Electronics retailing giant Best Buy is ramping up Best Buy Connect, its own store-branded consumer mobile service that it will offer with selected devices; now, the company has confirmed Best Buy Connect will offer a 4G tier using Clearwire‘s WiMax service. For now, Best Buy Connect is limited to wireless broadband modems for notebook computers, running on 3G services from Sprint; beginning next year, Best Buy Connect will also offer 4G service, and is expected to extend Best Buy Connect to other classes of devices.
“Our strategic wholesale agreement with Clearwire will enable Best Buy Connect to leverage the Clearwire 4G network’s speed and bandwidth to deliver compelling new mobile broadband experiences for our customers,” said Best Buy Connect VP Jed Stillman, in a statement. “This agreement paves the way to providing one-stop shopping and support for mobile broadband as more people become more connected across all kinds of devices.”
Best Buy Connect lets Best Buy offer itself as a one-stop shopping solution for electronics and connectivity: instead of buying a device through Best Buy then having to establish accounts and set up billing for mobile service through another company, Best Buy can handle the whole process: hook a customer up with merchandize, activate service, and handle billing. Best Buy, of course, is also on the hook for customer support.
Best Buy did not announce any pricing for the forthcoming 4G tier.
