Clearwire Internet initial review

[ponyo]

Clearwire recently entered the Atlanta market and was offering 6mb down/ 500k up for home and mobile combo for $55 a month. I decided to try it out since the fastest DSL speed I get from AT&T is about 1.2mb down / 300k up. I am paying $43/ month for this slow naked DSL.

Setup is a breeze. Power on and plug an ethernet line to the modem and you're done. The difficult part is trying to find a good clear signal. I have to position the modem directly on my window ledge or else I can't get a decent signal. Placing it on my desk or anywhere else gets one signal bar and super slow speed.

I'm getting around ~3mb down/ ~500k up with 4 bars which is about double what I am getting with the DSL. I've no problem using it with my Ooma VOIP phone and the sound quality is excellent. I think it sounds little better than before since my upload speed is slightly faster.

I also bought clear usb modem for my Acer netbook. It doesn't work too well inside the house but works great outside driving around. I'm getting ~3mb down/ ~500k up which I think is pretty good for mobile speed. Now I can surf around town without having to locate an unsecured WiFi signal. Mobile internet is one of the main reason I signed up for Clear and 4g WiMax is pretty cool.

Overall my initial impression of Clearwire is very positive and if everything works as well after a week I will be canceling my AT&T DSL service.

 

[frostedflakes]

Not bad. Does Clearwire have a hard monthly bandwidth limit? I know a lot of wireless providers can be pretty stingy about how much bandwidth you're allowed to use.

 

[AnonymouseUser]

Thanks for the review. I have considered wireless due to lack of options at my place of business (384x384 dsl is all we can get), and VOIP is definitely a concern. Clearwire doesn't offer service in the Dallas area yet, but food for thought anyway.

 

[JS80]

gawd that is amazing. i can't wait until they roll it out in LA.

 

[ponyo]

Originally posted by: frostedflakes
Not bad. Does Clearwire have a hard monthly bandwidth limit? I know a lot of wireless providers can be pretty stingy about how much bandwidth you're allowed to use.

Not that I know of. Both the home and mobile are unlimited but I'm sure there's something in fine print I missed.

 

[erub]

I wandered into the Vegas store as I'll be moving there in a couple weeks. It looks interesting, but I'm not sure how much I'd use it around town, as I have my iPhone always with me. So I would basically be exchanging it for a DSL or cable offering and haven't done the complete price analysis.

 

[marvdmartian]

Yeah, Clearwire and another one we have here, Xanadoo, both can have decent speeds. Like you said, Naustica, it depends on where you put the modem, and somewhat, where you live.

Sadly, the only fast internet I can obtain where I live is roadrunner. AT&T called me last year, and were all excited that they were bringing DSL into my neighborhood.....at a blazing fast 768Kb/sec!!! :roll:

I'm too far from the Clearwire and Xanadoo transmitters to get much more speed than that from wireless. :brokenheart:

 

[frostedflakes]

You could probably get an amplifier and antenna, which would help tremendously if you're in a fringe area, but that stuff can get pretty expensive. Probably not worth the cost if you're happy enough with Roadrunner.

 

[h8red]

Can you get more than one modem? It would be really handy to take one to work

 

[Arkaign]

I had ClearWire back in 06-07 in Hillsboro, Tx, and was also a reseller. In our area at that time the speed was 1.5mb/128k or so. It was fine for web use, but was laggy and they throttled the crap out of torrents. I think that was an earlier gen of wireless, and what you're describing sounds more like legitimate WiMax.

 

[DaveSimmons]

A Google search of Clearwire when I was thinking of getting it, turned up a lot of customers that were unhappy with the old version.

They're switching technology and hardware market-by-market so be careful you don't sign up for 2 years of the old 1/128 service and be stuck with modems that won't work with the new tech.

 

[orakle]

Is there any way to hook up an external antenna? Maybe if you could get a nice directional antenna on your roof you'd get better speed.

 

[Sasiki]

What are your ping times for gaming and stuff?

 

[AVAFREAK182]

i think clearwire sucks dick.

 

[Queasy]

I'll have to check this out for my wife's business. If you think AT&T is expensive for homes...you should see what they charge for small businesses. I pay less and get faster speeds (6mbps) at home than what AT&T offers for small businesses (only 1.5mbps down). Comcast is worse.

There's another company called Clear but they don't have coverage out in Duluth.

edit: ARRRGGHH. This makes no sense. I typed in the wrong street address that puts my wife's business a block further up north from Atlanta and it says there is coverage. I retype the address in correctly and now it shows no coverage.

 

[ponyo]

Originally posted by: DaveSimmons
A Google search of Clearwire when I was thinking of getting it, turned up a lot of customers that were unhappy with the old version.

They're switching technology and hardware market-by-market so be careful you don't sign up for 2 years of the old 1/128 service and be stuck with modems that won't work with the new tech.

When I searched for Clear, I found all kinds of bad reviews and clearwiresucks dotcom which scared me. But I was so tired of AT&T DSL that I decided to give it a shot. My initial impressions are good but I'm still testing the service. Atlanta has the newer WiMAX 802.16e which supports faster speeds.

Originally posted by: Sasiki
What are your ping times for gaming and stuff?

I haven't tested this much but initial speedtest ping seems inline with what I was getting w/ the DSL.

Originally posted by: Queasy
There's another company called Clear but they don't have coverage out in Duluth.

Queasy, Clear is the service I have. Clearwire is branding their new service as "Clear."

 

[frostedflakes]

So what pings are you getting at speedtest? IIRC they're supposed to be pretty good for WiMax, 50ms or so. Better than the 100-150ms I get with EVDO, not nice for gaming.

 

[ch33zw1z]

Wasn't Clearwire involved in a lawsuit regarding ETFs and violations of Consumer Protection Acts?

 

[KentState]

Originally posted by: Arkaign
I had ClearWire back in 06-07 in Hillsboro, Tx, and was also a reseller. In our area at that time the speed was 1.5mb/128k or so. It was fine for web use, but was laggy and they throttled the crap out of torrents. I think that was an earlier gen of wireless, and what you're describing sounds more like legitimate WiMax.

Atlanta was one of the first cities to have true WiMax which is being resold through Clear as Sprint was not yet ready to handle selling it. A lot people are confusing ClearWire with what is being sold now. I wish that Sprint would have just sold it to get the branding right from the beginning.

 

[ponyo]

Originally posted by: frostedflakes
So what pings are you getting at speedtest? IIRC they're supposed to be pretty good for WiMax, 50ms or so. Better than the 100-150ms I get with EVDO, not nice for gaming.

I did couple simultaneous speedtest with WiMax and DSL on my desktop and notebook and got:

Sprint, Chicago, IL

WiMax: 1,736 Kb/s down, 521 Kb/s up, 59 ms ping
DSL: 1,176 Kb/s down, 279 Kb/s up, 74 ms ping

Speakeasy, NY, NY

WiMax: 1,935 Kb/s down, 531 Kb/s up, 72 ms ping
DSL: 1,436 Kb/s down, 288 Kb/s up, 62 ms ping

LinkLine, Los Angeles, CA

WiMax: 1,720 Kb/s down, 495 Kb/s up, 139 ms ping
DSL: 951 Kb/s down, 215 Kb/s up, 139 ms ping

Neither is blazing fast but WiMax is more consistent. I'm getting almost double the upload speed with Clear WiMax which is important to me as I use Ooma VOIP phone. Also, I get periodic slow download speed with my AT&T DSL, dropping down to 300-400 Kb/s.

 

[coloumb]

Dang..figured Clear might be cheaper...

Comcast High-Speed (12mbps+powerboost Speeds Up To 15mbps) - $42.95
Clear Unlimited Home Internet (3mbs/1mbs)- $45.00

 

[timswim78]

We've had it in Baltimore for a while, but it is called XOHM here.

 

[xanis]

Originally posted by: timswim78
We've had it in Baltimore for a while, but it is called XOHM here.

I was in some mall in the Inner Harbor and saw a XOHM kiosk and was like, "WTF is that?"

Now I know.

 

[Phokus]

huh, you'd think something like this would be more useful in rural areas