<< Previous   of   Next >> SNOHOMISH COUNTY BUSINESS JOURNAL/M.L.DEHM  (click to enlarge) CLEAR's Area General Manager Tom Niva shakes hands with Everett Mayor Ray Stephan-son after a Jan. 15 ribbon cutting for the new WiMAX Internet service. Niva believes CLEAR is a great opportunity for the area's business owners and residents.

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Everett celebrates the arrival of CLEAR's new 4G mobile wireless broadband Internet service

By M.L. Dehm
SCBJ Freelance Writer

It's a concept that is exciting to many business professionals. CLEAR's new 4G WiMAX mobile broadband service helps people to work better on the go. Using this system, customers can connect their laptops, notebooks or netbooks to the Internet from virtually anywhere in the area to a system that is fast enough to stream flawless video.

“Virtually anywhere” means just that. The connection is wirelessly available whether the customer is at the park, waiting to pick up the kids after school or on the bus for a morning commute.

CLEAR users no longer need to search for a wireless hot spot to get connected. The 4G network is like a giant wi-fi hotspot that covers whole cities. That means business owners and their employees who are on the road can turn a vehicle into a mobile office anywhere within the large network area.

“You can have the same high speed that you have at home but always on the go,” said General Manager Tom Niva. “We're popping people's eyes open to the possibilities of what they can do on-the-go rather than what they can't do.”

Niva is the Everett area general manager for CLEAR. His office celebrated an official grand opening for the CLEAR 4G network debut in Everett on. Jan. 15. Mayor Ray Stephanson and members of the Everett Area Chamber of Commerce were on hand to help Niva and his staff cut the ceremonial ribbon.

“To me, it's really important for people to understand that CLEAR is coming to Everett,” Niva said. “During the tough economic times, a company like CLEAR, that is looking to grow and looking for new avenues for business owners, is taking these opportunities to Everett.”

This is important to Niva because Everett is where he grew up. He attended Everett High School and graduated from the University of Washington. After moving to San Diego, Niva boomeranged back to his old hometown as soon as the opportunity arose. He likes what CLEAR is bringing to the city.

What isn't always clear about CLEAR is what makes the 4G network so special. Obviously, wireless cards and wireless broadband have been around for a while. That part is nothing new.

The big difference with 4G is the amount of data that you can transmit, the speed at which it can be received and the size of the area that you can receive it in.

The 4G network gives the ability to transmit 3-4 times more data than the previous generation 3G network and at a much faster speed. For the consumer, that means not having continual “buffering” messages while trying to watch a Hulu, You Tube, or other streaming video. With 4G, customers see a seamless, non-stuttering stream.

On the day of the ribbon cutting, CLEAR staff set up laptops streaming wireless video in their parking lot to demonstrate the upgrade. No pauses, interruptions or buffering issues occurred.

This result was not due to the proximity of the CLEAR offices. The CLEAR 4G WiMAX area is gauged in miles, not feet. The new system has turned Everett and the surrounding region into a big wireless hotspot.

Users of the system aren't just tied to one city either. They can take their laptops to Seattle, Portland or any other place within the 27 market areas that CLEAR's 4G network serves to work at those same fast speeds.

There is one temporary drawback to the service. Not all regions have WiMAX yet. For those areas not yet upgraded to the 4G network, there is a 3G/4G mobile USB device that allows customers to use available 3G networks instead.

Another exciting development for CLEAR is that the company has been working with some big name corporations to see that 4G chips are embedded into many new products such as notebooks and netbooks. This would completely eliminate the need for USB antennas and other wireless connection devices. Some of these companies include Dell, Samsung and, more recently, Toshiba.

WiMAX-ready netbooks and laptops are already available at the CLEAR store online. There are a variety of name brands all with Intel chip technology already embedded. There are also USB devices, handhelds and other WiMAX-ready portable devices that customers might find convenient.

Another service offered by the company is CLEAR Voice telephone service. It runs over the same broadband connection and can make and receive local and long distance telephone calls without the need for a computer. CLEAR Voice does not interfere with web browsing and multiple phones can be run off of the adapter using a splitter.

A variety of CLEAR plans meet the needs of everyone from individuals and residential customers up to corporations.

Now the company just has to make consumers a little more clear about the difference between CLEAR and the more familiar name Clearwire. CLEAR is the name of the service. It is a subsidiary of the Clearwire Corporation.

For information about CLEAR, visit www.CLEAR.com.