dslreports logo

Review by TamaraB See Profile

  • Location: Bronx, Bronx, NY, USA
  • Cost: $45 per month (24 month contract)
Wireless
Terrible speeds, unreliable service, unintelligible and incompetent tech support.
A last resort provider.
Pre Sales Information:
Install process:
Connection reliability:
Tech Support:
Services:
Value for money:

My Other Reviews

·Verizon FiOS
I had this service for a brief time. It was marginally better than DSL in speed, but far less reliable. When I attempted to cancel the service due to being down more than being up, the unintelligible tech support as well as their billing department couldn't seem to cancel my account and kept slamming my CC. I had to cancel my CC card and get a new one to stop the payments.

In short, Clearwire sucks!


member for 23.3 years, 8396 visits, last login: a few hours ago
updated 8.6 years ago


lucasrod
@clearwire-wmx.net

lucasrod

Anon

clear is poor service cheap devices

I being a clear costumer for the last 2 years have two devices the one on home is so,so, some times is very slow that i have to put my clothes on laundry, or make my coffee, in till am waiting for the page to open completely but is cheap right! hey that's what you get for $62 for 2 device,one home one mobile, other companies offer their cervice for like $15, $20 more,my disagree came when i call to cancel my mobile device, seing that, that was the 4th time that thing got brake,and alot of times dosn't work on some remote areas,so this person did the cancelation process and said that i have to pay $70 full coast for the stupid made in china device, very very disagree, i mean it broke cause is a poor quality product,so before you sing a contact or any agrement whit this company make sure you put every thing clear so you don't end d paying for some thing that you give a regular use....

Review by Loki425 See Profile

  • Location: Everett, Snohomish, WA, USA
  • Cost: $35 per month (24 month contract)
  • Install: about 1 days
i'm actually able to get online
the speeds i'm getting and price i pay are not what i was promised when i bought it
the service if thats what you wanna call it sucks
Pre Sales Information:
Install process:
Connection reliability:
Tech Support:
Services:
Value for money:

when i purchased my wireless modem from clearwire it was a good deal for $14.99 a month with the promise of never going up for 4mbps. it worked great for about the first 6 months (a lot better than the comcast) we had befor. then it seemed to drop off in speed i've never had any issue with loss of service like my comcast with them i spent more time down without service than with and i was paying about $35 a month for the first 12 months then it was supposed to jump up to $50 a month, but it did have better speed when it actually worked. right now i've had my clear for just over 3 years and my monthly payments have jumped up to $34 and some change each month and at best i get around .99 mbps but on average i'm running around .49 mbps which is a joke for what i'm paying but at least im always able to connect. if there was another service in my area that i knew i would be able to connect to i would switch but comcast is it. dont ever bother with calling customer service for any issue you have with your service, if the language barrier isn't bad enough you probly have more of an idea of whats wrong than they do. i found them to be incompetent and frustrating to deal with for even the simplest things so i have just given up when dealing with them at all and have grown used to the crappy service all the way around.

member for 8.8 years, driveby review (so far)
lodged 8.8 years ago


javier
@rr.com

javier

Anon

the speeds you see are consistent

they are consistent speeds since clearwire wimax is going away in November 6 of this year. sprint is currently narrow banding clearwire spectrum

Review by floydb1982 See Profile

  • Location: Kent, King, WA, USA
  • Cost: $58 per month (24 month contract)
  • Install: about 3 days
  • Caps of 8 gigabytes/month
In the begining is was fast
It got very slow
It was good from the start then slowed to a crawll
Pre Sales Information:
Install process:
Connection reliability:
Tech Support:
Services:
Value for money:

I signed up for Clearwire 3G WiMAX 2Mbps/256Kbps home desktop modem service right after dumping Comcast. It was as fast as the Comcast service I had. Then Clearwire merged with Sprint and became Clear. The speed went from 2Mbps/256Kbps to 10Mbps/1Mbps. After the so called upgrade they over sold there service and it was slower than hell. They clamed the service was unlimited but if you used up 8Gbps before the end of the month they slowed your speeds down. Always downloading at 40Kbps to 60Kbps day or night. I would call up tech support and they would have me do a power cycle of the modem and then they would reset each time I called tech support. I owned the desktop modem and USB modem and got rid of both of them. It was long after Clearwire became Clear that i switched back to Comcast. Don't waist your money on Clear.

Attachments:
Click for full size


member for 19.6 years, 2836 visits, last login: 7.6 years ago
updated 9.6 years ago


w0g
o.O
join:2001-08-30
Springfield, OR

w0g

Member

asdfdasffdas

Wow I wish Clear WiMAX had the same ping as the old stuff has, right now ping is an average of 30-40ms to the first hop! I'm in Portland and the only servers I get decent pings to are in Seattle WA, I'm talking 60ms or so. To be competitive I can't handle anything higher. :/
jerk2
join:2009-08-01
Aransas Pass, TX

jerk2

Member

Not possible.

There is no way in hell clearwire is faster than fiber. They don't have an unlimited downstream plan, and if you go over their daily bandwidth cap (250MB) they will throttle you down to 256Kbps. thats Kbps, not KBps.

I'm guessing this guy is a clearwire employee, because this is either fake or a joke.
floydb1982
join:2004-08-25
Kent, WA

floydb1982

Member

Re: Not possible.

Jerk I'm not joking at all. I really believe that WiMAX is faster than optic fiber.
jerk2
join:2009-08-01
Aransas Pass, TX

jerk2

Member

Re: Not possible.

Then you do not know what you are talking about.

SysOp
join:2001-04-18
Atlanta, GA

1 edit

SysOp to floydb1982

Member

to floydb1982
said by floydb1982:

Jerk I'm not joking at all. I really believe that WiMAX is faster than optic fiber.
You should believe that light travels faster than sound.

Optic Fiber uses light waves
WiMax uses sound waves

Are you an idiot?

Rhino
@northwestern.edu

Rhino

Anon

Re: Not possible.

LOL WiMax uses EM waves which propagate at the speed of light.
tkb8
join:2006-05-10
Carnation, WA

1 edit

tkb8 to SysOp

Member

to SysOp
Speed of light does vary significantly by medium(Vacuum, copper, air, fiber cable). But it is most certainly not related to the speed of sound. lol

»en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Re ··· ve_index

SysOp
join:2001-04-18
Atlanta, GA

SysOp

Member

Re: Not possible.

said by tkb8:

Speed of light does vary significantly by medium(Vacuum, copper, air, fiber cable). But it is most certainly not related to the speed of sound. lol

»en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Re ··· ve_index
Ok you win. The speed of light is not related to the speed of sound.
tkb8
join:2006-05-10
Carnation, WA

1 edit

tkb8 to floydb1982

Member

to floydb1982
This is the single most ridiculous post I've seen on DSLReports yet.

Clearwire is throttled, shared, half-duplex bandwidth. They barely have enough bandwidth for 1 customer, let alone 100s or 1000s. Clearwire has a consistent record of pissing off >50% of their customers with bad service, termination fees, and substandard (less than DSL) sustained bandwidth.

The OP is either a Luddite, a troll or a employee of Clearwire.
floydb1982
join:2004-08-25
Kent, WA

floydb1982 to jerk2

Member

to jerk2
Clear has never throttled my connection. I would have felt it by now if they ever did such a thing.

GRoberson
@clearwire-wmx.net

GRoberson

Anon

Re: Not possible.

They have mine!!!!!!
Micmel
join:2010-04-16
Charlotte, NC

Micmel

Member

have got to be kidding!

There is no way in hell you get anything above 256kbps if you actually use your connection on CLEAR....

WIMAX technology yes is FAST, 50+mbps in some "test" areas and was looking to move into the 100mbps market tell the testing fell through....

CLEAR's service the fastest test I have seen was 35mbps in TN; There is NO ONE on the CLEAR network that is seeing over 16mbps anymore, and those who do are cut down to size in a matter of minutes!

You are either a fake CLEAR fan boy, or ONLY use your connection to run speed test a few times a day and that's all.

wimax vs fiber?... you really think wimax is a better tech???

Did you happen to fail physics too?
ArizonaSteve
join:2004-01-31
Apache Junction, AZ

ArizonaSteve

Member

Might not work at college.

Floyd, Clear doesn't have very wide coverage so you'd better check to see if they have service where you sister is going to college. Also, they have slowed down to a crawl in lots of places and even if she can get a signal it might not be usable.
chgo_man99
join:2010-01-01
Sunnyvale, CA

chgo_man99

Member

Re: Might not work at college.

most colleges have campus-wide wi-fi, even inside dorms. Which is encrypted or relayed through a VPN tunnel. She may not need broadband dongle at all.

Review by cleonamar See Profile

  • Location: Seattle, King, WA, USA
  • Cost Contract price not specified.
No phone or cable lines to your house.
They always give you a fake 192.168.*.* address. Static IP is not possible.
Do not use if you want any inbound access.
Pre Sales Information:
Install process:
Connection reliability:
Tech Support:
Services:
Value for money:

Call me crazy, but I thought part of paying for internet, was getting an internet address. Sure that address would change every so often, but at least it was real. You could game with your friends, host a web server, etc.

Ask them if you could pay for a real address and they're response was "no, sorry, go somewhere else". So here I am warning others, DO NOT GET Clearwire!

Clearwire is doing the kind of cheat like if you re-sold some of your internet to your neighbor.

member for 10.5 years, driveby review (so far)
lodged 10.5 years ago

isnoop
join:2006-10-18
Seattle, WA

isnoop

Member

It ain't necessarily so.

I have a clearwire device whose only purpose is to be the remote access point for an IP security camera. It has a proper web IP address, not a 192.168.*. However, I had to ask for that feature.

Review by Elodean See Profile

  • Location: South Weymouth, Norfolk, MA, USA
  • Cost: $35 per month (month by month)
  • Install: about 3 days
simple setup, functional speeds
latency, inconsistent performance
a viable alternative to cable/dsl, or if you have no other option
Pre Sales Information:
Install process:
Connection reliability:
Tech Support:
Services:
Value for money:

I was never a fan of wireless broadband because of the rather unreliable nature of radio signals. Any fixed radio-based wireless networking setup will either work or it won't work. Even if it works, the signal typically depends on all sorts of factors, including weather. Still, back in November 2011, I decided to give Clear a try to see if their wireless offering was usable.

First of all, I see a lot of complaints about Clear. Apparently, if you can get good signal, people are generally happy; if you don't have ideal signal, then people are unhappy, and the infamous Clear customer service doesn't help either. I actually suggested Clear to a friend, who signed up but couldn't get a signal. He had a hell of a time trying to cancel service. (He even tried to go to a Clear brick-and-mortar establishment in New York and they said they couldn't cancel him at the store.) In the end, it took months and a lot of arguing to cancel his service.

I was one of the lucky ones; it worked for me right out of the box, so I didn't have to deal with support. I got a G-Series modem, and was able to position it in a good place near a window with a relatively open view towards the nearest tower to get 5 bars (~25dB CINR). Latency was better than what I was expecting, but still not on par with wired services. Basic network access worked well. However, weather events such as snow and rain definitely affect the connection. I agree with many other reviews that if you don't get 5 bars, then even basic network access becomes unpleasant.

Based on the Clear coverage maps and my past year of use, my signal is apparently "borderline" good (which is why it's so jumpy). In my particular case, sustained download speeds can swing wildly across the range, so streaming media such as video and voice would often stutter. These days, sites that don't let the user set the video quality will automatically adjust the quality based on the current bandwidth. For a bursty connection, the result can be very frustrating, as the video tries to change to high definition, then pause before dropping to lower quality because the jumpy speeds can't maintain the video buffer.

I was originally on their $50 uncapped service, but dropped to their $35 1.5Mbit offering because I figured that if they could only really sustain about 2Mbit consistently, then I'd rather pay for a lower tier of service. But apparently, the practical speeds dropped as well, with speeds often hovering between 100kbit and 700kbit. As some people have pointed out, hacking in an external antenna should greatly improve signal, and I'm definitely starting to consider that option. Hey, if your connection is lousy and the warranty expired, you've really got nothing to lose.

In the end, Clear is pretty good - for wireless. Their service is bound to the same limitations as all radio-based technologies. While the price is decent (since it includes all fees and taxes here), the connection quality makes the service inferior to other ISP offerings in the equivalent pricing tier (typically the $29.99 DSL or cable plans, when you add in taxes and fees). A good signal makes all the difference. Sadly, their signal map is only a rough estimate; the only way to get a good idea of the practical connection quality is to try their service yourself. If you don't get ideal signal, I'd say Clear would be fine for occasional network use. If you often deal with streaming, gaming, video/voice conferencing, remote desktop, development/productivity, then you need a strong signal, or look for a wired solution.

member for 12.4 years, 34 visits, last login: 2.9 years ago
lodged 10.9 years ago

awasser1
join:2004-03-30
Bloomfield, CT

awasser1

Member

re: Clearwire Review

i found when i went to their home service the speed dropped like an anvil. i went back to my clearspot in the window and was getting 16-18 /1.5 mbps. I use it now for backup and went to Comcast. the latency was killing me for video conferencing. Have you tried to buy an external antenna. I have seen this improve connections. I am in CT and it works great in some places and doesnt work in others.
Elodean
join:2011-10-29
South Weymouth, MA

Elodean

Member

Re: re: Clearwire Review

I don't think an external antenna would help me much here; I'm already 25dB CINR and -65dB RSSI, which I consider pretty good. But I do plan on hacking in an external antenna just for fun - after I sign up for another service first, so I have a fallback in case I mess up the modem while cracking it open and drilling holes.

I think the problem for me is that I'm at the edge of Clear's coverage area (not just the edge of a tower's coverage area, but Clear's entire Boston coverage area). Based on their maps, my location has strong service (dark green), but I only have access to 1 tower, and I'm betting that this tower gets congested. Also, when the connection goes down (maybe for maintenance), the modem can't switch over to another tower, so I get occasional and annoying bouts of downtime, frequently at night and weekends.

Another point is that Clear resells its service to FreedomPop. If you use Clear for a backup connection, you're probably better off dropping them and just getting FreedomPop, which will get you free wireless service up to about a gig a month, based on their current service descriptions. (However, I'm not sure if you'll need a different modem for FreedomPop.)
awasser1
join:2004-03-30
Bloomfield, CT

awasser1

Member

Re: re: Clearwire Review

Yes you would need a separate modem. I think I have two towers by my house and its mostly residential here. But I believe when I look up the stats it always points to one tower in particular. I have gotten Comcast 50/10 now and they have a 6 month special. So I keep it as a backup or when I am travelling in my car in the local area. I really have had good luck with them despite some people not having such good luck. I find its always good to have a backup in this day and age. Storms and such can put you out of contact really quickly.

Review by PamelaTS See Profile

  • Location: Dallas, Dallas, TX, USA
  • Cost: $52 per month (12 month contract)
  • Install: about 3 days
When Moving the home modem is all you have to move and the service moves with you
Much higher latency than I expected, FAR short of the UPTO claimed max speed
I will likely take advantage of the $15 p/m intro for two months and switch to Cable ugh
Pre Sales Information:
Install process:
Connection reliability:
Tech Support:
Services:
Value for money:

See my newer CLEAR review; post moving.

I admit I was skeptical going into this. Had been an SBC DSL customer for near on 10 years. The recent rate increase they were putting forward were the last straw.

Information on installation is EXTREMELY spartan. Had to call tech support just to initialize the account. I understand green means saving paper there comes a point when taking it to such extreme is just ridiculous. No where was there any indication what to do setting up my third party router? is this a DHCP setup, or what?

I was supposed to see 6m down and 1m up. I see anywhere from 1.2 - 4.5mb down very inconsistent and the best up I've seen is low 600kb (very briefly). Based on wireless I anticipated higher latency SBC/AT&T I saw 16-19, latency on Clear is 64-97. Pingtest.net scored it a D, before it got blocked!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Called to cancel, gawd I wanted this to work well. It does work the latency is really high though. The initial sales rep was attempting to use high pressure which I did resist. The second rep I talked to was better, yet it would seem still dishonest. This morning the best rates I could get where under 2.75M down and barely over 500K up.

Customer service wanted to con me into waiting and trying other things with tech support so that my 7 day trial would evaporate. I'm hip to their high pressure BS.

I'm sure that if they would invest in rural towers where DSL is not and cable maybe then this could potentially be a viable option. In the city though where ROCK solid performance by DSL VDSL and even cable exist this is NOT a credible, economical option.

Want a laugh they actually expect you to believe they are gonna run a reliable VOIP service on this shaky connection, and sales was Oh yeah you can send/receive the occasional fax over VOIP. Sales said affirming oh yeah no problem, LOL! No, I didn't try the VOIP add on wanted to see a solid ISP first. There is no way a reliable VOIP is gonna run on the wild roller coaster connection, much less FAX over it.

Not happening, don't believe it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 8-17-2011 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ok, I moved a slight distance (3 blocks) had issues with AT&T no longer could get the elite tier. TWC had a wiring issue in the building which I wasn't going to pay for.

Giving Clear a second chance a friend informed me since I first tried them they had improved. I did not want a 2 year contract but that what the jerk gave me, Tha'ts ok, that Ccard expires soon I'll use that and the issues I been having since to renegotiate. Oh second tier tech support determined the modem was bad (flaky) expecting a new one today.

Still no way in hell they gonna run stable voice/phone on this and I'm only 5 minutes from downtown Dallas, Parkland Hospital and Love Field airport This is not a REMOTE area just blocks from I-35 the Dallas North Tollway and a mile from North Central expressway

member for 19.9 years, 3042 visits, last login: 49 days ago
updated 10.9 years ago


PamelaTS
Digital Chick
join:2004-04-20
Dallas, TX

PamelaTS

Member

Nope changed my mind,

Canceling and sending this back today

RussZ
@clearwire-wmx.net

RussZ

Anon

Re: Nope changed my mind,

Sad. Mine has worked so far so good. I have occasions it does go down to 1 bar now due to a tower being worked on locally, but the first two days I had 4-5 lights and 12mb down 1meg up. Fast speeds. Even with 2-3 bars I see 5-6 meg down. Their customer service has been great. It sounds like you were expecting more. This is wireless, and you have to be flexible. When you get a mobile card and home card I am fine with it. I can still play games just fine and the ping is around 100 in games which is normal.

PamelaTS
Digital Chick
join:2004-04-20
Dallas, TX

PamelaTS

Member

Dropping off the Clear Modem

The UPS store guy says a lot of people in the area are canceling sending this Wi-Crap back. fyi. less than three miles from downtown, no high rises around, and fronts the North Dallas Tollway. Prime area should-a been great. Oh yeah 4-5 bars.

hfwjim
@atmosenergy.com

hfwjim

Anon

NO: UNLESS LINE OF SIGHT

If you can see the tower, Clear may work. I live one short block over, and one long block down from the Clear tower, and I cannot get 1 bar in my place because I cannot "see" the tower. It really does have to be in your line of sight. Clears return policy is UPS only, you cant take the modem back to any Clear store...and then the phone calls to stop the billing; too much of a hassle.
Listen to me Clear, we want you to work, but if you don't push enough juice through your transmitter, then you have what you have.
Good Grief

PamelaTS
Digital Chick
join:2004-04-20
Dallas, TX
Asus RT-AC66
HTC 5G Hub

PamelaTS

Member

Moved again...

Ok moved again several miles out from town, old hood got to dangerous.

New address is a different Clear experience it's blazing fast constant 5 bars. Signal strength isn't everything I think some areas they have crap equipment lower throughput just to put folks off.

Review by wfidler42580 See Profile

  • Location: undisclosed location
  • Cost: $50 per month
Slower than watching paint dry
never again
Pre Sales Information:
Install process:
Connection reliability:
Tech Support:
Services:
Value for money:

Got Clear for my home me and my son play games on pc and console and we also watch netflix as far as multi-tasking goes this isp blows we couldn't play a game on the pc and watch netflix on the ps3 at the same time and i starting getting dial up d/l speeds. When we cancelled our service they cut off our service a day before our billing cycle had ended even though it was paid for till the next day. Would never do buisness with them again. Switched to centurylink and never been happier 30 bucks cheaper a month and have not had any issues with it. we are loving the 12mbs with centurylink and would never go back to clear.

member for 11.3 years, driveby review (so far)
updated 11.3 years ago


JoetoSlow
@grandenetworks.net

JoetoSlow

Anon

4 years of making payments on time and Piss Poor Service

Clear just cut my internet today after 4 years of dedicated and religiously making payments on time, and sometimes 2 or 3 days before due date, and them delivering piss poor service. I only stayed with them because I thought one day they would try to improve their service, and I could watch streaming video without interruptions. They have got to be the slowest internet provider in the world, one step above dial-up maybe. I would not recommend anyone getting service with them. Stay as far away from them as you can. You have been warned!

Review by ALLENIRON See Profile

  • Location: Odessa, Ector, TX, USA
  • Cost: $60 per month
If its all you can get may god be with you.
Everything you can imagine and then some.
Stay away don't get ripped off by these crooks!
Pre Sales Information:
Install process:
Connection reliability:
Tech Support:
Services:
Value for money:

I have used clear since they first rolled out as Clearwire. for 6 years now i have suffered there worst and

there best. from grade a customer support to a support team i wouldn't pay pennies. from people who were

courteous to the rudest people on earth that make people like Hitler look like a saint.
I have always expected some bad service hear and there. After all no one is perfect and nothing infallible.

However the last 7 days have been unbearable. I have dealt with over 10 reps and while only 4 of them were

trying to help the rest could give a shit and care less. Speeds have been below Dial-up Speeds and sometimes

non existent . We get no credit on our bills when we cant use the service. We get no information about why its

going on they wont own up to anything just tell us its us and not them then it magically works for a few hours

at blazing speeds then back to nothing for hours. Tech reps tell you to reboot your modem never do this this

kicks you from there networks for hours. Also they throttle everyone the same. You say no big deal almost

everyone throttles. This is true but I pay for the high end service as we watch Netflix and play games online.

Other people may pay for the lower end service around 20$ a month I pay 50$ and I get throttled to the same

below dial-up speed as the lower end service which in no way do I feel is right or ethical to do to a customer

paying your paycheck.
At this point I wouldn't recommend Clear to my worst enemy as they wont even tell us why we don't have service

and would like to keep us chasing our own tails and bullshitting us to believing our hardware is broken.
Hell I had one tech rep tell me I wasn't covered in service area Last night! I have lived in the same house for

entire time I have had Clear. My modem is fixed to the external wall of the house in a custom fabricated case

which keeps it clean and safe from the elements and ensures no direct sunlight and maintains a beautiful 5 bars

of signal worst ever being 4 bars.
Now I assured the tech rep my house being 2500 sq-ft had not in fact moved out of the service area magically

floating or otherwise. After this he decided to terminate our conversation.
So for those of you thinking of investing in clear before you do check out
»www.google.com/finance?c ··· DAQ:CLWR

member for 11.3 years, driveby review (so far)
lodged 11.3 years ago


Review by pinkybone See Profile

  • Location: Las Vegas, Clark, NV, USA
  • Cost: $32 per month (24 month contract)
nothing good
horrible tech support horrible service
not worth it
Pre Sales Information:
Install process:
Connection reliability:
Tech Support:
Services:
Value for money:

So first off i would like to point out that unlike every other review i have read i get 5 bars...all the time...... anywhere i put my modem. Yet i can not get more then 1mps/1mps which is needless to say somethin else. the first 3 months i had it all they did was tell me that noone gets 5 bars and that my net should be the best they can give..... after 3 months of dealing with them i talked them in to lower my rates from 50$ a month to 32$ a month. i have made atleast 70 calls to tech support in the yr i have had the service and every time they say its the tower,can i move the modem, they are adjusting the tower for me, and then they never contact me back as they say they will. the best part is i can see the tower out of my window and get 5 bars 24/7. Also i found out that the 4-6mps they say they give is a max that is not garunteed. after i signed my contract and had all my issues with them i was told that they garuntee nothing as far as speeds....for those who like it i hope u never get throttled.

member for 11.7 years, 1 visits, last login: 11.7 years ago
updated 11.7 years ago

wirelessdog
join:2008-07-15
Queen Anne, MD

wirelessdog

Member

Throttled or slow speeds?

Did you experience the slow speeds prior to being throttled?
pinkybone
join:2012-07-07
Las Vegas, NV

pinkybone

Member

Re: Throttled or slow speeds?

i had slow speeds before i go throttled. the throttle just makes it worse. i believe in the yr i have had it my fastest d/u was like 3.2/1.5 which lasted for about 10mins. Even at 1 am when no one is on i get a nice slow 1.3 avg.

CTS
@bell.ca

CTS

Anon

Perhaps There Are Too Many Active Users

Clearwire uses a WiMax network to provide Internet services on its shared network. The way WiMax works is, as there are more and more “active” users on the network using simultaneously the bandwidth throughput (sustainable speed) will decline.

You should ask the tech support of how many active subscribers are actually on that particular cell sector (Base Station). The Wimax residential bandwidth is fixed at 10 MHz with spectral efficiency of 3.7bit/hz (about 37 mb/s) and it is shared with all active users. This means if there are 20 active users on the network at the time of your using you may only get a 1.7 mb/s bandwidth (about 1.3 mb/s download and 0.4 mb/s upload).

This is due to WiMax channel is being shared on both directions (download/upload) through a scheme called half-duplexing. (Note: The first release WiMax supported full-duplexing but the download speed would have been even worse due to a better upload speed tradeoff.

Fortunately, Clearwire is also currently overhauling its network with a buildout of LTE network using a TDD version (TD-LTE). This new network is highly resilient and with a much higher spectral efficiency (8.5 bit/hz). The bandwith peak for WiMax is currently at 37 mb/s max while a TD-LTE can peak at 168 mb/s. Keep in mind, that this is only during its initial launching stage with an allocation of 20 MHz, for Clearwire is also planning to expand it up to 60 or 80 MHz (about 1000-1300 mb/s) gradually at later stage as the need arises. This type of allocation can never be done with a WiMax technology.
pinkybone
join:2012-07-07
Las Vegas, NV

pinkybone

Member

Re: Perhaps There Are Too Many Active Users

Ya they have been telling me that for a yr now lol. Honestly its not worth the wait and the bad support. Not to mention all of this information was not given to me before i signed up when i was "guaranteed" 4-6mps. 1 rule if business is don't guarantee what you cant give. That is why i am no longer a clear customer. i would rather pay the extra couple bucks and go with a better internet.

pdizzy
@wa.gov

pdizzy

Anon

clear wireless tri-cities

I had a horrific experience with Clear wireless. Crappy service/connection, incompetent "support" staff who don't know anything at all about their product or how it works, and when I finally tried to cancel, they lied and said I had agreed to some fictitous 2 year contract that invented out of the sky.. After filing a complaint with the attorney generals office, I was finally able to cancel. This was of course after wasting countless hours via telephone and email. They have thousands of complaints against them I guess do to all of these issues and more.. My recommendation: Look elsewhere for your internet service.

Review by ResidentWeev See Profile

  • Location: San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
  • Cost: $50 per month
If you're lucky enough to be in an area where coverage is as promised, it's adequate.
False coverage maps, svc doesnt wk as advertised, tech suppt so bad I wouldn't believe it if I hadn't been through it myself
Liars. I don't understand how they stay in business.
Pre Sales Information:
Install process:
Connection reliability:
Tech Support:
Services:
Value for money:

I've been with Clear for a few months and the service has been totally inferior to what was advertised... my entire neighborhood is in their "best coverage" on their coverage map, and in fact the map says there is a tower 250 feet away, and the website says I should have no problem receiving signal even indoors... yet I get little to no coverage, from anywhere in the entire neighborhood (I've walked around the surrounding blocks trying to get a better signal.) I pay for 6M/1.5M, but typical speeds are more like 1M/.05M... when I can get a connection at all, which is rare.

If I stand out in the middle of the street with my Clear hotspot, on the same block where they claim there is an antenna, I *sometimes* can get 1-2 bars. I have stood outdoors on the third floor, line-of-sight from the rooftop where they claim there is an antenna 200 feet away, and the RSSI is about -90 or less.

But the worst thing of all is their "customer service". This is the most unhelpful company I've ever dealt with, bar none.

You've honestly got to experience it yourself to believe it, it's beyond the pale. They lie, they concoct different stories every time you call, they disconnect you without warning and then when you call back the next person sees no record of the half hour you just spent on the phone, they promise to get back to you and never do - they very obviously have no interest in actually helping the customer. My favorite one was being told a few weeks ago that my neighborhood was "too close to the tower" to get reception.

They don't even seem to be familiar with Clear's products, and can't answer questions about it that don't appear in the script they read from, assuming they understand the questions, which they don't always. If you ask them to explain something they said - or, say, point out that a flat, square device doesn't have a "front" that you can "point" at a tower - they seem not to even comprehend the question. I've been on the phone with support about 25 times at this point (no, that's not an exaggeration) and I can say for sure that this is the norm. It's worse than a joke.

If you complain on Twitter, you'll occasionally get someone who seems to speak better English, but is certainly even less helpful. Today, when I wrote to ask why I - AGAIN - haven't heard back in ten days on a promised reply, I received back, in their typical broken English, "Are you still having the same issues? If so, it may be a poor fit for our services. I can definitely understand if you would like to pursue other services." This, after months of trying to get the problems resolved. It's a "poor fit" to expect to receive the service they advertise as providing.

Honestly, I have more than once felt like they were actually *trying* to make me angry. It's like they go out of their way to be enraging. "Poor fit", my foot. They're liars.

Google for the class-action lawsuits, Better Business Bureau complaints, etc.

The frustrating thing is, I can take my hotspot to other parts of the city, where there is taller buildings and more electronic interference, and be much further from any antennas, and I get 4-5 bars, even from deep inside a building full of other wireless networks. So I know the service *can* work, if you get lucky - some areas are fine. My area? It doesn't work, and they don't care. They'll tell you it does, and take your money for months and months, giving you a support runaround until you finally decide to cancel. Anything to get your couple of hundred bucks until you figure out you're being scammed.

I don't understand how they stay in business. I guess that Sprint contract pays well, and Sprint doesn't care either. Dunno.

member for 11.7 years, 2 visits, last login: 10.6 years ago
updated 11.7 years ago