TDS Telecom this week announced the launch of WiMax services in Madison, Wisconsin, making it the first provider in Wisconsin to offer WiMax. The service, which uses equiment from Alvarion, will be made available to nearly 65,000 customers in the first phase of the rollout.

"In order to launch its WiMax services in this area, TDS constructed six transmission towers in Madison," writes TMCnet's Calvin Azuri. "The initiative cost the company millions of dollars to set up. TDS employees have been trialing the connectivity and service quality in Madison for the past ten months."

When it's fully deployed, the aim is to cover a 35-mile radius around Madison - but not everywhere. "Consumers need to be aware that signal strength has some geographic limitations," says company CTO Lisa Cvengros. "Topography plays a role in determining who is able to obtain service, but that will improve as we increase our coverage area with more access points."

And the pricing is certainly attractive. "For just Internet service, TDS is offering 6 Mbps downstream/3 Mbps upstream for $55 per month, 4 Mbps/2 Mbps for $50, and 2 Mbps/1 Mbps for $45," writes The Capital Times' Jeff Richgels. "Add in phone service that includes 30 minutes of long distance per month and unlimited local calls, and prices are $60, $55 and $50, respectively. Increase the long distance to 300 minutes per month and prices go up by $5. Going to unlimited long distance adds another $5."

More here from Telecommunications Magazine ... more here from WTN News ... more here from the Wisconsin State Journal ... and the press release is here.