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55 Comments
- inactive, on 11/12/2007, -0/+7I hope someone can get behind this and make it happen eventually.
- praufet, on 11/13/2007, -0/+7I've never understood why car makers just don't start installing repeaters in vehicles. You'd have a full network in a few years.
- inactive, on 11/12/2007, -0/+7I think the government should keep their hands out of the cookie jar. There needs to be competition in order to drive prices down and innovation up, that's just not going to happen in the United States at this point though Google seems to have a half-way decent idea with the 700MHz spectrum. We're being strangled by ourselves, no doubt about it.
- holiday, on 11/12/2007, -2/+8Who said anything about free???
- saifatlast, on 11/12/2007, -0/+5What in the hell are you talking about?
- schuchwun, on 11/12/2007, -0/+3already got WiMax in Toronto thanks to Rogers and Bellus.... Wimax is known as portable internet from those companies........
- superdog87, on 11/12/2007, -0/+2The government don't need to step in. That is the problem. Everyone looking for a handout. All this would lead to is more privacy invasion. With the government owning it. Their is no chance at all you will not be watched.
- ShrimpCrackers, on 11/13/2007, -0/+2Eventually? The 'Telco's' in America are perfectly content with Japan or some other country getting all the latest technology for their consumers, as long as its not Americans. In America its cheaper to spend millions on misleading ads or lawyers than actually rolling out things that'll benefit their customers and bring the country forward.
PS: Read the free book Free Culture by Lawrence Lessig and enjoy. WiMax will come only if they could charge you an arm and a leg for it. Until then companies are perfectly happy with you being stuck with 3/3.5 G or very local and slow wireless for years to come. - blooboy, on 11/13/2007, -6/+8the government has no business in ventures like this......what's wrong with you "the government should do it" people? If you want to live in a socialist country where the government tells you what you're going to spend your money on (high taxes) then move somewhere else.
- hiphopjon, on 11/12/2007, -0/+2 i sure do hope so, that would be awesome!
- digitalhair, on 11/13/2007, -0/+2wow. I'm a shill because I support the expansion of affordable wimax for the consumer, provided by a small company and not a major corporation... I thought that's why people cared about it? who's the shill? maybe you should take a look at my profile history? and what exactly does inconsistent mean? "sometimes it's okay...the company still sucks," despite what I just said about enjoying the service.
Speedtest.net regularly shows 1.6-1.9 MB/sec when I'm paying for an advertised 1.5MB level of service. The problem with the complaints I see is that nobody points out where they are within the coverage area when they complain about speeds or connection issues. for example, right after I got service a coworker overheard me talking about Clearwire to a friend at lunch and his immediate rebuttal was that it sucked. When I asked him why it sucked he said he returned it during the 7 day trial period (money-back I think) because his house is right outside of his coverage area, but close enough for him to be interested because his only other option was dialup.
I don't even think my explanation mattered because he's one of those guys that doesn't give a ***** about how things work, but will monitor the performance of his internet connectivity with psychotic scrutiny to see if he's been duped. - slut, on 11/12/2007, -0/+2you have no idea what you're talking about.
- MikeFallopian, on 11/12/2007, -0/+2WiMax is definitely going to happen sooner rather than later. The recent failures of municipal WiFi plans show pretty clearly that a long-rance, high bandwidth solution is needed.
- Canuck, on 11/13/2007, -0/+2I would think that the salesperson changing the contract after you left the store is breach on their part which would allow you to get out of the contract early.
- causesofwealth, on 11/13/2007, -2/+3By the way, if you have ANY alternative available, try to AVOID CLEARWIRE, which some people call SCAMWIRE. The rep in their store falsified my contract by checking off boxes on the agreement after I left the store--fortunately I still have my carbon copy that is correct and true. They changed my service contract time without informing me explicitly (they think it's good enough to tell their customers to review the contract terms online regularly). The service can sometimes be quite fast, but it seems like when I need it it's slow as hell. Oh, and no p2p or gaming on their service. They shape bandwidth on p2p and the lag is unbearable for games. I can't WAIT until my contract is over.
- maciekk, on 11/12/2007, -1/+2Thanks for this comment. I was thinking about trying out Clearwire where I live, but I've been hearing stories similar to yours. I think I'll hold off. Sorry to hear you're roped in to a contract.
- guruofreason, on 11/12/2007, -0/+1So, since Sprint Nextel and Clearwire are ending their partnership, the future of WiMAX is in real jeopardy? Maybe I'm not getting the whole picture, but I can easily install a WiFi network in my home. Could us individuals do the same with WiMAX? Can I set up a WiMAX network? What is involved in doing so? If an individual can set up WiMAX the same way that WiFi can be set up, then I don't see what the problem is.
- digitalhair, on 11/12/2007, -0/+1one bad experience does not a service make. I have the standup modem and PC card for my girlfriend paying 79.99 per month and we both love being able to take our connection all over the city or on vacation. the sales rep told me the network operates via mesh networking, which prevents performance bottlenecking http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mesh_networking so I can honestly tell you I haven't had any problems while in the coverage area. I regularly contact my sales rep (I think we have a good one) who sends me Google Earth overlays showing me updated coverage. Clearwire is excellent, cheaper than the other guys, portable, and has potential to grow if more people sign up, so stop killing the dream. THE BEST WAY TO SUPPORT WIMAX IS TO GET CLEARWIRE SO IT CAN GET MORE CUSTOMERS TO JUSTIFY ITS EXPANSION. Otherwise, the big telcos will have their way and you'll just get more of the same.
Consider Clearwire the Ron Paul of ISPs (it's smart, it wants to reduce pricing and expand individual's access, it's including the interests of both rural and urban constituents, and by advocating for it, you're putting pressure on its competitors to to play by the same rules and transparent marketing philosophies). Like I said, help me expand my network by joining and convincing others to do the same. By the way, sorry your rep sucked...I've had a different experience... - sgtpppr, on 11/12/2007, -0/+1You'd think people would realize that the same people in charge of the war in Iraq and Hurricane Katrina cleanup are the same people they're asking to build a nationwide wifi system. It would work 10% of the time and be monitored and tracked 100% of the time.
- jayakamonty, on 11/12/2007, -1/+2There is too much ambiguity about what the next-gen Wireless technology will be, with WiMax and 4G the front runners. I think between the ISP's and the government they should be able to work out a business model. The government could provide the infrastructure, the ISP's could maintain it and the investment can be easily be recouped through sponsorships, advertising and plain old subscription to value-add services. Time for the powers that be to get their fingers out of their holes and give us a 21st century internet connection that reflects our internet needs. Our Demand far outweighs their Supply!
- smurfz, on 11/12/2007, -0/+1It would be nice but I dunno many companies that would wanna be paying the extra buck for a spiffy picture =
- wendelgee2, on 11/12/2007, -0/+1Who'd pick up the cost? How would you regulate it in order to make all cars compatible? Where is the benefit for car companies? (Wi-Fi in your car is pretty neat, I suppose.)
- digitalhair, on 11/12/2007, -1/+2brilliant idea! never heard that one... It's probably because you're the first to think of it.
a sad thought just occured to me, however. would wimax be the standard? wifi? EVDO? who cares, it's a big idea.
Thanks for the comment. - scbysnx, on 11/13/2007, -0/+1I don't think it should a government network for commercial access I was just talking about replacing paper mail with an electronic mail system using a wimax network, did you read my post?
- rockets, on 11/13/2007, -0/+1Well said. Dugg.
- Corrosionx, on 11/12/2007, -0/+1Wtf is wrong with you "government should do it" people? They never do anything right!!!
- Nate_LapT, on 11/12/2007, -0/+1WiMax is setup the same as a cell site. 800+ feet in the air on a tower.
- joshma, on 11/12/2007, -0/+1I really hope WiMax gets adopted widely...and that another repeat of Token Ring versus Ethernet doesn't happen...
- dark_helmet, on 11/12/2007, -0/+1Be;l has an unlimited data plan now, $75/month, still not cheep but its better
http://www.bell.ca/shopping/en_CA_ON/PrsShpWls_Rtp ...
and as schuchwun said, there is WiMax in Toronto, aswell as 123 other cities according to bell. - PRlME, on 11/13/2007, -0/+1Motorola and Intel have already invested alot into Wi-Max. I don' t think Wi-Max right now would be a smart move for any company because in 2010 the the G4(LTE) will come about. It won't make sense to invest in a technology that will only last 1 and a half years. I really would like Wi-Max but it doesn't look profitable.
- Jerim, on 11/13/2007, -0/+1Even the cheapest solution is going to run you at least $3k. That is before getting a tower, and data connection big enough to serve the equipment.
- Nate_LapT, on 11/12/2007, -0/+1WiMax is setup the same as a cell site. 800+ feet in the air on a tower.
- Jerim, on 11/13/2007, -0/+1I tried out some wi-max equipment last year. Even with the cheapest model, the money just isn't there. In order to compete with established technologies, you have to price it at or usually below cable and DSL. In order to make any money, you have to deploy it in urban areas, where there is much more interference, and much more competition. After we worked out the numbers, it would take us one year to make our money back on every customer, considering no problems. If a customer had just one problem, the support cost would wipe out another year's worth of profit. Another big minus is the almost complete lack of laptop cards. We were told that you have to offer "add-ons" to make money, such as voip or on-demand movies; all of which have additional startup costs. When you say wireless, people think of Wi-Fi and don't understand why they have to tote a box around. Factor in tower cost and it just doesn't make much business sense. As a few extra bucks on the side, maybe; as a self sustaining business, no.
- zeppo, on 11/12/2007, -0/+1If it wasn't for government intervention rural USA might not even have basic telephone service. As it is now with the de-regulation of the past decade or so some of the big telcos such as Verizon are talking about pulling out of rural america altogether. So it is better for society if the government does get involved in spreading high speed internet just like they did to the phone and electrical systems many years ago.
- Jerim, on 11/13/2007, -0/+1I agree, the money just isn't there. Of the three regional competitors who have started up wi-max networks in the last few years, not a single one has found a business model that works.
- Jerim, on 11/13/2007, -0/+1How you figure that the failure of wi-fi means wi-max must work? That is like saying that because my plan to build mansions and sell them to the homeless didn't work out, that just means that I need to build more expensive mansions and sell them to even poorer people.
- DiggDroog, on 11/12/2007, -0/+0Wouldn't the description make more sense replacing "but" with "and": "Sprint Nextel and Clearwire have called off their partnership to build a nationwide WiMax network, AND the break could spell trouble for the technology."
- causesofwealth, on 11/12/2007, -0/+0It would... if I was willing to pay court fees to fight it.
- scbysnx, on 11/12/2007, -1/+1I honestly believe that the government needs to start finding alternatives to the USPS, its expensive and losing money fast. A government wi-max network with mail centers in houses would be a great way to transition and would probably cost less than little trucks running around to ever house in the country. MAKE IT HAPPEN! oh and I hope xohm goes through, I want standards based non locked down portable internet!
- zouhair, on 11/12/2007, -1/+1Can Healthcare make it in the U.S.?
- causesofwealth, on 11/12/2007, -0/+0Like I said, the service is inconsistent. Sometimes it is okay. But the way Clearwire treats its customers is unforgivable. Go look at dslreports and read other people's experiences if you don't believe me.
Oh, and not that you're a shill, but another thing that pisses me off is I've seen quite a few Clearwire shills on different forums defending them.
I'm glad you had a good experience, but the company still sucks. - RIMberry, on 11/12/2007, -1/+1Sprint should just buy Clearwire, seriously.
- Thegnofbreland, on 11/13/2007, -0/+0Its to bad that the deal was broken. In the US everything is becoming more mobile, and we need to have faster wireless access to help with growth.
- ipzedge, on 03/25/2008, -0/+0I know of a company that will market 1.5 MB up and down 100% mobile or Fix all over cal this year for only $20 a month.
the company will cover all of cal. the company is going in to a IPO so i can't say anything
about the tech yet only the price - Third3y3, on 11/12/2007, -0/+0it could be a huge advertising tool for car companies that want to keep up with the times and the cost would be picked up by striking many deals between car makers, wireless providers, hardware providers, and advertsers. I would think all cars would not have to be compatible since they are only repeating the signal. The only real big problem i see with this is interference too many signals from different wireless co's operating at different bands.
- MikeFallopian, on 11/13/2007, -0/+0WiMax has a range that's orders of magnitude longer than WiFi. That means way fewer base stations, hence the infrastructure upgrade doesn't include installing wireless hotspots on every street corner.
- ipzedge, on 03/25/2008, -0/+0because the Internet will come through any blue tooth signal starting this year
- ipzedge, on 03/25/2008, -0/+0your wish will happen this year the first state to get wireless high speed will be Cal but the company is
targeting the foothills and mountains first because that is where the service is needed the most
it's not wi-max or any cell tech it's some thing 100% new to the market place and it's only $20 a month - b0rg, on 11/12/2007, -2/+1Ok, now that Messrs. Marx (both Groucho and Karl) have weighed in with their political insights, the decision might have had something to do with a perception that marketing this new service would have taken years, as consumers would find it confusing and the packaging of the service was a nightmare. Questions like, do you sell it like a cell network, where your device is tied to a particular bill? Do you make it usage-sensitive? If yes, you have huge price confusion.
There are some *very* cool apps for wimax in the pipeline, but they're still a couple years from going past something you'd peruse with interest on Gizmodo, to something you'd say "that's worth X dollars a month to me". - Downwiththedrum, on 11/29/2008, -1/+0I worked at a WiMax Company in 2006 in S.F. called Talava Wireless. You have no idea how simple it is to turn a normal T-Mobile antenna into a antenna that sends out miles of WiMax signal, the hard where it self is no bigger that your standard desk top tower. Unfortunately, the company went under and got bought out
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