INQUIRER STAFF WRITER
Wireless competition is heating up in Philadelphia.
Clearwire Corp., which is partially owned by Sprint Nextel Corp. and cable giant Comcast Corp., flipped the switch two weeks ago on its 4G WiMAX service in Center City.
This next-generation service offers speeds similar to those of a cable modem for streaming Internet or video to cell phones and laptops on trains, buses, and cars, and in coffee shops.
Clearwire, in a "soft-launch mode," will likely blitz the region with advertising, marketing, and store openings in about a month, sources say. Other cities with the Clearwire WiMAX service include Baltimore, Las Vegas, Atlanta, and Portland, Ore. Besides Philadelphia, Clearwire expects to add Dallas, Chicago, and Seattle this year.
The Kirkland, Wash., company sells the service as Clear. A person in Philadelphia can order it now through Clearwire's Web site, company spokeswoman Susan Johnston said last week. Clearwire sells the service by the month or day. The day rate is $10 and monthly rates are $25 and $35, the company says.
Sprint will sell the same service as Sprint 4G, and Comcast has branded it as High-Speed 2go. Comcast did not say when it would begin selling 2go in the Philadelphia area, but previously the company said it would happen before the end of 2009. Comcast has invested $1 billion into Clearwire and considers the 2go product a core part of its evolving wireless strategy.
Verizon Wireless, one of the nation's largest wireless carriers, with 88 million subscribers, offers 3G and could have 4G service available in parts of the Philadelphia region in 2010, the company's executives say.
Verizon Wireless says it does not believe it is at a competitive disadvantage trailing the WiMAX product. "I know they have a cluster in Center City for WiMAX and the speeds are high, but it is a limited footprint" for the service, said Harry Martin, director of advanced technologies for Verizon Wireless in the Philadelphia area.
Verizon Wireless has announced that it will test its version of 4G in Boston and Seattle and then will begin offering the service in 25 to 30 markets in 2010. Verizon Wireless has not disclosed what those markets are. Executives note that Philadelphia ranks among Verizon Wireless' top wireless markets.
Verizon Wireless uses a competing 4G technology, called LTE, and the faster speeds would be overlaid on its current wireless network. Verizon Wireless says it has invested about $1.5 billion into the Philadelphia wireless network over many years.
Mario Turco, the local regional president for Verizon Wireless, said: "Our track record and our reputation with customers speak volumes."
This year, Verizon Wireless in Philadelphia is celebrating its 25th year. The division is based in Trevose, Bucks County, and employs 2,000. The division launched with basic phone service and in recent years has seen explosive growth in texting. Verizon Wireless says that Philadelphia-area residents send about 23 million text messages a day over its network. The messages are sent in Philadelphia, Bucks, Chester, Delaware, and Montgomery Counties in Pennsylvania, and Burlington, Camden, Gloucester, and Salem Counties in South Jersey.
Verizon Wireless is focusing on the customer experience and is not interested in exclusive deals, like the one that AT&T Inc. has with Apple Inc. for the iPhone. "We don't want to be labeled as a one-trick pony," Turco said. "The cell phone has become the consumer's third screen after the personal computer and the home television."
