Clearwire 4G Launching Soon in NYC, LA

Clearwire has kinda-sorta launched 4G WiMAX in New York and Los Angeles, the company said in an e-mail on Monday.

The company is giving selected "early adopters" dual-mode 3G/4G modems, but warning that 4G isn't fully built out in either city, company spokeswoman Susan Johnston wrote.

Early adopters who want to try Clearwire's service will pay $35 for the first two months and $55 for each following month, with a two-year contract required. The company is making no promises as to when 4G will be fully available in the two areas, except to say that it will be by the end of the year.

Clearwire plans to open at least one retail store in the New York City borough of Queens this October, according to a gigantic green sign in the Queens Center Mall. And users may also receive additional coverage in areas Clearwire is currently building out.

"In addition, during this construction phase, owners of CLEAR 4G devices may also experience 4G coverage while traveling to other cities that Clearwire plans to launch commercially later this year, including: San Francisco; Tampa, Miami, and Orlando, Fla.; Nashville, Denver, Minneapolis, Cincinnati, Cleveland and Pittsburgh," the company wrote.

Sprint 4G service typically closely follows Clearwire's launches, as the two companies use the same network (and Sprint is majority owner of Clearwire.)

About Our Expert

Sascha Segan

Former Lead Analyst, Mobile

My Experience

I'm that 5G guy. I've actually been here for every "G." I reviewed well over a thousand products during 18 years working full-time at PCMag.com, including every generation of the iPhone and the Samsung Galaxy S. I also wrote a weekly newsletter, Fully Mobilized, where I obsessed about phones and networks.

My Areas of Expertise

US and Canadian mobile networks
Mobile phones released in the US
iPads, Android tablets, and ebook readers
Mobile hotspots
Big data features such as Fastest Mobile Networks and Best Work-From-Home Cities

The Technology I Use

Being cross-platform is critical for someone in my position. In the US, the mobile world is split pretty cleanly between iOS and Android. So I think it's really important to have Apple, Android and Windows devices all in my daily orbit.

I use a Lenovo ThinkPad Carbon X1 for work and a 2021 Apple MacBook Pro for personal use. My current phone is a Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra, although I'm probably going to move to an Android foldable. Most of my writing is either in Microsoft OneNote or a free notepad app called Notepad++. Number crunching, which I do often for those big data stories, is via Microsoft Excel, DataGrip for MySQL, and Tableau.

In terms of apps and cloud services, I use both Google Drive and Microsoft OneDrive heavily, although I also have iCloud because of the three Macs and three iPads in our house. I subscribe to way too many streaming services.

My primary tablet is a 12.9-inch, 2020-model Apple iPad Pro. When I want to read a book, I've got a 2018-model flat-front Amazon Kindle Paperwhite. My home smart speakers run Google Home, and I watch a TCL Roku TV. And Verizon Fios keeps me connected at home.

My first computer was an Atari 800 and my first cell phone was a Qualcomm Thin Phone. I still have very fond feelings about both of them.

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