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By Mel Duvall
Mobile application developers in Silicon Valley began playing Tuesday with a new 4G WiMAX "sandbox." The new network, which covers 20 square miles in the heart of the valley, is being billed by Clearwire Communications as the largest 4G WiMAX application test environment.
The network is meant to be a precursor to commercial service in the San Francisco Bay area, but for now developers must qualify for Clearwire's developer program by describing the WiMAX development ideas they wish to pursue. If approved, they will be granted free access to the service until a commercial rollout. They will need to purchase a Clearwire WiMAX USB modem for $49.99.
"We see tremendous potential for true, mobile broadband to act as the catalyst for new and compelling Internet applications that leverage our 4G bandwidth, free of the confines associated with wired connections," Clearwire chief technology officer John Saw said in a statement. "Our goal is to harness the concentration of developer talent in Silicon Valley and accelerate the pace at which these disruptive services are being developed."
The rollout covers an area which encompasses the technology hotbeds of Santa Clara, Palo Alto, and Mountain View. It includes the campuses of Intel and Google -- companies which have commenced their own internal 4G application development programs. In the coming months, Clearwire said it will extend coverage to include Cisco's campus in San Jose.
Using the network, developers can expect to experience peak download speeds of 10 Mbps, with average download speeds of 3 to 6 Mbps, Clearwire said. In contrast, the average 3G wireless networks deliver download speeds in the range of 600 kbps to 1.4 Mbps. The WiMAX technology being deployed differs from the more familiar Wi-Fi used in Internet hotspots. WiMAX essentially provides service covering an area that can be measured in miles, as opposed to the much smaller limitations of Wi-Fi.
A number of communications companies are watching the Silicon Valley experiment closely. Clearwire said Time Warner Cable, Comcast, Sprint and Bright House are participating in the program.
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