Black Hawk
Black Hawk SD Native / Yuma AZ Foothills
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Joined: 03/09/2002
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This could make things easer for rvers
Monday, Sprint will launch wireless WiMax services in Baltimore, marking the beginning of what could become a new era in mobile broadband.
The mobile data network — which will be marketed under the Xohm brand name — is designed to cater to the needs of laptop and home broadband users, not cellphone users.
Prices will start at $10 for a day pass, good for 24 hours of unlimited usage. Monthly service starts at $35. There are no contracts.
To use the service, Baltimore customers will have to buy a special WiMax "aircard" or modem, which cost about $45 apiece. There are also special launch discounts, including a $50-a-month plan that offers subscribers unlimited data usage for life.
Voice services will eventually be added, Xohm President Barry West says. For now, Xohm customers can easily use any Internet telephony service, such as Skype.The network, which provides a lot of bandwidth, can also handle high-definition video streaming, peer-to-peer file sharing and other capacity-guzzling applications, says Lee Mellon, a Sprint field technician who has been testing the WiMax network in Baltimore for weeks.
In Baltimore, Sprint is promising 2 to 4 megabits per second, though it says surfing speeds can rocket to 10 megabits or more, depending on the number and type of applications running. Conventional 3G wireless networks, such as the one AT&T uses to support the Apple iPhone, average about 1.4 megabits.
Such is the potential of WiMax, a powerful but so far largely unproven mobile technology, that it can, Sprint says, turn whole cities — or countries — into one, giant hot spot.
Eager to move things along, Sprint is merging WiMax assets with Clearwire, a small carrier backed by cellular entrepreneur Craig McCaw. Over time, they plan to turn the USA into a single, seamless surfing zone. The merger is expected to close by year's end. The combined company, which will be publicly traded, will be called Clearwire. Backers include Google, Intel and Comcast.
WiMax networks are under construction in Washington, D.C.; Portland, Ore.; Philadelphia; Dallas/Fort Worth; and Chicago. All are scheduled to be ready by early next year. By the end of 2009, 60 million to 80 million consumers are expected to have access to WiMax. By 2011, 200 million will, the companies predict.
One big obstacle for Xohm is that it will initially be limited to downtown Baltimore, says Roger Entner, senior vice president at Nielsen IAG.
If Sprint can prove its WiMax case, consumers could win big, says Shahid Khan, a senior partner at IBB Consulting: "They'll have better services and better devices at better prices."
* This post was
edited 09/29/08 10:04am by Black Hawk *
Safari Sahara 3550
250HP Cat 10+mpg
suzuki Grand Vitara
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EVDOalex
Dallas, TX
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Joined: 11/06/2007
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It sure will be better for RVers, but it may take a while before it has the coverage of cellular broadband services that have been around a while.
in case anyone is interested, i've made a larger composite of Maryland coverage map -> Baltimore, MD Xohm Coverage
* This post was
edited 09/29/08 10:34am by EVDOalex *
http://blog.rv.net/about/alex-sian/
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SCVJeff
Santa Clarita, CA.
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Joined: 07/28/2006
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They're still paying off the $5Bil 2GHz band move, and now, apparently up for sale. I wonder who is going to finance this?
Jeff - WA6EQU
'06 Itasca Meridian 34H, CAT C7/350
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bananadanna
Cambridge, MA
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Joined: 11/30/2005
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So you're wondering how a subscriber-losing cell service provider like Sprint is going to pull off a nationwide rollout of WiMax?
You're not alone.
But there was a deal back in May. Comcast and TimeWarner are going crazy trying to figure how to compete with Verizon and AT&T for their missing fourth element of cell service. And Google did not win the "open device" spectrum auction and wishes to remain a player.
I did hear that Google's arm had to be twisted very hard since consortiums have been woefully unsuccessful in joint comm ventures. But, hey, what's half a billion to Google?
We shall see. No one would benefit more than the rv crowd since it represents broadband speeds without a cable.
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