"First" US WiMAX deployment goes live in Jackson Hole, Wyoming
[Image courtesy of TerryDreams]
Filed under: Wireless
[Image courtesy of TerryDreams]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
darkstar @ Jul 1st 2008 11:52AM
ok. this was a total surprise!
never even heard of them
Frankenstein Black @ Jul 1st 2008 11:52AM
LOL...
Blackstar @ Jul 1st 2008 3:41PM
So, does this mean we have to stop them so SkyNet can't take over their network in the future?
loosely_coupled @ Jul 1st 2008 7:18PM
@blackstar,
oddly enough, I have internet access via a long-range fixed wireless connection, and the company is actually named "SkyNet". lol.
On a different note, the title of this article is misleading. It should say first MOBILE Wimax deployment goes live, seeing as clearwire has been providing regular fixed WiMax service for years in different cities...
Gingerbread Man @ Jul 1st 2008 11:57AM
Wow, there must be nothing to do there! "Hey Dale! Wanna go over the mountain again? Yeah sure!"
Hamidxa @ Jul 1st 2008 12:37PM
:D
OneLove @ Jul 1st 2008 3:12PM
now they have wimax in the hole
MaX PL and the 360 r4pe Tr4iN @ Jul 1st 2008 11:58AM
WTF is Wyoming? lolz.
Alareth @ Jul 1st 2008 1:18PM
Wyoming is an old Indian word for "No state here"
JAmerican @ Jul 1st 2008 12:00PM
I thought Engadget made a funny but its an actual place.
TVGenius @ Jul 1st 2008 2:15PM
Makes more sense to roll out services like that in smaller areas than in large cities. It gives them a smaller footprint to cover, plus they don't have the competition. Where I live, I can't get DSL (in the middle of the city) and cable internet is RIDICULOUS, but I and thousands of others in our city use an indoor wireless modem that has a 20 mile range and works great.
train @ Jul 1st 2008 12:04PM
this is like reporting that someone got wifi in their house.
kjb434 @ Jul 1st 2008 12:09PM
Possibly one of the best ski areas in the country and next door to Yellowstone National park. This is a tourist mecca.
Some engadget posters may need to get out of the house or office.....
JerryA @ Jul 1st 2008 2:12PM
I will be there in a couple of weeks. Doing a trip through CO, into Cheyenne, up into Jackson, and then to Yellowstone. Should be a good vacation.
kjb434 @ Jul 1st 2008 2:14PM
Have fun! I did there. And i guess if you have a WiMax device, you can take full advantage of it too!
haX0r @ Jul 1st 2008 12:13PM
They should have done like N.Y., S.F. or in L.A.
Another lame move on Sprint's part!
Teetdogs @ Jul 1st 2008 12:43PM
you do realize that sprint had nothing to do with this right? Its a local carrier why would a carrier in wyoming care about NY?
crispy @ Jul 1st 2008 12:44PM
Sprint didn't do this, DigitalBridge Communications did dumbass.
Read->Comprehend->Post.
Chad @ Jul 1st 2008 12:14PM
I suspect it's more of a "last mile" where the telcos fear to tread kind of deployment. We can't get DSL or broadband cable here in Jackson Hole but the kind folk at DigitalBridge Communications have done us a solid and given us high speed wireless. If Sprint were really smart they would be doing the same thing with their WiMax.
VoIPDoug @ Jul 1st 2008 8:42PM
Actually Digita Bridge has rolled out the WiMAX d product in Idaho region before Jackson Hole. THier e Nomadic Mobility WiMAX is to be deployes soon, but yes this is a Last mile solution in highly under-served rural areas. the price points are good. The Cable MSO's or RBOC's in these areas have in many instances chose not to deploy Broadband Internet in these locale's.
Anyone wanting to know more, ping me.
Todd @ Jul 1st 2008 12:17PM
And all 11 people there who have gadgets that support it are really happy - WTFBBQ??1?!
Chris Macdonald @ Jul 1st 2008 12:38PM
why bbq??
Ken @ Jul 1st 2008 2:41PM
welcome to the internet
Zach @ Jul 1st 2008 2:48PM
because it's tasty.
retro77 @ Jul 1st 2008 12:19PM
Good for Wyoming!!
jasonwoerly @ Jul 1st 2008 12:19PM
You guys have obviously never been to Jackson, Wyoming. It's one of the most beautiful and affluent (average home price is well over $1million) places in the country to live. Nothing to do? Jackson Hole is one of the top ski resorts in North America and Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks are at their doorstep where around 3 million people a year visit.
dustandechoes91 @ Jul 1st 2008 1:16PM
harrison ford and dick cheney live there too
mapi @ Jul 1st 2008 3:07PM
They don't actually live in Jackson, they just own vacation homes there. Tiger Woods, too.
teej @ Jul 1st 2008 3:36PM
dick cheney lives there...
he probably brings a gun w/ him to the slopes. you never know when he feels like shooting someone in the face.
Gingerbread Man @ Jul 1st 2008 12:22PM
No one is denying it's not a beautiful place but, just very small. Im down in Miami and if I was going skiing I would sooner go to Colorado then Jackson Hole, Wyoming or Big Sky, Montana etc. Again that's all preference but you know how it goes....opinions are like @$$holes and everyone walks around thinking theirs doesnt stink.
@ Chad: Good for you guys! No more dial up I suppose.
ethan @ Jul 1st 2008 2:58PM
you probably wouldn't go to Jackson Hole cause you're poor.
Mr. Fax Sender @ Jul 1st 2008 12:25PM
Mountain folk and their Wi-fi.
DerekKramer @ Jul 1st 2008 12:28PM
Hey we're getting it in south dakota too.
Brian @ Jul 1st 2008 12:28PM
I wonder which Sprint exec has their lodge there... :->
Glancing Aft @ Jul 1st 2008 12:35PM
One more reason for me to want to move there....
That and it having the best ski area EVER
fashionista @ Jul 1st 2008 12:36PM
Wow, this makes no sense. Does Jackson Hole even have full time residents?
onebluehaze @ Jul 1st 2008 12:39PM
The First? Juneau Alaska has had WiMAX for almost a year now via AT&T. Alaska gets some of the faster wireless technologies sooner than you lower 48 people :P We were one of the first to have EVDO too, about 4 years ago.
onebluehaze @ Jul 1st 2008 12:44PM
http://www.broadbandreports.com/shownews/ATT-WiMax-in-Alaska-86403
bdewong @ Jul 1st 2008 1:17PM
Hawaii has had WiMax from clearwire as well. Probably about the same timeframe.
waterwagen @ Jul 1st 2008 1:37PM
Sorry, sometimes we just forget about you guys up there. Sort of like Canada and Puerto Rico, we don't remember you're there till we need fishing guides or rum...or grizzly bears, respectively.
thedesolate1 @ Jul 1st 2008 3:13PM
Yeah I know those manly woodsmen living out in a cabin in the middle of the forest are always on the bleeding edge of technology. It makes sense to roll wimax out in Alaska before anywhere else. But I think the oil tycoons are the ones behind it all.
Dana @ Jul 1st 2008 12:49PM
An important omission is that the actual ski area, Jackson Hole, is about a 20 minute's drive from the pictured town of Jackson.
rcappo @ Jul 1st 2008 12:50PM
Is it free, local business financed WiMax run by a non-profit organization of Linux like tech volunteers who won't sell your data, shape packets, remove anonymity, or monitor traffic? If not, I'll just use my neighbors WiFi that works for the little Internet time I use.
LloydChiro @ Jul 1st 2008 12:53PM
That's a nice looking town. It looks like someone built it with SimCity!
TEG @ Jul 1st 2008 1:09PM
This is not the first US deployment. WiMAX has been in Seattle since 2004, using the Space Needle as the antenna. Someone needs to do a little research.
CL @ Jul 1st 2008 1:09PM
Slightly off topic, but I went there a few years ago (beautiful place, great slopes), I remember the tour guide said Harrison Ford lives in the area and one time (him being an aircraft nut) actually flew his private helicopter to rescue some stranded hikers on the mountain. How bad ass is that! Imagine the shock of the hikers when you see Harrison Ford in the cockpit picking you up, makes you think he's filming Indiana Jones or something.
Josiah @ Jul 1st 2008 1:10PM
I've had WiMax in Rexburg, Idaho from the same company since last fall...
Matt @ Jul 1st 2008 2:49PM
Yeah, me too. Digital Bridge has WiMax in Twin Falls and Idaho Falls as well. Maybe more. I guess Jackson Hole was just the "first" for places people care about.
ethan @ Jul 1st 2008 3:05PM
yeah, but that had NOTHING to do with Sprint. That was just citywide wifi, if I'm not mistaken.
I used to sell phones in Idaho Falls.
Josiah @ Jul 1st 2008 3:30PM
No, no - this was genuine 802.16 W-i-M-a-x.
Neither I, nor this article, attributes this WiMax launch to Sprint.
Here's a link to Digital Bridge Communication's list of town's that they administer WiMax to:
http://www.digitalbridgecommunications.com/OurTowns/tabid/69/Default.aspx