Thanks so much to Tim Finnerty for keeping me in the know with news from the wireless community – especially with notes on what’s happening in Minnesota.

Faster Wi-Fi headed for Twin Cities, but will people sign on? – Clearwire is about to bring 4G into the Twin Cities and Minnesota Public Radio writes about the impact that may have an the Minneapolis USI Wireless Network. “Christopher Comes, the director of corporate communications for Clearwire says Clearwire is more portable than the Minneapolis Wi-Fi network [and]… it will offer download speeds, that at times, can reach 10 megabits per second–about as fast as a wired cable internet connection.” USI Wireless “President Joe Caldwell says he’s not competing directly with Clearwire. He says his ideal customer is not looking to spend a lot of money for download speeds they don’t need.”

Can Minneapolis Wi-Fi Survive WiMax? – WNN Wi-Fi Net News spells out the costs of USI Wireless and Clearwire to point out that there may be more overlap in customers that USI might want to think.

US Internet charges about $20/mo for a rate of 1 to 6 Mbps downstream, while Clear offers service for the home for $25/mo for 1 Mbps downstream up to $45/mo for 3 to 6 Mbps downstream (bursts over 10 Mbps) for unlimited use. Mobile plans are $35/mo for 2 GB of use or $45/mo (first six months at $30/mo) for unlimited use. Combined home and mobile plans are available, too, at $50/mo for the fastest home and mobile service.

There’s still room a value consumer in this space