XOHM Sightings in Chicago (with proof!)

madfelon · 4G Newbie Joined: 02 Jul 2007 Posts: 10

80 dollars a month for Wimax here in Chicago. Well looks like Sprint is going to fail with this venture.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/chi-sat-outlook-tech-wimax-0103-jan03,0,5168305.story

xrayman · Posted: Sun Jan 04, 2009 11:41 am Post subject:

After reading the Chicago Tribune article one is certainly left with the impression of $80 WiMAX. Most likely the $80 per month plan the article refers to is the combo EVDO/WiMAX service in one device Sprint is offering in Baltimore. Look at the Sprint plan this way, $60 per month for EVDO data and for another $20 you get WiMAX. The saves buying two devices if you want service outside the area that has WiMAX coverage.
When Clearwire rolls out WiMAX service in the Chicago area you will most likely be seeing per month plans in line with what is currently being offered in Portland for the CLEAR home and mobile service.

UrInternetSux · 4G Newbie Joined: 05 Jan 2009 Posts: 1

Later half of 2009?! Dan Hesse should be busing tables at Waffle House. Is it any wonder that AT&T and VZW are mopping the floor with Sprint? Another failed abortion of a product launch. Considering the key advantage they had in 4G was a head start over every other major carrier...

xrayman · Posted: Mon Jan 05, 2009 5:15 pm Post subject:

Jackofall · 4G User Joined: 26 Oct 2008 Posts: 80 Location: Maryland

If I'm not mistaken Mr. Hesse was running the old ATT back in 1998.. I believe he sees a great opportunity now..

superman22x · 4G Fledgling Joined: 14 Aug 2007 Posts: 11

Any updates on the Chicago area?... Is sprint/clear still working on Chicago much, or on to new plans?...

madfelon · 4G Newbie Joined: 02 Jul 2007 Posts: 10

I was a huge Wimax supporter even using the work around with the expres card that I bought but I feel that Wimax is a failure. They told us Chicago was coming end of 08, guess what not here! I guess I will just stick with Sprint mobile broadband since Wimax will be a huge failure, or wait for LTE.

xchpstang · Posted: Tue Feb 03, 2009 6:35 pm Post subject:

I've also become carrier agnostic when choosing the fastest data network. Who ever brings the fastest speed to my city, not other cities where I will rarely visit, is who will get my business. Just so happens that it has been Sprint the last couple of times but I'm open minded if someone else beats them to the punch in my city.

Maureen · Site Admin Joined: 20 Aug 2008 Posts: 200

It is indeed frustrating that the promised cities didn't end up getting coverage - including Chicago. I imagine the Clearwire deal threw a kink in things, but it's not like the two companies weren't aware that they'd be merging when they made their promises!

I think WiMAX will probably roll out slower than we would all like, but there IS hope with Clearwire/Clear. Clearwire already has "pre-wimax" networks deployed in 40 markets around North America, and those network are reportedly relatively "easy" to upgrade to WiMAX. That alone gives hope for Clear in many areas!

Despite the waiting we'll be doing for WiMAX, I still think we'll be seeing a LOT more WiMAX coverage before LTE becomes a viable option - AT&T is aiming for a commercial launch of 2011. Luckily, Clearwire is NOT requiring 2-year contracts to get their service (for now), so the good news is that if you go with WiMAX for now and LTE turns out to be a better solution for you, you won't be stuck!

hw711 · 4G Fledgling Joined: 26 Oct 2008 Posts: 12

I cancelled my service a couple month ago because it was spotty. Does anyone still have their service? Noticing any improvements?

wakeman91 · Posted: Tue Feb 10, 2009 7:19 am Post subject:

I was getting frustrated about it not being released in Chicago either, I even put off getting internet when I moved into a new apartment back in August thinking Xohm would be released the next month. By January I was ready to kill somebody but sitting in a coffee shop downtown being frustrated with wimax I realized I was just being stupid. So I whipped out the usb modem I had laying around and activated a one-day pass and ran a bunch of speed tests that all fell within 4-7mbps down and at least 1.5 up. Then when I got home (2 blocks north of the 'cell) I found out they must have constructed a new tower or something because I could get it there finally as well. Speeds of about 1-2 mbps down, under 1 up but still as good as anything else offered in the area for the price.

It's not officially released in Chicago but it is here and I have it. You just have to enter a Baltimore address when you sign up. I made sure to get in on the "Pick 2" $50 for life offer.

My issue though is with the hardware. I have the base station sitting in a window displaying two bars for my desktop and the usb modem for a mac laptop which has worked in every location I (or my roomate) have tried downtown. The mac has the clearly outlined issues of not officially supporting the most recent update of osX which you can read about on the developer website, but they're working pretty hard to release new drivers every couple of weeks. And it does work for the most part, it just crashes the computer when you pull the dongle out. (there have been updates since I last tried)

But from what I can determine the base-station has serious issues with transferring large amounts of data. As in it stops working/reboots when you run too many speed tests in a short period of time (or download torrents, mind you Clear has adds on the pirate bay website!) Also I can't get that cd that comes with the base station to work on windows xp.

For typical web use Xohm has lived up to all the hype.

Edit:I just downloaded some updates from the website so here's the news:
-They now have a mac version of the software that's on the CD. It just automates the steps you need to take to set everything up so it's really quite pointless.
-The firmware update for the base-station modem has seemed to fix the issues I had with it. I only updated it about an hour ago, ran three or four speed tests in a row with no problem and am now downloading large files with no issues at all!
-I haven't tried anything with the USB modem recently but there are some updates for that as well

hw711 · 4G Fledgling Joined: 26 Oct 2008 Posts: 12

wakeman91 · Posted: Mon Mar 23, 2009 12:46 pm Post subject:

Sorry. For those of you not from Chicago "the cell" is US Cellular field, where the Chicago White Sox play.

Jackofall · 4G User Joined: 26 Oct 2008 Posts: 80 Location: Maryland

Which was Comiskey park... Yep.. Good times... Last game I saw there was 1997..

ILLNOIZE · 4G Newbie Joined: 27 Apr 2009 Posts: 1