Wireless cable: not necessarily an oxymoron

The nation's two top MSOs--Comcast and Time Warner, for the uninitiated--are doing their part to show that the words cable and wireless can be included in the same sentence without causing general hilarity and incredulity.

Comcast said it is launching its "High-Speed 2go" 3G-only service for consumers in Portland, Philadelphia, Houston and Boston as the next stage of a nationwide rollout. While High-Speed 2go is not a voice service (although you can probably jury-rig it to do that with some kind of VoIP), it is touted as a "mobile Internet solution that provides the fastest available service in the nation via wireless data cards." It's bundled with one or more of Comcast's phone and video products and, from the perspective of wireless' 1G, 2G, 3G and 4G migration, a bit badly named.

Time Warner is taking more of a traditional (for cable) approach to wireless by joining in an announcement with partners Sprint and Clearwire that each will roll out 4G WiMAX services under their respective brands in Kansas City, Kan. and Rochester and Syracuse, N.Y. this summer and may the best provider win.

For more:
- see this news release
- and this news release

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