Best Buy Co. Inc. is once again extending its reach into the wireless broadband market, hoping to give customers one-stop shopping for services that connect laptops and netbooks.
The Richfield-based company said Thursday that it will partner with Clearwire Corp. to offer the faster 4G mobile broadband service beginning in 2011.
On July 10, Best Buy launched a private-label service through Sprint, known as Best Buy Connect, that offers 3G mobile access for laptops and netbooks for $30 to $60 a month.
While Wi-Fi hot spots often are free at coffee shops and restaurants, they're available only in limited locations. The 3G cell service is broadly available at cellular download speeds of about 700,000 to 800,000 bits per second.
The 4G, or fourth-generation service, operates at about 3 million to 6 million bits per second, said Kirkland, Wash.-based Clearwire.
Clearwire's 4G network is not yet available nationwide, but covers about 51 million people in such cities as Houston, Seattle and Chicago, said spokeswoman Susan Johnston. It is expected to be available in the Twin Cities by the end of the year.
Sprint Nextel has a 54 percent stake in the company, which also has attracted such investors as Intel, Google, Comcast and Time Warner.
Best Buy didn't announce pricing for its 4G service, which will also be sold under its Best Buy Connect label. A spokeswoman said it will have a similar structure to the 3G plan, with upgrades available.
JACKIE CROSBY
