Sprint, Clearwire launch 4G in RI

PROVIDENCE, R.I. - Sprint Nextel and partner Clearwire Corp. said Wednesday they will begin offering their fourth-generation wireless network in the Providence area this week.

Sprint said it will start offering 4G service to its cell phone and wireless Internet customers on Sunday. The company began selling the U.S. market’s first 4G cell phone, the HTC Evo, in July.

Clearwire sells wireless Internet service – but not phone service – under its own brands, Clear and Rover, separately from Sprint. Clearwire said its service is available starting today.

Sprint owns 51 percent of Clearwire, which has other investors including Comcast and Google. Sprint and Clearwire merged their 4G network projects in 2008.

The announcements came a day after Eyewitness News first reported the two companies were putting the finishing touches on their network locally.

The companies said their 4G network covers nearly 600,000 people stretching from Attleboro south to East Greenwich and from Johnston east to Seekonk. They are also expanding the network to Boston and Daytona Beach, Fla., this week.

Verizon plans to begin rolling out its own 4G network later this year, and AT&T has said its network will debut in 2011. They will use a 4G technology called LTE, short for Long-Term Evolution, while Clearwire uses a technology called WiMax.