Time Warner Cable Intros 3G/4G Mobile Hotspot

Jesse Ward — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 15:34:21 +0000

Following Sprint’s lead, last week Time Warner Cable (TWC) launched a personal hotspot device called Intelligo that enables any device with Wi-Fi connectivity — and up to five devices simultaneously — to connect to TWC’s 4G mobile network and a nationwide 3G network for Internet access on the go.

The Intelligo, built by Sierra Wireless, costs $49.99 after a $50 mail-in rebate and a two-year contract. Pricing for Time Warner Cable’s Road Runner Mobile service — advertised as providing up to 6 Megabits per second downstream — varies from region to region.

Through its investment in Clearwire, Time Warner’s Road Runner Mobile WiMax service is available in Dallas, San Antonio, and Austin, Texas; Charlotte, Raleigh and Greensboro, N.C.; Honolulu and Maui, Hawaii; and Kansas City, Mo. Customers also are able to access Clearwire’s WiMAX mobile service in Atlanta, Baltimore, Chicago, Houston, Las Vegas, Philadelphia and Seattle. Where WiMAX service is unavailable, TWC customers can roam on Sprint Nextel’s nationwide 3G network.

The Intelligo is identical to the Overdrive personal hotspot offered by Sprint. Back in January, Sprint was the first Clearwire partner to launch a mobile hotspot. Sprint sells the Overdrive for $100 with a $50 rebate and a two-year contract.

Sprint has billed its wireless hotspot as both a fixed and mobile service which can replace a customer’s wired broadband connection. “Through a single connection, you can bypass your cable provider and stream HD movies from content distribution providers (such as Netflix, Amazon and Blockbuster) right to your TV; connect your Xbox 360 and game real-time with someone located across the globe; move pictures wirelessly from your camera to a digital picture frame and surf the Web on your laptop while streaming Pandora,” the company said in a press release.

In related news, Clearwire announced it is making its Clear Spot 4G and Clear Spot 4G+ personal hotspots available nationwide, and is filling pre-orders of both devices. The Clear Spot 4G simultaneously connects up to eight WiFi devices. It will set you back $99.99, or you can lease the device for $4.99 per month. The Clear Spot 4G+ simultaneously connects up to five WiFi devices, and gives users the additional capability to roam on Sprint’s 3G network outside Clearwire’s coverage area. The Clear Spot 4G+ costs $224.99 or can be leased for $5.99 per month.

For more, see this Time Warner Cable release, Clearwire release and Sprint release.

NTCA's The New Edge » Intelligo

Time Warner Cable Intros 3G/4G Mobile Hotspot