Will Clearwire’s A-la Carte pre-pay 4G Service Bring Customers?
When I was in Vegas in June, I had the opportunity to use a Clear 4G card for the week. It was nice – $50 for the week and I didn’t have to suffer from hotel speeds – especially since the hotel charged $14.95 a day to connect ( Which would have cost $90).
Today, Clearwire announced a new pricing plan, which would come to $5 a day – $50 a month.
The service is called Rover – It’s the first “Pay as you go” 4G plan. You can connect with one device, like a laptop, or for $149.99, you can get the rover puck – their hotspot alternative. You can then connect up to 8 devices and would be perfect for connection to iPhones or iPads when there is spotty 3G and WiFi service.
If you want to buy the USB dongle, that will cost $99.99.
“Simple, commitment-free wireless services are wildly popular with the Gen Y crowd, and Rover provides them with the first pay-as-you-go unlimited mobile internet offering at 4G speeds,” said Mike Sievert, chief commercial officer for Clearwire. “We’ve built Rover from the ground up with products, pricing and features designed specifically to serve a younger market who knows how you get connected is just as important as where. Expanding our offers to meet this underserved segment is an important new business opportunity for Clearwire as we continue to extend our leadership in mobile broadband.”
There are 49 4G markets right now, with plans to grow in the next 12 months. Rover also includes a rewards program and encourages people “On the go” to use and submit their success stories with the service.
This looks like a great idea. Especially for those people (like myself) who do not live in the current 4G market. Companies like Sprint, Comcast, Time Warner and Best Buy will be able to capitalize on this service.
No longer will I have to rely on hotel Wi-Fi to upload a video or write a post about a product I am covering. I could even use it in a pinch if the regular Wireless signal is too congested.
Rover has the current coverage map.