A Look at Clearwire's WiMAX Offering

By Jay Greene

To use Clearwire's current service (ranging from $30 to $50 a month),
you just set up a nine-inch-high modem and plug it into the Ethernet
jack on your PC. This one box is all you need for full Net access --
say goodbye to DSL or cable-modem charges and wires -- and it will
work anywhere in the city.

If you're fortysomething or older, like me, you probably remember the
thrill of getting your first home dial-up connection to the Net. Then
came broadband, which was pure magic. And then Wi-Fi, which delivered
fast Web access throughout the home, as well as in cafes and airport
lounges. Now I'm completely spoiled. I want my Internet wherever I
happen to be.
An emerging technology called WiMAX aims to indulge that craving. It
will eventually provide Web browsing speeds many times faster than Wi-
Fi and a gigantic range that will keep you permanently connected to
the Net -- at home, in your car, in a city park, or on the beach.

The new WiMAX standard won't be ready for prime time until early next
year. But you can get a taste of what's coming if you sign up with
Clearwire, a Bellevue (Wash.) startup from Craig McCaw that's
available in 43 markets including Seattle, where I live.

This WiMAX-lite service is disappointing in some ways. For updates on
Wifi logon to www.knowingabout.com/wifi. But Clearwire will start
upgrading subscribers to the real thing next year, and it is also
planning to roll out a nationwide WiMAX network in a joint venture
with Sprint Nextel. If it addresses a few early glitches, it's bound
to have tremendous appeal.

Location, Location, Location

To use Clearwire's current service (ranging from $30 to $50 a month),
you just set up a nine-inch-high modem and plug it into the Ethernet
jack on your PC. This one box is all you need for full Net access --
say goodbye to DSL or cable-modem charges and wires -- and it will
work anywhere in the city, as long as you have a power outlet for the
modem. No more searching for a Wi-Fi hotspot: The signals are
everywhere.

Well, almost everywhere. In this proto-WiMAX system, there are dark
spots, and my home at the bottom of a gully, surrounded by hills,
trees, and other houses, happens to be in one. A row of five lights on
top of the modem indicates signal strength, and the best I've ever
gotten at home is two out of five. Two lights turns out to be fine for
e-mailing and other basic tasks. In VoIP sector things are getting
better, for further logon to www.knowingabout.com/voip. But video and
graphics-rich Web sites are sluggish, so check with Clearwire before
making a commitment.

Things picked up when I tested the technology at work on the 19th
floor of a Seattle office building. I got five lights out of five, and
the experience was just like surfing the Web on my high-speed cable
connection at home. Out of the dark zone, Clearwire was fast enough
for me to catch episodes of the British car show Top Gear on YouTube
and listen to a buddy's guitar music on MySpace.

And I had no problem using Clearwire's voice-over-Internet phone
service, which carries an additional monthly charge. There has been
some subscriber grumbling about Clearwire's restricting network speed
for heavy users during peak hours, but I haven't had that problem.

On the Road

The next step was to take Clearwire around town. This is a bit of a
nuisance because you have to lug the modem with you and find a power
outlet -- or purchase a separate car adapter and a 12-oz. battery
pack.

I didn't bother with that. Instead, I took my gear to a nearby
Starbucks, plugged it in, and enjoyed surfing the Web without having
to pay the usual Wi-Fi fee. I did have to tweak the settings on my
laptop to turn off the radio that receives wireless signals so it
would default to the Clearwire service -- but that's not a big deal.
And in the next few months, Clearwire will sell a card that slips into
a laptop to receive its signal, so you won't need to tote the modem.

Clearwire isn't all it can be, especially if you live in a dark zone.
But for folks who want to get out from under their cable or telephone
company, it offers a dependable alternative that will get much better
when real WiMAX finally arrives.

Source : www.knowingabout.com/wimax