Time Warner Cable has gone to the Lone Star State for the debut of Business Class Mobile, a high-speed WiMax wireless data service the cable company is bundling with its other commercial services.
In Texas, TWC offers high-speed wireless data service in Dallas, San Antonio, Austin, Corpus Christi and Wichita Falls. The MSO provides the WiMax service through its investment in Clearwire, whose other backers include Sprint Nextel, Comcast, Bright House Networks, Intel and Google.
The cable company said it would expand Business Class Mobile to other service areas in 2010.
TWC Business Class Mobile is available in two unlimited-usage plans: 4G National Premium, starting at $65 per month; and 4G Premium starting at $45 per month. The 4G Premium plan is for customers who have a wireless device embedded in their laptops and don't need to buy one; with the 4G National Premium plan TWC is offering a 3G/4G USB modem from Franklin Wireless for no additional charge with a two-year contract.
The WiMax service is part of a bundled solution for Time Warner Cable Business Class customers who currently have or are acquiring one or more of its services: Internet, phone, cable TV or Ethernet. Customers that have additional Business Class Data Services will receive a $15 per month discount for the 4G National Premium plan and $5 per month discount for the 4G Premium plan, according to Time Warner Cable.
In addition to Texas, Clearwire markets where Time Warner Cable offers the Road Runner Mobile residential wireless broadband service include Charlotte, Raleigh and Greensboro, N.C., and Honolulu and Maui, Hawaii.
TWC Business Class Mobile customers also will have access to the Clearwire WiMax network in additional markets outside the Time Warner Cable footprint including Atlanta, Baltimore, Chicago, Houston, Las Vegas, Philadelphia and Seattle. In 2010, 4G network coverage is expected to expand to additional cities including New York, Boston, Washington, D.C., San Francisco Bay Area, Kansas City, Cincinnati, Cleveland and Los Angeles.
The MSO claims the Business Class Mobile provides wireless download speeds of up to 6 Mbps when within the Time Warner Cable 4G service area. The service provides access to the Sprint's national 3G network when customers travel outside Clearwire's coverage area.
"With Business Class Mobile, our customers' employees will be more productive by enabling them to take the office with them when they are on the go," said John Owen, president of Time Warner Cable's Business Class operation in Texas, in a statement. "This wireless solution further broadens our portfolio of products and services for the commercial segment."
