Service plans begin at $30 a month.
Syracuse gets 4G mobile Internet service today, a technology that brings high-quality video and other perks of a fast Internet connection to laptops, cell phones and other mobile devices.
Clearwire Corp. will announce today that it has upgraded to so-called fourth-generation wireless service — 4G for short — in the greater Syracuse area. Central New York becomes one of 44 U.S. markets where Clearwire has introduced the technology.
The company’s 4G mobile Internet service features average download speeds of 3 to 6 megabits per second, roughly four times faster than many 3G networks, company officials say. Customers should see the difference when they download videos or play complex computer games.
“Video is one of those applications where you really see the difference,” said Christopher Comes, speaking for Clearwire.
The company offers service plans starting at $30 a month for home use, $40 for mobile use and $55 for home and mobile use.
Sprint Nextel Corp., which is the majority owner of Clearwire, offers 4G service to its customers using the Clearwire network. Time Warner Cable, another investor, also markets the 4G service.
Clearwire’s service also is available from retail outlets such as Best Buy and Radio Shack, or by contacting Clearwire directly at 1-877-499-6681.
Clearwire has built its fourth-generation wireless network using a technology called WiMAX. Many laptops come WiMAX-enabled. For those that don’t, Clearwire sells devices customers can use to connect to the network. By the end of the year, Clearwire will begin offering 4G wireless phones as well, Comes said.
Clearwire's coverage extends roughly from Baldwinsville to Fayetteville and from Brewerton to Cortland. The company also has service in Auburn.
Other wireless companies, including Verizon Wireless and AT&T, are planning 4G networks that use a technology called long term evolution, or LTE. Verizon plans to offer LTE service — with average download speeds of 5 to 12 megabits per second — in at least 25 markets by the end of the year, said John O’Malley, speaking for the company. O’Malley could not say whether Syracuse would be in that first group.
T-Mobile USA, meanwhile, offers a souped-up 3G service in Syracuse and other markets that is “capable of delivering 4G speeds,” the company says. According to T-Mobile, independent testers have clocked its 3G downloads at 5 to 8 megabits per second.
Clearwire has offered a “pre-WiMAX” wireless Internet service in Syracuse until now. Existing customers will receive letters soon informing them how they can switch to the 4G service, Comes said.