Review by ernliz 
member for 10.2 years, 1327 visits, last login: a few hours ago
updated 317 days ago
 Abilene,Taylor,TX
 $30 per month- (month by month)
 about 1 days AT&T "Better than dial-up" "SLOW speeds, erratic, and horrible Customer Service" "This dog don't hunt!"
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(ratings below consensus)
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31 March 2011
The horrible service continues with no resolution. I'm stuck with this dog, and there's nothing else that can be done, since Clear states that my (averaged) 450 Kbps speed for my 2 MB plan is OK. OK?? Yeah, they say I'm OK. I suspect tower congestion, since there's a college that soaks off the same tower (kids gotta download them songs, and videos, thanks jerks). I'd like to pull off another tower but my modem just won't lock onto it, even though the signal strength is almost as good as my current lobe. Anyway, Clear Support refuses to address my grand 450 Kbps, the local Clear office is clueless -- has been for the past 5 years -- and I'm using my iPhone's 3G capability when I REALLY need reliable Internet. Pitiful.
Nov 2010
The pathetic service continues unabated. I've got 3 lights, good LOS to the tower, several clean, speedy computers; however, d/l speeds are usually below 1mbps with rare bumps to around 2.3mbps. Throttling is obvious on my tower. I actually have to go to the local library to download large Windows Updates and other large files to avoid getting booted to 250kbps. My monthly usage is below 3 gigs so why the throttling, Clear? The local Abilene Clear people are still clueless -- no change there either. But hey, there's hope: my iPhone 4 has good 3G connectivity here, so all's not lost! Bottom line: thanks for nothing, Clear.
May 2010
Here, north of Abilene, Clear continues to disappoint. Many of Clear's customers, me included, are definitely within the "green" Clear coverage, but we get inconsistent speeds and questionable reliability. We cannot discuss this with the local Clear office because they have their heads in the sand. Tech Support at the national level tries to help but they are so script-minded that it becomes frustrating to continue with them. But....... it's better than dial-up, and that's not sayin' much!
PREVIOUS HISTORY:
Sep 2005................
Wireless ISPs in the Abilene, TX area are expensive and erratic. When Clearwire finally came to town, it was a dream come true. For $30/mo. I now get approx 800 kbps down, approx 225 up and it's steady. For $10/mo. more you can get 1.5 mbps down. Setup is extremely easy and the hardware footprint is only a few square inches. IP is dynamic, if you turn the modem off, which is OK. I live way out in the sticks and Clearwire told me I was out of luck; however, I tried anyways, and got top notch broadband. It's also very secure, operates on a licensed freq (2.5+ GHz...). The sales people in town are very customer-friendly and go out of their way to please. Bottom line: why would anyone use dial-up (or the expensive WISPs here) when there's Clearwire! No, I don't work for the company!
Minor update: I've only had the service for less than a month, so things may change. Other users who have had longer service are having no problems. I also haven't experienced the few problems other posters are having -- perhaps I'm just pleased I don't have to deal with the other local WISPs any more. More later, if anything changes.
SEP 2006......................
Major update: one year later, Clearwire is continuing to slide downhill here in Abilene, TX, in terms of performance. Lag times are horrible. When you click on a web link, wait 5 seconds before ANYTHING happens, then half the page will load, wait another 20 seconds, and the rest of the page "may" finish loading. And on and on...... The local people haven't a clue about their jobs nor about the technical aspects of Clearwire, but the Tech Support people at the 1-800 number are still quite good. Download speeds are not as advertised -- mostly due to the horrible stalling. And again, most annoying, there's NO ONE to talk to in the area who will listen or care! Oh well, it's better than dialup, and when nothing else is available, what else can many of us do!
Sep 2007.......
What a difference a year makes. Apparently Clearwire in Abilene, TX has made major improvements in reliability and overall service. I get very steady connections and haven't experienced a down day in many months. Perhaps the upgrade to VOIP has forced them to upgrade the HTTP Internet reliability somehow. In any case, all is well. And............ after reading many of the negative reviews by many, I just wonder if these people actually know how much they can do to improve their reliability and speeds. You ACTUALLY have to CALL tech support and tell them of your problem, work with them, work with the local folks, and "find" the best signal area in your home. It's not that hard to get it right!
August 2009.....
How things change! I've recently "upgraded" to the new Clear WIMAX system here in the Abilene, TX, area and the news is bad. I've gone from 5 lights (signal strength) down to almost 2. My speed, which is supposed to be 2 mbps, and which I'm paying for, is around 450 kbps. I've set up my modem for perfect placement and tested my connection with at least 3 other computers. All show the same speed problem. Unfortunately there is nothing I can do! Clear technical support goes through their script, and that's that! Others are having the same problem, as noted in several Internet blogs. My neighbors are likewise affected. Is anyone at Clear aware of this, and doing anything? I guess not.
August 2009, again...
Please see previous update review from yesterday. This should have been placed in the "Unhappy Campers" side of the site review.
Anyway, today, the Clear speeds are even slower than yesterday: about 340 kbps, although my plan is for 2 mbps speed. Twice when I was surfing (with 2 lights on the modem) the modem decided to start cycling, then finally locked on to 2 lights again. I suspect strongly that this is a tower problem. More later....
Comments:
 | | Clear was a clear choice I pay for Unlimited speed on clear Wimax in Las Vegas. My average download speed ranges between 4mbs and 5mbs just cancelled embarqs so-called 10mb connection. I do not see a difference in speed between my old dsl and wimax. Works Fine when hooked up with my wireless router and handles games just fine. Could not be happier with this 4g network | |
| | |  New Clearwire customer going well
One thing that I think sucks about Clearwire though, is that you have to sign a contract. If the service is really good and the company has nothing to hide customers will stay with you. It is a bad policy to trap customers for whom the service no longer works or they have moved out of the service area. I don't doubt that this is a greedy company out only for sales/money. But so are all of the other providers... | |
| | | Which Clear? Which clear are you on? and you do realize there are other providers in your area that use the same technology right?
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www.twopugsbrand.com Kosher, Vegan, and Organic Certified Dog and Cat treats/foods and other products! | |
|  | ernliz
join:2001-11-25
Abilene, TX Reviews:
 ·Clearwire Wireless
| Re: Which Clear? said by hottboiinnc:Which clear are you on? and you do realize there are other providers in your area that use the same technology right? Clear = Clearwire. It's the only service practically available to me. No other service here uses the proprietary Clear WIMAX signal at 2.5 GHz. | |
| | | Reviews:
 ·WOW Internet and..
·Time Warner Cable
| Re: Which Clear? uh. There are 2 networks they operate. Pre-Wimax and then the new network.
Clear does NOT equal clearwire. Know the network your on to give actual reviews.
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www.twopugsbrand.com Kosher, Vegan, and Organic Certified Dog and Cat treats/foods and other products! | |
| | | | | | Re: Which Clear? I'm on Clear WiMAX getting a download speed of 1.61 mb/s in Seattle. First day of service. All 5 lights steady on the modem. I hope it continues. However not exactly the 3-6mb/s as advertised. | |
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| | | the other companys that use the same tech... are leasing Clear's tech they don't have any of their own... Sprint's "4G" is clearwires and so is comcast and mediacom. the only other company with anything even close to it is verizon, which is still in the testing phase and runs on a lower and slow frequency | |
| | | | | Re: Which Clear? You are right that our tech is our own, and we operate on a licensed frequency of 2.5GHz which is also exclusive to us. The microwave transmission of our signal is also exclusively with us. However, the 3g/4g modem we offer is through Sprint, rather Xohm a subsidiary of Sprint. the tech is 50/50, the 4g activity of the modem is ours, but the 3G is sprint's. | |
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| | | I happen to work for Clear and can tell you, Clear and Clearwire, are in fact the same company. Clearwire was the predecessor to clear, Clearwire(expedience) service is our limited 2G service, Clear is the new 4G service that will eventually be replacing all of the clearwire markets and looking at total nationwide coverage within 7 years. So, then Clearwire will be no more just Clear. | |
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 LUZ
@clearwire-wmx.net |  NOT GOOD
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