Local Tech Wire
RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C. – Raleigh, Charlotte and Greensboro will be among the first cities in the country to gain access to faster wireless services known as from Sprint.
Sprint is promising delivery speeds of up to 10 megabits per second with an average downlink speed of between three and six Mbps. The network, which Sprint says is some three times faster than its own and competing 3G networks from providers such as AT&T and Verizon, is being built with WiMAX technology and in conjunction with Clearwire. 3G supports up to two Mbps speed.
The fourth-generation service is set to launch in Atlanta as well as Las Vegas and Portland, Ore. in August.
Sprint first launched 4G in Baltimore last year.
(To compare 4G vs. 3G, check ))
Other 2009 cities set to get 4G include Chicago, Dallas-Fort Worth, Honolulu, Philadelphia and Seattle.
Added to the 2009 rollout along with the three North Carolina markets in Sprint’s announcement this week were: Abilene, Texas; Amarillo, Texas; Austin, Texas; Boise, Idaho; Bellingham, Wash.; Corpus Christi, Texas; Killeen-Temple, Texas; Lubbock, Texas; Maui, Hawaii; Midland-Odessa, Texas; Salem, Ore.; San Antonio, Texas; Waco, Texas; and Wichita Falls, Texas.
Cities targeted for launch in 2010 include Boston, Houston, New York, San Francisco and Washington, D.C.
Sprint is rolling out a variety of hardware to support the 4G service, including mobile broadband routers.
