WarmCoke
join:2007-01-31
Boise, ID
 ·Clearwire Wireless
| reply to rosechild
Re: [General] Should I get Clearwire? I live in the country
Clearwire has as many positive reviews here as it does negative - its just in many cases the negative ones stand out as the "squeaky wheel" gets the grease and so forth.
I have had my Clearwire service for over a year now and have never had a major problem with it - my speeds are still as advertised if not better than when I first signed up. Customer service has been nothing by helpful the few times that I have had to contact them.
See if your local Clearwire sales office will let you do what they let me when I first was thinking about signing up - take a Clearwire modem home for 2-3 night and give it a try risk free in your home. I really appreciated the ability to do that and it calmed a lot of my connectivity concerns.
Let's see a DSL or cable provider do that! |
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N O Y B
St. John 3.16
join:2005-12-15
Forest Grove, OR
4 edits | said by WarmCoke  :Let's see a DSL or cable provider do that!
They already do as standard practice.
For example last I knew Verizon Online (DSL and FiOS) is first month free when signing up for 1 year term. Cancel any time in first thirty days at no charge.
In fact a few years ago I signed up for Verison DSL. It was incorrectly provision for the older type and customer support could not assure reordering would change it to the new type. So I canceled. Verizon paid shipping both ways on the modem. No questions asked. No charge. Did not have to pester them or nothing. They just made it happen.
Lets see ClearWire do that (including shipping both ways). With it clearly published on their web site.
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Be a Good Netizen - Read, Know & Honor Your ISP Terms of Service
Comcast: »www.comcast.net/terms/index.jsp
Verizon: »onlinehelp.verizon.net/consumer/···0707.pdf |
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WarmCoke
join:2007-01-31
Boise, ID
·Clearwire Wireless
| NOYBNOYB - its not quite the same I would put forward. When I left my house one morning I did not have broadband internet access. By that night, I did. I simply picked up the modem on my lunch break, plugged it into an outlet and then into my PC and I was online. Don't even for one second tell me that this ease of trial can be replicated with cable or DSL - that would be silly. I'm sure that I could have tried cable or DSL service for free for a while - but I would not have that free access within a few hours of deciding to give it a try. No way Jose!
There is no more simple way to install broadband than with Clearwire and no more simple way to trial broadband than with Clearwire.....until someone proves it otherwise to me. Nobody had to come to my house beside me to get my service up and running!
On a side note - I recently went to my parents house for the weekend - they do not have internet access and I knew that I would want to take my laptop and work. I simply threw the Clearwire modem in the car and I had my own broadband account with me for the entire weekend. Worked great! Now, lets see cable or DSL do that - oh that's right they can't - it hard wired. Wires - so 90's!! |
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N O Y B
St. John 3.16
join:2005-12-15
Forest Grove, OR
4 edits | So now that your original challenge was overwhelmingly overthrown you wish to change the subject to comparing other aspects of various internet services.
Well okay.
The only thing keeping people with existing land line phone or cable from having access the same day as ordered is usually just delivery of the modem.
No one had to come to my house to install my Verizon DSL. Same could be true for pre existing FiOS site also, and could be true for cable too.
As internet access goes a few days trial is not really much to go on. Especially for a wireless service wich can change substantially with weather, etc. Certainly not with a $220 early termination fee.
Yes ClearWire has some advantages, but then so does DSL, FiOS and cable. On balance the only reason I see for going with ClearWire is if the others are not available or mobility is a service requirement. The ClearWire early termination fee is excessive and there is only one good reason for that, in my opinon they know they need something to hold customer with.
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Be a Good Netizen - Read, Know & Honor Your ISP Terms of Service
Comcast: »www.comcast.net/terms/index.jsp
Verizon: »onlinehelp.verizon.net/consumer/···0707.pdf |
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WarmCoke
join:2007-01-31
Boise, ID
·Clearwire Wireless
| I think that this is a good discussion - we are comparing and contrasting services. Clearwire is hanging onto me as a customer (and many people I know in this area) just fine with the early termination fee really not even being an issue. I do not feel bad for most people that complain about that fee either as most of them knew the terms of the contract they were signing up.
I did not want to go with cable as I don't watch much TV and did not have cable in my home at the time - I was considering VOIP so I did not want my internet access tied to the local phone company as I was going to tell them to take their dial tone and shove it. That left me with wireless broadband and it has worked out very well to this point. |
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N O Y B
St. John 3.16
join:2005-12-15
Forest Grove, OR
1 edit | Like I said, they all have their pros and cons. Just a matter of selecting what fits the particular needs/requirements.
Many people will not sign up for ClearWire due to the excessive early termination fee. It is clearly well beyond cost recovery. For example if a person were to sign up for a 1 year contract and terminate 1 month early, they would still owe $110 early termination fee. For many people that is about 3 times their monthly bill.
If I understand it is prorated like this.
12th mo. $110 ETF
11th mo. $120 ETF
10th mo. $130 ETF
9th mo. $140 ETF
8th mo. $150 ETF
7th mo. $160 ETF
6th mo. $170 ETF
5th mo. $180 ETF
4th mo. $190 ETF
3th mo. $200 ETF
2th mo. $210 ETF
1th mo. $220 ETF
Even Verizon FiOS ETF is much less, $99, and it is much more expensive to install. But Verizon rightly so can be very confident people who order their FiOS service are going to like it and be satisfied with the reliability, stability and performance of the service. And yet for per/bit bandwidth FiOS, DSL and Cable cost less than ClearWire. So unless it is the only game in town or mobility is a requirement, ClearWire is clearly out of the game.
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Be a Good Netizen - Read, Know & Honor Your ISP Terms of Service
Comcast: »www.comcast.net/terms/index.jsp
Verizon: »onlinehelp.verizon.net/consumer/···0707.pdf |
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WarmCoke
join:2007-01-31
Boise, ID
·Clearwire Wireless
| Clearwire's early termination fee is on par with many cell phone contracts that I have been a part of - even less in some cases. I don't think that it is as nearly as heinous as your posts make it out to be - by any means. And for satisfied customers like me and my neighbors - we will never pay it so its really a moot point.
Clearwire was not by any means the only game in my town at the time - but I wanted flexibility and that is what I received. I am not beholden to the phone company as I don't have DSL and the cable company and their constantly increasing rates can just stay away. I'm wireless - and loving it. |
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N O Y B
St. John 3.16
join:2005-12-15
Forest Grove, OR |
Comparing broadband ETF with cell phone ETF is apples and oranges.
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WarmCoke
join:2007-01-31
Boise, ID | Comes out of the same checking account...........
And again - moot point as I and most Clearwire customers will not be paying it. |
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N O Y B
St. John 3.16
join:2005-12-15
Forest Grove, OR
1 edit | Yup, comes out of your checking account. Most people will not take that chance with so much on the line if DSL, fiber or cable are available which provides more bandwidth for less money and much smaller early termination fee, maybe even no ETF at all for some.
Like I said earlier, unless mobility is requirement or only available service, ClearWire is out of the game.
Apparently you would rather spend the extra dough on mobility rather than broadband for your parents. That is fine, to each their own. You are in a very small niche willing to pay more for less bandwidth in exchange for mobility, so be it. As for myself, and many others, everywhere I need internet access from has broadband with WiFi access. And some of those places are out of the small ClearWire service area.
--
Be a Good Netizen - Read, Know & Honor Your ISP Terms of Service
Comcast: »www.comcast.net/terms/index.jsp
Verizon: »onlinehelp.verizon.net/consumer/···0707.pdf |
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WarmCoke
join:2007-01-31
Boise, ID
·Clearwire Wireless
| Geez dude - its a couple hundred bucks - not something I would really have to head to a loan shark to cover even if I did want out of the contract.  If the ETF is your main beef with Clearwire - I might suggest focusing on something that is actually related to the service.
Clearwire is obviously not "out of the game" for hundreds of thousands of current customers, not to mention the millions of people that will eventually be with a WiMax provider over the next few years as it is rolled out in a broader fashion. It might be out of your game - but you seem to be attached to the idea of a wired world.
Remember as well that you are the one that came to this thread and started this little rant about Clearwire. I was simply giving some advice to the OP regarding the service. There are many happy Clearwire customers and there will continue to be so. And I would predict that WiMax technology in general will grow in popularity and more and more people will be able to ditch their cable company or phone company allegiances.
It's not just cable, dsl or another wired provider anymore - wireless broadband works - and for tons of us - it works extremely well. |
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DemonChicken
join:2006-10-15
Boon, MI | If it works so well, then why isn't it where I live?
EVDO sucks, at least mine does, I have it set up like they wanted me to set it up and as of right now I can't play TF2. |
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WarmCoke
join:2007-01-31
Boise, ID
·Clearwire Wireless
| That question does not even make sense to be honest - "If it works so well why isn't it where I live?" That is like asking if the Eiffel Tower is so pretty, why isn't it in the United States?
Clearwire has the hardware and the towers setup to offer service in select US cities - that is not abnormal....in fact its very normal. The fact that you cannot get it in your area means absolutely nothing about the service that Clearwire offers. |
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Geddy2112
join:2006-10-01
Albuquerque, NM | reply to DemonChicken
Try Verizon Wireless Rev. A EVDO. Much more mobile than Clearwire will EVER be & flat out faster service. I worked for Clearwire & believe me...not good. |
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