Clear to Launch in Chicago by Year End 2009

In a report filed by the Chicago Tribune, Sprint representatives have made statements to the effect that Chicago will be the next city to go live with the rebranded Clear WiMax service after Portland relaunches with the capability to activate any WiMax device, which is expected to be announced during CES.

The timeline for the Chicago launch has been the biggest point of contention, as the service was supposed to launch under the former XOHM brand before the completion of the Clearwire merger by the end of last year, with active markets such as Houston and Dallas/Ft. Worth having yet to be officially announced or given a revised timetable for launch as a consequence of the merger.

With Sprint representatives now placing the Chicago launch during the second half of the year, it remains to be seen if the service will still be able to compete against Verizon’s accelerated LTE launch occuring around the same time in terms of publicity and availability.