What's old is new again, right?

Hey Baltimore, looks like we're gonna have some more options for our wireless broadband Internet needs -- again. A company called Clearwire, which took over Sprint's XOHM network (which first launch in Baltimore in 2008), is relaunching the service in Baltimore "within the next two weeks," a company official told me by email yesterday.

The new service is called Clear.

So what is Clear? It's wireless broadband built on the WiMax protocol, which basically means that Clear is turning Baltimore into one big Wi-Fi hotspot. So, you can sign up for home service or "on-the-go" service, and use the service anywhere in the Baltimore area. (I haven't seen coverage maps yet.)

The basic $30 a month service for the home gets you download speeds similar to DSL. For $10 more a month, you get triple or quadruple the speeds of DSL. If you sign up for a 2-year plan, you save money on your monthly payments, and the modem device (see left) you need for home setup is included. If you want month-to-month payments, you have to pay for the modem yourself.

The network was built a couple years ago by Sprint, which launched its XOHM service (essentially the same technical specs that Clear now offers) in September 2008. But Sprint sold off its XOHM subsidiary to Clearwire, and for awhile, it wasn't accepting new customers in Baltimore, though existing customers kept their service on.

Baltimore, by the way, was the first test market for XOHM/WiMax in the United States. I wrote the story when it debuted in Baltimore.

Right now, there are signs that Clear could launch in Baltimore as early as June 1st. Speed & Mobility LLC, an authorized dealer of Clear hardware, tweeted last night that Clear would launch in Baltimore on June 1st. And Millennium Computers, a computer store in Elkridge, tweeted several days ago that they'd start selling Clear equipment on June 1st, also.

UPDATE: I was reminded by John Taylor in Sprint PR that Baltimore will be one of the markets getting the soon-to-be-released HTC EVO 4G -- "America's first 4G phone". This is a cellphone that will be able to tap into the WiMax network offered by Clear/Sprint (this gets a little confusing because Sprint will be selling 4G service for its cellphones off the Clear network.)

Below is a Sprint salesman talking about the HTC EVO 4G coming to Baltimore: