A quick refresher: Net neutrality is, simply, the principle that all data gets treated the same by an ISP or service, whether it's incoming email or HD videos of dudes getting socked in the nuts by a 4-year-old on YouTube. A real-world example of very non-neutral behavior would be what got Comcast slapped by the FCC: specifically sabotaging torrents.

Theoretically, this could go beyond policing piracy, for instance if, say, Time Warner competitively blocked or slowed down Hulu, or if Verizon struck a deal with Google to give its data priority over traffic from Bing, so people using Google would get a way better experience than people using Bing. Streaming video is a not-so-coincidental theoretical example, since the explosion of video traffic is what the ISPs say is swallowing up all of the internet.

The end result of the threat of government-mandated net neutrality regulations for ISPs was a mixed "win" for consumers: AT&T, Comcast and Time Warner all responded with monthly data caps on their internet service in at least some of their markets. (Comcast limited it in all markets.)

As for the FCC telling ISPs to be more explicit about network management practices, Comcast started straight-up telling people heavy internet users would have their entire connections slowed down. While they suck for consumers, these are all "net neutral" practices, since no particular kind of data is discriminated against. The net neutrality debate fizzled down, though in some ways people were worse off than before.

With a new president, comes a new FCC chair, Julian Genachowski. Unlike his predecessor, who regularly reamed the cable industry but was a little too snuggly with the telecoms and against "hard and fast" net-neutrality rules, Genachowski is all about rules for everybody. Including the wireless carriers.

As you're probably well aware, mobile broadband is treated way differently than the internet that's piped into your house. It's considered fragile. There's far less of it to go around, with a less developed infrastructure and limited wireless spectrum to use. The rules for using it are tighter, like dating a nun. Restrictions abound, like no p2p. You don't want the network to break, after all. That's why, for instance, AT&T previously blocked Skype and SlingPlayer from running on 3G on the iPhone—and continues to block Sling—and why Apple rejects every torrent app that even tries to cross into the App Store.

In the past weeks, Genachowski has made it clear that he thinks that should change, that openness should "apply to the Internet however accessed." He's not saying they shouldn't be able to manage the network to make sure it runs smoothly, to be clear. But if you were scratching your head about why AT&T conceded and opened their network up to VoIP on the iPhone, look no further than this nugget from Genachowski, from a speech he gave three weeks ago:

We've already seen some clear examples of deviations from the Internet's historic openness. We have witnessed certain broadband providers unilaterally block access to VoIP applications (phone calls delivered over data networks)..."

AT&T very much does not want the government to tell it how to run its networks, particularly the mobile one. AT&T Mobility CEO Ralph de la Vega this week responded pretty clearly to the FCC's plans:

"Before we begin ‘fixing' what isn't broken, we need to be thoughtful about the consequences. We believe the marketplace today is vibrant, and there is no need to burden the mobile Internet with onerous new regulations."

So what's going to happen?

Well, the FCC is clear about what it thinks. This week, at a wireless telecom conference, Genachowski reiterated that net neutrality should apply to mobile broadband too. If those regulations pass, we'll likely see the same thing we saw with the landline providers: Caps (not just on 3G cards like there are now) and "transparent" network management. Goodbye unlimited mobile broadband like the iPhone has. You will pay for every ounce of data that you use. And if you're "crowding" the network by downloading a bunch of stuff, you're gonna get slowed down because that's the easy "net neutral" way to keep users in check. How much better is that, really?

So iPhone users, enjoy your "unlimited" wireless connections now. Pay-per-byte data—for both wired and wireless broadband networks—may well be the road we're going down. Verizon is the last major landline broadband provider who has held back from capping or throttling its services (looove my FiOS), but even its CTO says that eventually, "we are going to reach a point where we will sell packages of bytes."

Hopefully those packages will come cheap.

Clearwire Introduces CLEAR(TM) 4G WiMAX Internet Service in 10 New Markets

Super Fast Mobile Internet Service is Available Today in Boise, Idaho; Bellingham, Wash.; and Eight Texas Markets, Including Abilene, Amarillo, Corpus Christi, Killeen/Temple, Lubbock, Midland/Odessa, Waco and Wichita Falls

Local Market Celebrations Scheduled to Take Place Throughout the Fall

Company Also Outlines Plans for Broadband Stimulus Initiative

KIRKLAND, Wash.—(BUSINESS WIRE)—Sep. 1, 2009— Clearwire Communications, LLC, an operating subsidiary of Clearwire Corporation (NASDAQ:CLWR), today officially launched its CLEAR 4G WiMAX service in 10 new markets, expanding CLEAR's super fast mobile Internet service area to a total of 14 markets and over 10 million people. Effective today, these markets, including Abilene, Amarillo, Corpus Christi, Killeen/Temple, Lubbock, Midland/Odessa, Waco and Wichita Falls, Texas; Bellingham, Wash; and Boise, Idaho, officially offer consumers and businesses access to the Internet wirelessly at true broadband speeds ─ at home, in the office, and on the go anywhere in the CLEAR coverage area.

"CLEAR combines two of the most exciting technological advances of our generation ─ mobile communications and the Internet ─ in order to free our customers to take their rich home or office broadband experience with them anywhere around town or on the go," said Mike Sievert, Chief Commercial Officer for Clearwire. "Our 4G WiMAX network provides a valuable new category of Internet service designed to make people's lives more enjoyable and more productive by giving them access to the connections, information and resources that matter most, wherever they happen to be."

A CLEAR Difference

Unlike other wireless services, CLEAR delivers a mobile broadband Internet experience on par with speeds typically experienced only on wired connections, like DSL. CLEAR customers can expect to see average download speeds of 3 to 6 mbps with bursts over 10 mbps.

The CLEAR customer experience is similar to that provided by Wi-Fi, but without the short range limitations of a traditional hotspot. CLEAR uses a 4G technology that differs from Wi-Fi called WiMAX, which provides service areas measured in miles, not feet. In these markets, the Clearwire network utilizes an area-wide WiMAX radio system from Motorola.

As the Internet integrates deeper into daily life, the opportunities to stay connected and be productive are enhanced by CLEAR in numerous ways, for example:

* A busy parent who wants full Internet connectivity for kids studying or playing games in the back of the family minivan;
* A college student or retiree looking for one affordable Internet service provider to meet their needs at home, on campus and on-the-go;
* A mobile professional who is unsatisfied with the speeds and limitations of 3G modem cards or the need to seek out Wi-Fi hotspots;
* A local transportation service looking to provide in-vehicle Internet service for their clients;
* A commuter interested in accessing entertainment sites like Hulu or Pandora on the ride home.

For these and many other customers, CLEAR's simple and innovative pricing provides ultimate flexibility. CLEAR's mobile and residential plans can be purchased by the day or by the month, with several no-service-contract options available. Home Internet service plans start at $25 per month; while mobile Internet plans start at $35 per month, or customers can purchase a convenient mobile day pass for $10. For a limited time, customers can also choose the Pick 1 Unlimited plan option; offering an unlimited home or mobile Internet for $22.50 for the first 3 months and $45 per month thereafter. Customers can find full details about pricing options, business plans and purchase the service online at www.clear.com, or by visiting numerous retail locations throughout these markets, or other authorized CLEAR dealers.

Simply Plug-In and Go

CLEAR offers several simple choices for broadband connectivity.

* Clear USB Modem and Clear 4G+ Mobile: Mobile users simply plug-in one of CLEAR's compact, mobile WiMAX-enabled USB modems into their laptop to get online. Customers have a choice of a 4G-only modem, or a Clear 4G+ mobile USB, a dual-mode (4G/3G) modem from CLEAR with the capability to deliver to the truly mobile user access to Sprint's nationwide 3G network service whenever the Clear 4G service is not available. Pricing for modems start at $49.99, after instant rebate, or may be leased beginning as low as just $4.99 monthly.
* Residential data & voice services: For residential service, CLEAR offers customers a wireless high-speed modem, about the size of a small book. Customers simply plug the modem into a power outlet anywhere in their home or office and connect the modem to their PC or wireless router. This enables consumers and businesses to install high-speed Internet service without the need to schedule an appointment, drill holes in their walls, or otherwise disrupt their day. The Clear Modem, a residential modem from Motorola, can be purchased for $69.99 or leased for just $4.99 monthly. Residential customers can also add in-home voice service with purchase of the Clear Voice Adapter for $15, and receive unlimited local and long distance service for just $25 per month.
* Clear Spot: With the Clear Spot, any existing, off-the-shelf Wi-Fi device (compatible with 802.11b/g) can connect to Clearwire's 4G WiMAX network. The Clear Spot creates a personal Wi-Fi hotspot that travels with consumers anywhere they happen to be within CLEAR's mobile WiMAX service area. This $139.99 device is a portable, battery-powered router that seamlessly connects up to eight standard Wi-Fi-enabled devices (computers, mobile phones, portable gaming, consoles, cameras, etc.) to the Internet via a Clear USB modem to access CLEAR's mobile WiMAX network. The Clear Spot is compatible with both the Clear 4G and Clear 4G+ mobile USB dual-mode service options.
* Intel Embedded WiMAX Laptops: Numerous CLEAR-compatible embedded WiMAX laptops based on Intel® Centrino® 2 processor technology are now available directly from their manufacturers and through other channels. From Dell, these include the Studio 17, Studio XPS 16, Latitude E4300, Latitude E6400, Latitude E6400 ATG, Latitude E6500, Precision M2400, Precision M4400 and Vostro 1220. From Fujitsu, this includes the LifeBook P8020. WiMAX-ready laptops from Lenovo include the ThinkPad line: SL400, SL500, X200, X200s, X200 Tablet, X301, T400, T500, W500 and W700. From Samsung, this includes the X460 notebook as well as the NC10, the first WiMAX-enabled netbook based on the Intel® Atom™ processor, available in the U.S.
* Samsung Mondi: The Samsung Mondi, a mobile WiMAX-enabled handheld device that combines the abilities of a PC with the size and portability to carry around in your pocket.

Upcoming Launch Events

Clearwire will host a number of consumer events in the newly launched markets throughout the fall to give the public an opportunity to experience CLEAR's advantages firsthand through a series of mobile WiMAX demonstrations. In addition, attendees will also have opportunities to win prizes, including CLEAR product discounts and other merchandise.

Clearwire Communications, LLC, an operating subsidiary of Clearwire Corporation, (NASDAQ: CLWR) today announced the official launch day of CLEAR™ 4G service in Boise, Idaho; Bellingham, Wash.; and eight markets throughout Texas, including: Abilene, Amarillo, Corpus Christi, Lubbock, Midland/Odessa, Killeen/Temple, Waco and Wichita Falls will occur on September 1, 2009.

For the vast majority of you who don't live in one of these places, take heart—even if these aren't your small-to-mid-sized cities, they are still small-to-mid-sized cities. In other words, the Wimax rollout is moving along in earnest, which is absolutely a good thing.

The third quarter looks like mostly little cities and towns, with WiMax only coming to some more major cities (Philly, Chicago, Dallas/Ft. Worth) toward the end of 2009. Still absent from the list are NYC, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Houston, Phoenix, and Washington, DC, among many others, but those are rumored to show up next year. It's good to see Sprint's plan for 4G coverage really moving forward, and here's hoping they can stick to this schedule (and maybe bump San Francisco up to this year? Please?). [Engadget]

Sprint, which owns a 51% stake in Clearwire, says it will offer 10Mbps download and 3-6Mbps upload speeds in those three cities, which is a pretty sweet deal for Sprint customers. Now come on, Clearwire: make good on your promise and blanket the country with sweet 4G action. [mocoNews]

This is only a rumor of course, but it does back up earlier talk of a tri-mode WiMax / CDMA / WiFi device from Sprint supposedly set to be released between now and 2010. So maybe Android lovers can get their hopes up a little bit to see 4G handsets in the near future. [PhoneNews]

We've seen plenty of in-car PND/PMP/entertainment systems before, but the concept has always been flawed: either you had to carry around some kind of portable media, in the form of disks or flash storage, or you had to maintain a media library just for your car. Pioneer's nameless concept is essentially just a streaming client, which taps into your full media library at home.

Such a device will be more attractive when WiMax—or LTE—coverage is a little more complete and contiguous, but if you live in one of the lucky few markets that has decent access, it could be fantastic. No word on availability or price, yet. [Digi-Info via Electric Pig]

First, a direct translation: AT&T's upgraded (or more accurately, upgrading) 3G network claims data download rates of 7.2 megabits per second. Though that's the lingo used to describe bandwidth, it's important to remember that those are not megabytes. AT&T's impressive-sounding 7.2 megabits would yield somewhere closer to .9 megabytes (900 kilobytes) per second, and that's only if you're getting peak performance, which you never will because...

That 7.2Mbps is theoretical, and due to technical overhead, network business, device speed and overzealous marketing, real world speeds are significantly lower. UPDATEDEven looking at the old hardware on the current 3G network—the networking guts in your iPhone 3G is technically capable of reaching the 3.6Mbps downstream that AT&T's network is technically capable of pushing. There are lots of reasons you don't ever see that. For one, it's limited to 1.4Mbps to preserve battery life—the faster you download, the faster you burn that battery. Another is congestion—all the a-holes watching YouTubes around you—and backhaul—the amount of pipe running to a tower, or more English-y still, the total bandwidth the tower has available. Another is proximity—the closer to the tower you are, the faster your phone is gonna fly. So for top speeds, you should sit under a deserted tower with plenty of backhaul.

As you can see on our chart above, our tested speeds for everything from EV-DO Rev. A to WiMax ran at anywhere from one half to one sixth their potential speed. Accordingly, Jason found AT&T's network to run at about 1.6Mbps with the iPhone 3G S—about a third faster than with the 3G, though he was probably still connecting at 3.6Mbps rates—the 7.2 rollout won't be complete until 2011, according to AT&T.

AT&T-style HSDPA is expected to reach out to an eventual theoretical speed of 14Mbps, which will undoubtedly make the current 3G networks feel slow, but won't necessarily blow them out of the water. That's the thing: the iPhone, and indeed just about all high-end handsets on the market today, operate at speeds that are reasonably close to the limits of 3G technology. In a funny sort of way, the iPhone 3GS is already a bit out of date.

So what's next? And what the hell are those really long green bars up there? Those are the so-called 4G (fourth generation) wireless technologies. Americans can ignore HSPA+ and EV-DO Rev B. for the most part, and given that they're the slowest of the next-gen bunch, shouldn't feel too bad. And anyway, as Matt explained, WiMax and LTE are what's next for us.

Both Verizon and AT&T are within a couple of years of deploying LTE in their networks, and WiMax is already out there in some cities. Our own WiMax tests on Clearwire's network peaked at an astounding 12Mbps—nearly eight times faster than the iPhone 3GS on AT&T. And even if WiMax is shaping up to be more of a general broadband protocol than a cellular one, this is the kind of thing that'll be in your phones in a few years, and the promises are mind-boggling: earlier this year, Verizon's LTE were breaking 60Mbps.

So in short, your brand-new, "S"-for-speed iPhone is pretty speedy—as long as you only look to the past.

For all the miraculous things we're able to do with phones now—tell 600 Twitter followers unpleasantly intimate details of our lives, for instance—it's amazing what's still missing: Universally excellent reception. Without enough bars, your phone becomes a shiny, useless brick. We've already explained how cell towers basically work. Now, we're gonna talk about how the invisible fairies who carry your voice and data between the cell site and your Moto RAZR actually do their jobs.

Okay, there are no fairies. Everything is actually carried on radio waves—ultra high frequency (UHF, as in the Weird Al movie) radio waves, to be precise. UHF refers to any frequencies between 300MHz and 3GHz, so Wi-Fi, your mom's cordless phone, your lame Bluetooth headset and other stuff all run on the broad UHF band. The thing about radio waves is that they're pretty easy to screw with, and UHF is no exception, despite the fact it has "ultra" in the name. Maybe if we had like, Chuck Norris Frequency, things would be different.

The Interference
You're walking around with a glorified walkie talkie. It's emitting radio waves, and trying to catch others that come from a tower. So a huge reason that you sometimes get a signal weaker than bodega coffee is stuff getting in the way. And the farther away from the cell tower your are, the more likely it is that stuff is gonna get in your way, even if the radio waves are strong enough to reach you.

Since the frequencies for cell service essentially travel in a straight line, you're screwed if you roll behind a big hill or building. Big obstacles are obviously trouble, but little obstacles cause huge problems too. Different materials have different effects on the radio waves, since they are subject to things like reflection and absorption. A building with lots of reflective metal on the outside is gonna have a crummy signal inside. Conductive materials have a tendency to absorb and weaken, (or "attenuate") the signal. (This is why you can't forge a phone completely out of aluminum.) Plants, while friendly to the earth, are not friendly to cell signals since they absorb the signal.

The Frequency
It also depends on what frequency you're rolling on. Today, Verizon and AT&T use 850 and 1900MHz. T-Mobile uses the 1700, 1900 and 2100MHz bands, mostly 1900. Nextel's iDEN network uses 900MHz, while Sprint's main network runs on 1900MHz with roaming on 800MHz. The Sprint/Clearwire WiMax network is higher up, at 2500MHz, aka 2.5Ghz.

The reason the 700MHz is such hot property for AT&T and Verizon's upcoming high-speed 4G LTE deployment is that lower-frequency signals travel farther and allegedly penetrate some materials better using the same power as a signal on a higher frequency. This is why LTE is suitable for rural broadband deployments.

(Significantly higher frequencies actually do penetrate certain things better at close range and with more power, so this whole discussion can quickly turn into a headache factory if you let it.)

AT&T is currently shifting a lot of their 3G to 850MHz for better penetration after everyone with an iPhone cried about their crappy reception. So being on a lower frequency potentially poses a better chance to have a more solid signal.

Needless to say, the more noisy a particular frequency, the more trouble calls can encounter as well, so carriers have to manage their bandwidth like freeway designers, to avoid the congestion that also contributes to dropped calls.

The Handoff
Handoffs (aka handovers) are another reason your order for a pizza with extra cheese might turn into one for extra grease, especially if you're flying down the highway at 60mph and your phone is wirelessly bouncing from cell tower to cell tower. All kinds of wonky things, like ping-ponging between the two towers, can happen that'll result in a dropped call, especially if it's between two stations that aren't in line of sight.

The Backhaul
Okay, you say, but I have full bars goddammit. Explain that. Well, for one, full bars doesn't necessarily mean anything. There's no industry yardstick that translates the bars into actual information, but they all basically represent averages of signal strength over small chunks of time. But just because the signal strength is good, that doesn't mean the call's going through.

For starters, there are only a finite number of calls a cell tower can handle, which varies depending on the demands of the phone or wireless modem. As calls come in, they are juggled by the tower, then routed through a wired connection (or occasionally a powerful wireless connection) to the greater telecom infrastructure. This is called backhaul, and it can be a bottleneck.

Assuming you're all good, with a fantastic signal and a lock on the tower, but still, your Yelp reviews aren't flowing like they should. Don't forget, at some point, like any dial-up or cable modem, your cell data requests have to compete with everything else on the internet. Even calls are so digitalized these days, their "packets" of data can be interrupted by unknown internetty forces.

The final lesson there? The fatter the hard pipe, the more data it can handle—fiber is the best, obviously, but most towers still use an array of T1 lines. And that bottleneck, as Om pointed out last year, could be mobile broadband's biggest roadblock. Assuming you get past all those other roadblocks.

Still something you still wanna know? Send any questions about cellphones, hotlines, or Jason Chen's pants to tips@gizmodo.com, with "Giz Explains" in the subject line.

The $140 thing fits in your pocket, runs for four hours on a lithium-ion battery, connects up to 8 laptops via Wi-Fi, and works like a charm when you're in a decent WiMax coverage area. (You still need to connect a WiMax modem, which costs $50 and requires a data plan.)

I tested it on the outskirts of Portland, at a Burgerville right off of I-5 in Vancouver, WA, essentially becoming a totally unwired, totally portable wireless hotspot for anybody with a computer or smartphone in the vicinity. Anyone can see the hotspot itself, as it has a standard Wi-Fi SSID, but once on, you have to enter a password, like you do in hotels or airports where the Wi-Fi network itself is technically public.

I can't make enough of the experience, and how much it could change businesses, sales forces or mobile bloggin' teams like Gizmodo. You don't even have to be plugged in, you can just all hop on and work as usual for up to four hours, more if you can find an electric socket. And with WiMax, you're not nearly as limited as you are with 3G—though there are some constraints, you at least have access to a network that, in certain coverage areas, bestows blistering broadband speeds similar those from today's wired cable modems.

One big constraint, of course, is that WiMax from Sprint/Clearwire is currently limited to Baltimore and Portland, OR, but is growing this year and next to many cities.

There is also an internal limit to how much WiMax bandwidth you can harness. Since the Clear Spot uses the same Motorola WiMax USB modem that Clearwire sells for its standard WiMax service, I could test how well the bandwidth was passed through.

• What I got when connecting an HP Pavilion dv4 Windows laptop to WiMax: Around 7Mbps
• What I got when connecting the same modem to the Clear Spot, then connected MacBook Pro via Wi-Fi: 3-4Mbps

That does certainly represent a bottleneck, and there's a reason for it: The wireless hotspot itself—which you might have seen under the brand Cradlepoint for a year or more—was designed for 3G, for whom 3Mbps downstream is a frickin' miracle. It has a gimped USB port that throttles bandwidth over 5Mbps.

Though that's a flaw, it's not a big deal when you consider most Clearwire WiMax plans will be sold with a 4Mbps cap.

Beyond the hardware bottleneck, my other complaints are relatively minor:
• There's no Ethernet port, so this can't fundamentally replace home broadband.
• In areas of low coverage, you get an error message saying the modem was not found, which is inaccurate.
• There's no good way to read WiMax signal strength on the device itself.

The good news for patient people is that, according to Scott Richardson, Clearwire's chief strategy officer, the company is exploring selling an unfettered WiMax account, so you'd get an experience closer to the one I got in my uncapped testing. Also, Scott tells me there will be another portable WiMax-to-Wi-Fi hotspot device available—probably in the fall—that's even smaller, and that wouldn't be restricted by the USB bottleneck.

This is one of those products that's totally niche but totally cool. Like, even if there are many people who are interested in getting WiMax, or better yet, a combo EVDO/WiMax modem from Sprint, I am not anybody would, at that point, also feel the need to share it with others. Maybe it's good for bringing your work-supplied modem home, or maybe it's a good way to split the cost of wireless modem service between a team of people who are always working together, on separate devices.

Regardless of all these scenarios, the fact is, it's a truly new experience, and hopefully something we see more of in the future. I would say this is one of hell of a reason for Big Cable to be shaking in its boots—that is, if only Comcast wasn't already part owner in Clearwire. [Clearwire Clear Spot release]

How They Work
Whether it's handling simple phone calls or 12Mbps WiMax data, cell sites are organized with more or less the same flow:

• A cellphone or modem radios the nearest towers, saying, basically, "I'm here!" When you make a call or logon, your phone then sends a message via radio that's picked up by the antenna array.

• A wire or fiberoptic line carries the call down to the wireless access point, connected to a multi-port switch.

• The call, along with many others, gets routed to a backhaul, usually down to an underground wired T1 or T3 line, but sometimes back up the mast to a powerful line-of-sight wireless microwave antenna. They resort to wireless either when they don't have a ground connection, or when the ground connection sucks.

• The incoming call or data comes back from the backhaul and up through the switch to the antenna, where it then hits your phone wirelessly, presuming your phone is still communicating with the same site. If you are moving, then there's a handoff—a new but more or less identical cell site transmits the data to your phone, once your phone checks in and says "I'm here."

All of this happens in the blink of an eye.

The Gear
Clearwire, who gave me the tour of the cell site during my WiMax test run, is a new company, only just now deploying their network, one that is only focused on data, and not on voice calls. This means they don't have a bunch of sites already established like other carriers (though their recent acquisition by Sprint may change this). But it also means their cellular gear is modern and compact compared to the others.

For instance, the carrier whose name probably starts with A keeps its gear in a bunker like the Endor moon one that Han Solo & Co. were trying to bust into in Jedi. The backup batteries must be enormous, because there's a sign on the door that says, "Danger - Corrosive Liquids - Wear Protective Equipment."

Clearwire, by comparison, has a high-school locker for its gear—one that is built somewhere else and just trucked to the location. You attach it to the on-site power, run lines and antennas up the mast, and either bolt the sucker to a cement foundation or to the side of a steel post, and voila, you are done. It uses two car batteries for its backup power—enough juice to last six hours and they don't have to wear a hazmat suit to service it. (It can also run off of a portable generator.)

In this particular site, the carrier whose name may start with a V had a set of three larger lockers, not the huge bunker that its competitor had, but a serious array nonetheless. As you probably guessed, each carrier locks up its own facility, so I wasn't at liberty to fully inspect the other guys' gear—or even confirm their identities.

Clearwire also runs skinny fiberoptics up to the top of the tower, instead of the thick insulated copper cables that the old boys' networks run. Again, this has more to do with newness than simple common sense, but it may mean cell towers could be a little slimmer in the future.

So what happens up top?
The real demystification was the antenna array itself. I for one did not know a lot about how things were set up, and now I know a tiny bit more, which I will share:

• The huge antenna masts can have multiple carriers, each with its own triangular platform and antenna array.

• The reason the platforms are triangular is so the 360-degree coverage can be split into 120-degree pie pieces, which—if you look closely—can be subdivided again into 40-degree slices for increased, pinpointed coverage.

• If there's a white disk-shaped antenna among the array, it means that the carrier has a line-of-sight microwave backhaul. Clearwire's can handle 80Mbps at the moment, but must be directly in line with another microwave antenna. (Speaking of fried nuts, I wouldn't want to stand between two of those.)

Don't forget to read our exclusive uncapped WiMax road test—featuring blistering wireless speeds!

It's hard to conceive of harnessing that much bandwidth wirelessly while sitting outside a shopping center, enjoying an unseasonably warm March day. It's almost a joke, being able to watch Jon Stewart ream Jim Cramer—streamed via Hulu—while sitting in the backseat of a Lincoln Navigator doing 60 on the freeway. Having reviewed gadgets for almost a decade, I sometimes have to fake excitement that I may not truly feel in my loins. But this is different—real, honest-to-God wireless broadband made me freakin' giddy, even if it didn't deliver peak speeds at every spot where I parked.

If most of what we review is a chunk of the present, WiMax is from the future. Thankfully, it's the near future.

The Test
Clearwire is a wireless data service now majority owned by Sprint (but with Comcast and others holding stakes). Currently it's got the Clear WiMax service in both Portland and Baltimore. In Portland, it sells mobile and home modems that can pull down up to 4Mbps, but you know from reading Giz Explains that WiMax is already capable of a lot more: It's the first 4G network that's actually up and running in the US.

Clearwire gave me a chance to see what WiMax was like without any throttling: I got a USB dongle that could pull down whatever was out there. That turned out to be, in some places, nearly 13Mbps downstream—the current speed of your typical cable modem, and about 10 times what wired broadband delivered just a few years back.

I trekked around Portland, OR for a couple of days, testing the boundaries of the WiMax network, and spot testing in different locations around town to see what I got. I used the Motorola USBw25100 WiMax dongle, connected directly to a very sweet, very pimped-out HP Pavilion dv4 notebook that I borrowed for the occasion. (At the moment, there's no Mac driver for the WiMax modem, but as you can imagine that's in the works.)

As a helpful comparison, I used a 3G dongle from Verizon Wireless. I want to be clear that this isn't to be read as a test of Verizon's Portland network. However, that little USB modem held its own amazingly well, 3G beating 4G on a few occasions—at one point reaching a top speed of 3.3Mbps—so good on you, Verizon!

The tests were fairly simple, and resembled the ones we used for our Coast-to-Coast 3G Test last fall. I ran the Speakeasy Speed Test a minimum of five times in each location with each connection, then averaged those results. I loaded a very heavy page—the Wikimedia Commons Hubble Images page—at least five times, timing the pageload with the YSlow plug-in for Firefox. And I pinged local servers in three sets of 10 to determine latency. I chose locations based on their overall geographic variety, throwing in some locations that just made sense for me to visit, like my in-laws, and the family of my buddy Tom.

Here are the locations, neatly marked on the map, followed by a chart of test results:

View Larger Map

Hot Spots and Cold Spots
As you can see, though I got the kind of awesomeness that blisters during three of my stops, I saw some mediocrity in three more, and in one location, smack in the center of town, I got nothing at all. When I checked with Clearwire, they not surprisingly told me I had accidentally chosen four locations that were slated for improved coverage, the two downtown locations set to get lit up in the coming months.

The up side of the experience was exciting enough that the downside didn't bash my spirits. You'll notice in the chart that even when the connection wasn't that great, latency tended to stay low, and even when the connection was shabby, the download speeds tended to stay at or above 3G levels. I mean, before now, when was 1.2Mbps wireless considered a bad thing? Uploads were consistently just below 2Mbps—a far cry from the 10Mbps I can get with hard-wired cable, but pretty much on par with 3G.

Clearwire has to lease all of its cell towers just like any other wireless carrier, and not having a legacy network in place does keep it from automatically having a tower everywhere it's needed. Also, the fact that WiMax runs in the 2.5GHz band points to a need for more towers. 3G is in the 1.8 to 2.1GHz, and the proposed LTE operates in the 700MHz spectrum. Though WiMax's higher frequency may guarantee a more stronger signal closer in, it also has shorter range with the same power. WiMax doesn't feel like Wi-Fi—it can handle smooth handoffs from tower to tower at high speeds—but the Clearwire coverage map of Portland does look a bit like a tightly packed collection of hotspots.

This can be good news: Clearwire knows every inch of the city, and can look up any customer's home, workplace or favorite hangout to see if getting the service even makes sense. But it also means that if you're not covered—depending on how a school board votes about what happens on their rooftops, or what the local port authority has to say about radio antennas—it may be a while before that changes.

Rockin' Down the Highway
Like most carriers, Clearwire takes advantage the many tall cell towers that line the highway, meaning you get WiMax's sick bandwidth pretty much unbroken as you fly down the road at 60 or 70 miles per hour. In the following video—in 90 quick seconds—you'll see the following:
• Speakeasy speedtest showing roughly 13Mbps at 60 miles per hour
• Skype voice call (sorry we didn't do a video conference)
• Slingbox video that's being uploaded via WiMax at Clearwire's office, and downloaded via WiMax in the car
• Hulu, where we load up and begin watching a full-screen episode of The Daily Show, at 70 miles per hour

In Summary:

It's easy to reach download speeds that are four times the peak of today's best 3G networks

Power demand does not seem to be any greater than other wireless connections

Most available Clear services now are capped at 4Mbps, though uncapped plans may be available sometime this year

Only a handful of cities will have this service in 2009, with more to come in 2010

Wide fluctuations in bandwidth feel weird: 12Mbps upside makes 3Mbps feel like a disappointing trickle

Within Portland's city limits, there were plenty of dead zones that will hopefully be filled in soon

[More information on Clearwire service]

We're going to try to keep this pretty simple, as usual, but there are going to be some acronyms and a bit of jargon involved—our previous explainer on mobile terms might be a good place to start, actually, if you're walking into this totally oblivious to mobile tech.

Quickly, though, the current state of mobile networks is that we use 2.5G and 3G networks—mid-second-gen and newer third-gen data protocols. On the Verizon and Sprint side, known as CDMA, 2.5G is referred to as 1XRTT, or just 1X. On the AT&T and T-Mobile side, GSM, the 2.5G flavor is EDGE. Verizon and Sprint's 3G is EVDO, while AT&T and T-Mobile have HSDPA (you might not know that one, since they usually just say "3G").

Second gen wireless was basically just the leap to a digital network, and third gen is a closer attempt at true mobile broadband—kind of. Right now, with their 3G networks, they can all get you typical speeds of around 1 Megabit per second downstream, give or take (though the specs are rated for peak speeds of 3Mbps down on EVDO Rev. A, and 3.6 on HSDPA). 3G has a bit of breathing room left in it—EVDO Rev. B is capable of downstream speeds of 14.7Mbps , while the current HSDPA spec will go up to 14.4Mbps downstream with the right equipment, and depending on how far down the HSPA spec sheet you wanna go, maybe even faster.

But the fourth generation is already on its way. Technically, no wireless technology is officially 4G. But that's what everybody's calling WiMax and Long-Term Evolution, because they both promise crazyfast mobile internet speeds that leave the current 3G in the dirt. In the US, the main WiMax player is Clearwire, which Sprint owns 51 percent of after they combined their operations into one company and actually gave WiMax a chance to live. LTE is championed by AT&T (which makes sense because it was developed initially by companies who mainly build GSM networks like AT&T and T-Mobile's). Verizon also selected LTE, which blew everyone away at first because Verizon isn't in the GSM camp, but it makes sense because Verizon's parent company, Vodafone, is gung-ho for LTE in Europe, where everyone's on GSM.

So here's the crazy thing about WiMax and LTE, which you might not realize from all the smack talk coming out of Verizon and AT&T. I'm probably going to blow your mind right now: "They both use the same fundamental technology," says Barry West, Clearwire's President and Chief Architect. They both use orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing access and they're both IP (internet protocol) based. More simply, you can kind of think of the difference between WiMax and LTE as a software, not a hardware thing (kind of like Macs and PCs using the same Intel chip). Alcatel-Lucent, who makes the 4G wireless hardware, is actually "building hardware that is on a common platform," Paul Mankiewich A-L's Wireless CTO told us. In fact, West told us, at "some point in the future it's possible to harmonize" LTE and WiMax, it just "requires people to be willing to do that."

Here's what the fundamental difference is: Time division duplexing versus frequency division duplexing. Sounds complicated! But it's not. AT&T Labs VP of Architecture Hank Kafka explained it like this: "TDD is like CB radios or walkie-talkies—when one person is talking, the other person can't talk." The same channel is used for downstream and upstream, so the transmission is divided up over very tiny increments of time. Clearwire's West says they currently use a 2/3 downstream and 1/3 upstream split, so 2/3 of the time, you're swallowing data, and 1/3 of the time, you're spitting it. With LTE, Kafka says "it's more like a modem or phone conversation." It separates the available bandwidth into two parts—one operating downstream full time, and one operating upstream—so "you both can talk back and forth at the same time."

Great. But what's so special about WiMax and LTE? And how fast can they really get? Very simply, West told us, "The magic is the channel width." LTE and WiMax use really fat wireless channels, so they can move a lot of data at once. For example, AT&T's Kafka told us that "peak speed for LTE in 10MHz is about 140Mbps and peak speed in 20MHz is about 300Mbps." The thing about them being OFDM is that it makes them more flexible than 3G, since they can use a wide range of spectrum—LTE can use anything from the 1.4MHz channel up through 20MHz—whereas current 3G always uses 5MHz.

Did you see that? 300Mbps? Over the air? Whoooa. Well, don't let your panties get blown away yet. Yes, 4G will be way faster than 3G. But don't expect Asian city internet speeds wirelessly in the next couple of years. Clearwire's Barry West throws a bit of cold water on the ridiculously scorching speeds you might see hyped for LTE: To get to that 170Mbps, "that's like 8.5 bits per hertz and I've never seen a system achieve more than 5 bits per hertz." Huh? Basically, it doesn't take a whole lot of interference to slow your connection down, because it and WiMax use a complicated modulation scheme that you can't have constantly cranked to 11. So real world speeds will be slower.

WiMax is no slouch either, technically capable of up to 72Mbps.

Another thing about those superfat channels is that they don't reach as far out from the tower, and your response drops (obviously) as you get farther away. Which, Alcatel-Lucent's Mankiewich said, is one of the major infrastructure things with 4G: They're going to need to build more cell sites. That's why building out 4G is very pricey. (Not to mention all the money everyone had to spend on the right kind of airwaves to use for 4G.) If you thought 3G rollout was slow, 4G might be slower.

Here's what the real-soon-future looks like: Verizon isn't dicking around, and is doing commercial rollouts of LTE in 2010, while AT&T is following up with their commercial trials in 2011. (AT&T says Verizon "is in a big rush to move to LTE because their 3G technology gives them no room" to increase bandwidth and that red is a stupid color, nyah nyah nyah.) Clearwire has rolled out WiMax to a few cities already, and plans to have 120 million covered by the end of 2010. Verizon says they're getting about 60Mbps in testing, but expect it to be more like cable modem speeds when it launches—like Clearwire has now. For the reasons we mentioned above, and also because there won't be devices that can handle that kind of ridiculous speed—as you probably guessed, battery life being a major reason.

Will one standard eventually beat the other into submission, slinking away into the night, arm and arm with Betamax and HD DVD? Well, LTE does have a lot of momentum—the two biggest carriers in the US are rolling with it, and as part of the GSM family, you can bet all of the GSM carriers all over the world will be on board. But Alcatel-Lucent's Mankiewich says, "there's no real technological reason to pick one over the other." In fact, he thinks no one will "win," and just like now where "multiple technologies exist for economic reasons," it'll be the same thing with WiMax and LTE. So our only real hope for a single, happy standard is that they get together and make sweet, sweet love with some Marvin Gaye crooning in the background. It could happen.

Still something you still wanna know? Send any questions about wireless, Wild Things, or why truckers wear trucker hats to tips@gizmodo.com, with "Giz Explains" in the subject line. Original photo up top by Anina Schenker

A couple of sources inform GigaOM that Sprint's currently testing LTE equipment. Sprint's response is a non-denial kind of denial:

You know of our commitment to WiMAX as our 4G play, the only next gen technology commercially offered. … As a prudent Technology Development organization we are always collecting competitive information about various technologies/equipment to monitor and assess the competitive landscape and any potential impacts to Sprint's plans.

It doesn't mean Sprint's about to throw up a curtain and go "AHA! We fooled you!" and switch to LTE tomorrow. But it does indicate that they're trying to be flexible, in case the harsh reality is that LTE really is the only way to go. Luckily, Clearwire's WiMax equipment can be used for LTE, if they need it to be.

So, while this isn't necessarily bad news for WiMax, it is good news for LTE. (If you're confused by all these terms, check out our mobile term explainer here.) [GigaOM]