Time Warner Cable to offer 4G wireless data service
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By Rick Smith, Local Tech Wire editor
RALEIGH, N.C. – Road Runner Internet service is going mobile at fourth generation (4G) network speed, and North Carolinians get the first crack to use it.
Time Warner Cable will launch a 4G wireless data service in the Raleigh-Research Triangle, Greensboro-Triad and Charlotte area networks on Dec. 1, the company said Wednesday.
The world is going mobile for data and voice, stressed Michael Miess, vice president of wireless in the Carolinas for Time Warner who is based in Charlotte.
“Obviously customers want mobility these days whether voice or data,” Miess told Local Tech Wire and WRAL.com. “There certainly has been significant growth in the wireless data market, and this service really allows customers to take Road Runner literally on the road.”
The service, provided through Clearwire’s growing cellular network, will offer download speeds at up to six megabits per second, which is much faster than most current wireless offerings. Most third generation, or 3G, networks deliver up to 1.5 megabyte downloads. TWC is a strategic investor in Clearwire.
TWC will provide a free wireless data card for use in laptops and other computers for customers who sign two-year contracts.
The cable service provider also will offer a device that plugs into laptops and creates a WiFi network in a vehicle. Called the Cradle Point, it costs $99 with a two-year service agreement. The device will support several devices simultaneously and can be used by gaming systems, Apple iTouch and other devices, Miess said.
Voice services will being planned, Miess added.
Dallas – the hometown of AT&T – will be the next market for Road Runner Mobile followed by Hawaii early next year, said Melissa Buscher, director of public relations for TWC in Raleigh.
North Carolina is shaping up as one of the earliest battlefields in the struggle for mobile high-speed services.
In September, AT&T picked Charlotte as one of the first six cities where it would roll out its faster wireless service based on High Speed Packet Access, or HSPA. That technology delivers downloads up to 7.2 megabits per second.
In August, Sprint began rolling out 4G services in the Triangle and Charlotte.
Like TWC, Sprint is using the Clearwire network which supports WiMax technology.
Prices for the Road Runner Mobile data service begins at $34.95 a month for TWC customers who also have over services.
Offerings include:
• Road Runner Mobile 4G National Elite, which includes access to the 4G network and a national 3G network, $79.95 a month with discounts available
• Road Runner Mobile 4G Elite, which is limited to Time Warner’s own network, $49.95 with discounts available
• Road Runner Mobile 4G Choice, with provides two gigabytes of service on the Time Warner 4G network, $39.95 a month for customers with at lease one Time Warner Cable service
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