PORTLAND, Ore. -- A new mobile Internet service hit the Portland airwaves Tuesday and is being hyped as the "next generation of wireless."

Graphic courtesy: Clear.com

Seattle-based Clearwire has brought ultra-fast Wi-Max mobile Internet access to the Portland market.

Clearwire, the company that brought the service to Portland, offers a simple message for consumers: the faster, the better.

So when is fast, fast enough?

Brian Vranizan, a Portland State University nursing student, tested out a Wi-Max enabled computer for the first time on his Max ride to campus.

"I was able to check my e-mail really fast, faster than I can at home," he said.

Portland became only the second city in the country, behind Baltimore, to get the new service. Seattle-based Clearwire is spending billions of dollars to set up the infrastructure to provide the service.

"Wi-Max means that Portland ends up being the fastest wireless Internet city in the West," Clearwire spokesman Scott Richardson said.

Locally, Intel's Oregon labs worked for several years to develop 4G technology, the backbone of Wi-Max.

"It gives that kind of snappy feel so when you look at Internet sites, look at video, the stuff runs quickly," said Sean Maloney, senior vice president and chief of sales and marketing.

Financial analysts and techies from across the country showed up for the launch, numbering in the hundreds, getting hands-on experience of what Wi-Max can do.

Subscribers can watch TV programs at full broadband speed while traveling or at home.

"You can see by the quality of the video even on a large screen, we're getting very high data rates," said Intel's Ciricia Proulx.

The Wi-Max coverage area spans 700 square miles of the Metro area. The main area of concentration is from Hillsboro on the west-side to Troutdale on the east, and from Hazel Dell in the north to Wilsonville in the south. 

Computer makers are set to roll out Wi-Max enabled notebooks, laptops and microcomputers, and cell phones will follow.

Clearwire is working with Sprint on this project, so it's a good bet it will be one of the first carriers to come up with a mobile device that takes advantage of the new technology. 

Meanwhile, a simple USB Wi-Max or home modem gets the connection. 

Subscriptions start at $20 for home Internet and $30 for mobile Internet plans.