Clearwire Announces First 31 LTE Cities

Clearwire has announced the first round of cities that will be receiving its LTE service when it launches in early 2013. A total of 31 will be served, including New York City, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago and Seattle. Clearwire say that whey will be targeting areas that have the most demand for LTE service, as well as locations where it can accommodate the necessary capacity resources.

The company definitely seems confident about its upcoming network, with Erik Prusch, President and CEO of Clearwire, saying that the network "will show that not all LTE networks are created equal." Clearwire cite the ever shrinking available spectrum, and how it will leverage its own to bring high speed access on a wholesale basis.

Google jumped ship from Clearwire last month after selling its existing stock in the company well below the market value. Google didn't offer up specific reasons for its exit, although Clearwire's WiMAX prospects never fully panned out, and its LTE network will be coming up against strong competition from AT&T and Verizon.

Despite the sale, Clearwire recently signed a deal with Cricket Wireless that would see the budget provider making use of Clearwire's LTE service when it does eventually go live. Cricket has its own fledgling LTE network, but will piggyback on Clearwire's spectrum as part of a wholesale agreement to offer an LTE service in urban areas.