider array of applications. Consequently, the higher speeds are needed to support bandwidth sensitive applications, such as VoIP calls or the streaming of video content.

Coverage has been an ongoing issue for Clearwire. The network expansion means that the company will be able to reach about 30 million potential customers by the end of the year. The carrier is taking a multi-pronged approach to delivering its service. The company markets its own service and also has been working with partners Sprint and Comcast to deliver services in its coverage area. Pricing plans for WiMAX service range from $50 to $70 per user per month, which are comparable to those from cellular carriers.

However, there are a few limitations with the service. While devices, such as laptops and cellphones, now come with integrated Wi-Fi and cellular connections, that is not the case with WiMAX. In most cases, users will need to purchase and install an adapter to access a WiMAX network. While growing at an impressive rate, Clearwire’s footprint is still much smaller than those found on cellular networks, which reach hundreds of millions of customers. Consequently, small and medium businesses need to determine how much their employees travel and may be out of Clearwire’s range. For those who will remain in the coverage area and willing to do a bit of work to make a network connection, Clearwire offers a relatively low cost, high performance wireless network option.