Comcast Fires Up WiMax In Philly

Comcast launched a high-speed wireless data service in its hometown of Philadelphia, provided through a deal with Clearwire, which the operator is pushing in a bundle with its TV, phone and wired broadband products. Philadelphia is the third market where Comcast has launched High-Speed 2go, after Atlanta and Portland, Ore. Clearwire, Comcast and Sprint are expecting to launch service in Chicago later this month and in the Seattle/Tacoma area in early December. Comcast is selling the WiMax-based service, advertised as providing up to 6 Mbps downloads, in two different plans: High-Speed 2go Metro for WiMax-only access; and the High-Speed 2go Nationwide package, which includes a 4G/3G combo card from Franklin Wireless to provide 4G service in Clearwire's WiMax markets where it's available plus access to Sprint's national 3G network elsewhere. Pricing starts at $30 extra for the High-Speed 2go mobile broadband for existing Comcast customers. Comcast's Fast Pack Metro bundle with 12-Mbps home broadband, a free Wi-Fi router and 4G service is $49.99 per month; the Nationwide upgrade is $69.99 per month. Sprint -- which also plans to offer WiMax service in Philadelphia -- owns 51% of Clearwire after combining its own 4G operations with Clearwire last year, and Comcast, Time Warner Cable, Bright House Networks, Intel and Google are also investors.