Clearwire extends 4G rollout to five more markets

Clearwire has expanded its 4G service to five more markets.

Starting today, customers in Los Angeles, Miami, Cincinnati, Cleveland, and Columbus, Ohio, can access Clearwire's 4G service.

The addition of 4G coverage to those cities isn't much of a surprise. Earlier this year, Clearwire said it planned on bringing its service to the cities, but didn't provide an exact time frame for the rollout. The company also said at the time that it hopes to cover 120 million people across the United States by year's end.

But if it wants to hit that mark, it has some work to do. With today's launch, Clearwire said, it now covers 103 million people around the United States in 68 markets. The service is already available in cities such as Washington, D.C., New York, and Seattle.

Clearwire plans to make its 4G service available in San Francisco on December 28.

The company's Clear 4G plans start at $25 per month. The service boasts up to 6Mbps download speeds and up to 1Mbps upload speeds. If customers opt for the Clear 4G+ plan, they can access Sprint's 3G network whenever they lose the ability to connect to the Web via 4G. That option costs $55 per month. Sprint is an investor in Clearwire, which is why Clear 4G+ plan subscribers can also access the carrier's 3G service.

With the availability of the 4G service in those cities, Sprint customers can also access the network through the carrier. In other words, customers can choose to either pay Clear or Sprint for access to the 4G network. It's a strategy the companies follow in each market where their 4G is available. Comcast, another investor in Clearwire, also offers 4G service in some markets.

Back in September, Clearwire acknowledged that its coverage of big cities could have been better. The company said that it was starting "operational readiness activities" to improve coverage in major cities, like New York and Los Angeles.