Whether you love them or hate them, you have to be happy to see Sprint working on their 4G network. Today they announced that the Clear WiMax network is scheduled for expansion into “many” additional markets (their words not mine). This expansion will make 4G mobile broadband capability available to approximately 120 million people in the US by the end of 2010. Here’s a breakdown of where Sprint’s 4G is currently in operation, and where they have announced expansion:
The cities they have announced for 4G rollout this year so far are:
- San Francisco, CA
- Denver, CO
- Washington, DC
- Boston, MA
- Minneapolis, MN
- Kansas City, MO
- New York, NY
- Houston, TX
On a more personal note, I’ve had occasion to use Sprint’s 4G pretty extensively in Baltimore Maryland with both an Aircard and the new Overdrive mobile hotspot. It’s fast. Not just cellphone fast, but WiFi fast. In lab tests the hypothetical top speed is 40 Mb/sec, and I have seen it as fast as the advertised 10 Mb/sec in the real-world. Average speeds on the go are pretty darn good as well. A trip around Baltimore will average about 4.5-5 Mb/sec. That’s more than enough speed for mobile computing. I can only hope that if and when this technology finally makes it’s debut on a cellphone, it’s speed and reliability is comparable.
Combined with the rumor mill cranking out info about the HTC SuperSonic, this might be a big hint that 4G phones are just around the corner. [Sprint]