Clearwire, Comcast & Sprint to Launch 4G in Six New Markets

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I wonder if we will ever be satisfied with transfer and data speeds. Will there come a time when we’ll say that we simply don’t need the next G? Don’t get me wrong, right now we desperately need the next data transfer standard. But while some manufacturers are already testing out 4G speeds like LTE and WiMAX, the vast majority of us will settle for nationwide dependable 3G connectivity before we start dreaming about the next level.

Clearwire, Comcast and Sprint are three important names in the communications business. The three companies are going to work together on various levels to bring 4G connectivity in six U.S. states during the last quarter of the year. Chicago, Philadelphia and Seattle will receive Clearwire’s Clear, Comcast’s Comcast High-Speed 2Go and Sprint’s Sprint 4G connectivity options while Texas, North Carolina and Hawaii will receive Sprint’s Sprint 4G and Clearwire’s Clear connectivity options.

Philadelphia will receive 4G networks from the three giants in the next couple of weeks. Chicago will follow in November while Seattle will be serviced in early December. Markets in North Carolina and Texas will get 4G speeds in November while Hawaiian customers will only get 4G in early December.

Clearwire and Sprint customers will also be able to get proper equipment in order to actually be able to take advantage of the new speeds. Laptops and netbooks, compact USB modems and wireless devices are going to be available from Clearwire and Sprint but we don’t have any specifics at this point. However, we would love to see some new smartphones capable of 4G speeds. Various manufacturers are probably developing such models and CES 2010 should be the place where various concept phones capable of handling superior data speeds will be revealed.

So what about the rest of the world? Will we see telecommunications giants like Vodafone, Telefonica or T-Mobile launch LTE or WiMAX networks soon? They definitely should as the more time they waste waiting around, the more 3G-capable phones will be sold and therefore the more crappy 3G networks will be. What’s your take on all this? How is your 3G experience so far?