Clearwire Communications has set the market launch of its Clear mobile WiMAX service in Las Vegas for July 21. Las Vegas will be the company’s third commercial market following rollouts in Portland, Ore., and Atlanta.
Clear customers can expect to see download speeds of 4- to 6 Mbps, with bursts exceeding 15 Mbps.
Chicago is scheduled to be the next city to get Clear, with Charlotte, N.C., Dallas/Ft. Worth, Honolulu, Philadelphia and Seattle to follow. Some of the markets planned to launch in 2010 include New York, Boston, Washington, D.C., Houston and the San Francisco Bay Area.
As a premier convention town, Las Vegas can be a demonstration market for mobile WiMAX for travelers from all over the country.
On the other hand, Las Vegas is the first of Clearwire’s markets that is not dominated by a financial backer and potential partner. Comcast, a Clearwire investor, operates in Portland and Atlanta and has become a reseller of Clear in the former city. Cox, which has elected to build its own cellular network, is going to be another competitor, just as all the other established cellular companies are competitors.