If you live in Atlanta, you’ll be happy to hear that there’s a new ISP in town. And I’m not talking about just any type of Internet connection. I’m talking about WiMAX (read my Thoughts on WiMAX post). It’s called CLEAR by Clearwire and its launch makes Atlanta the “Fastest Unwired City in the South”. That’s a pretty hefty claim that I’ll have to put to the test later. CLEAR isn’t the first WiMAX provider in the United States – Sprint launched WiMAX under their XOHM brand name in Baltimore last October, and other providers have been helping businesses with WiMAX coverage in major cities as well. But for Atlantans, CLEAR is the currently the only consumer choice when it comes to WiMAX, and considering that providers like Verizon have much slower 3G data plans with 5GB monthly download caps that cost about the same, CLEAR is starting to look pretty good.
Clearwire’s new CLEAR logo
Yesterday’s launch event was far from a little booth at the mall. They pulled out all the stops and took over the Atlantic Station shopping center in midtown Atlanta. There were lots of CLEAR demos being given as well as promotional information for visitors to take home.
Atlantic Station CLEAR Launch Event
The Product
Unlike many of its competitors, CLEAR claims to be different, forgoing lengthy and expensive service contracts for mobile and residential plans that can be purchased by the month or by the day (a day pass will run you $10, provided you already have the hardware). However, despite that fluff if you signup for a two-year service agreement you get “additional savings”, as well as if you get both a mobile and residential plan.
Most people will opt for the $50/month unlimited mobile Internet plan, which incurs a $35 activation fee for those not wishing to get roped into a two-year agreement (I’m looking at you AT&T, no way I’m paying $599 for an iPhone 3GS). I don’t think it would be wise to get CLEAR’s residential WiMAX for your home at this time (only 6 Mbps down), when other non-wireless providers can provide much, much faster connections for the same price.
USB Motorola WiMAX modem dongle
So what’s the difference between mobile and residential plans? For one, there’s different hardware and different performance. When you’re on the go, you only have two options – the hideous USB dongle (I would have preferred some smaller ExpressCard solutions), or using a new laptop with an Intel embedded WiMAX chipset. CLEAR’s USB Motorola WiMAX modem costs $59 and they claim a typical download throughput of 4 Mbps (and 0.5 Mbps up) with that. Residential customers can opt for a book-sized WiMAX modem for $79 that is capable of a typical download throughput of 6 Mbps.
If anything, I’d be most interested in their Verizon MiFi competitor — the CLEAR Spot ($139). Hook it up to the USB dongle and you’ve got an instant mobile Wi-Fi network for your laptop and 7 other Wi-Fi enabled devices (all sharing the 4 Mbps connection).
The Performance
For example, some of today’s 3G wireless networks typically deliver download speeds of between 1.0 and 1.7 Mbps. CLEAR customers, however, can expect to see download speeds of 4 to 6 Mbps with bursts exceeding 15 Mbps, far surpassing even the peak theoretical speeds of 7.2 Mbps in upcoming 3G upgrades. In Atlanta, the CLEAR network utilizes an area-wide WiMAX radio system from Motorola.
- Clearwire
The first thing I did on their demo computers was get out of their kiosk mode Opera browser so I could run a bandwidth test. I navigated to speedtest.net, my go-to site when it comes to carrying out reliable bandwidth tests. It was on this site that I discovered something a bit odd, the CLEAR WiMAX connection was originating somewhere in Seattle. To clarify, it seems like all data for CLEAR users must hop along all the way from Seattle before coming to Atlanta. Can you say latency? (Disclosure: These were all just observations noted in a brief 2 minute test, YMMV. I didn’t get to run any tracerts, et cetera.)
CLEAR 4G WiMAX Speedtests – Mobile modem (left) and Home modem (right)
Interestingly enough, Seattle is where Sprint has their XOHM WiMAX network. Sprint Nextel and Clearwire are in cahoots and working together on this whole WiMAX thing. So if you see a Sprint WiMAX offering in Atlanta later on, the service might not be so different than CLEAR’s.
That being said, I decided to simulate the speeds one could expect interacting with locally-hosted sites/services and performed several speed tests with speedtest.net’s Atlanta-based test server, the same server that my home Internet connection can access just fine. For a laptop equipped with the mobile CLEAR service, I received 1.01 Mbps down and 410 Kbps up, compared to the 2.68 Mbps down and 900 Kbps up bandwidth for the residential CLEAR modem equipped laptop. Long story short, I can’t definitively say anything about CLEAR’s WiMAX service without a more thorough review, as their could be various lurking variables with the test setup I had at my disposal. I was expecting better service though.
I’ve been trying to get my hands on CLEAR hardware and service for a review for weeks now, but they are only testing it for PC users. Oh did I mention that their software for the mobile USB WiMAX dongle is only supported by Windows at the moment? I told their representatives that I could make it work (be it via the CLEAR Spot Wi-Fi access point, or playing around with VMware on my Mac), but they insisted that I “won’t experience the true speed of WiMAX” through Wi-Fi. Last I checked a 4 Mbps connection can’t even max out 802.11b, let alone 802.11g. That’s a task for a fiber Internet connection.
For those needing a WiMAX refresher
Clearwire plans to expand its 4G network across other major metropolitan areas throughout the United States, with Baltimore and Portland already sporting CLEAR service. Las Vegas, Chicago, Charlotte, Dallas, Honolulu, Philadelphia and Seattle will get CLEAR later in 2009 while New York, Houston, San Francisco, Boston and Washington, D.C. residents will have to wait until 2010.
CLEAR WiMAX. cool buzzword? Yes. Neat logo? Check. Great for the perpetually-on-the-move coffee shop co-working types? Yup. Anything else? Pending further review. In other news, I dislike reviewing services whose names are in all caps; it feels like I’m just yelling each time I mention the company.
Does your city have a WiMAX service provider yet? What do you think about CLEAR? Are you currently a user of any for-your-laptop 3G/4G data services?
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It makes no sense to get this (at this point in time). They either have to compete on bandwidth or price.. neither of which are great.
You can get a free ExpressCard HSDPA modem and a $30/mo. for 6GB of data plan – which gets you close to 7.2mbps. Tethering my iPhone 3G I get 2.4mbps down and 0.3 up and that’s included with my $30 data plan here.
Yeah, it’s got some stiff competition from mature 3G/HSDPA offerings.. but once people start seeing that “with bursts exceeding 15 Mbps” piece come true, it’ll get interesting.
We actually have Clearwire in Hawai’i (Honolulu). To me, WiMAX is a huge letdown, on average people with it have speeds of 800kbps to 1.8mbps. Still long ways to go. For the price, I don’t think it’s worth it.
Do you mean Clearwire or CLEAR? Because while Clearwire has been offering wireless solutions for a while, they have yet to expand their real WiMAX solutions to Honolulu, under the CLEAR brand name, from what I can tell.
Yeah that is an excellent point which needs to be repeated often. There are a lot of people who had less than a stellar experience with CLEARWIRE, which is available everywhere all over the US. CLEAR wimax, on the other hand, is a whole different ball of wax. They should have completely dropped the CLEAR name altogether, to avoid this confusion. I am currently a CLEAR WiMax customer in Portland, and love it. I’m getting the 4Mbps down/ 500kbps up speed that they promised, using speakeasy.net. I think there are a lot of disenfranchised CLEARWIRE customers who have a bone to pick, and are trying to shoot down CLEAR WiMax for revenge! These people may even be trolls planted by the 3G Wireless companies, like Verizon or AT&T. If you are like me, and want to pay one flat monthly wireless fee, and make unlimited free skype calls 24/7 from anywhere in the city, then you need to support CLEAR WIMAX. I no longer need to wait for the evening/weekend to use my bazillion free cellphone minutes, while scrimping and saving my precious “primetime” cell minutes. That’s real freedom!
I have clearwire in Hawaii. I am outside of the actual coverage area by a couple hundred yards. Clearwire has been pretty consistent, however, I would switch to cable if I could get it because I get between 800 and 1.5 on the download speed, mostly in the 800’s. I did talk to a clearwire support person and they said that when they roll out CLEAR in Hawaii they will replace the modem free of charge and you will keep your current plan with faster speed. I don’t think it will work that way, I’ll have to wait and see.
Clearwire in Hawaii is a Pre-WiMAX service. True WiMAX with all of the speed and other features is still under construction and will not be available until perhaps late 2009. As I understand it, current Pre-WiMAX Clearwire customers will be migrated over to the CLEAR WiMAX network when it becomes available.
The residential modem gives faster speeds than my residential DSL that I pay $35 for… :(
Give it time. This is just the start, it doesn’t stand a chance at competing with residential lines but it is a step in the right direction. Just remember how 802.11 has progressed, 2mbps -> 11mbps -> 54mbps -> 100+mbps. Once WiMAX is more heavily integrated into laptops this stuff will take off. I wouldn’t mind a 10mbps connection while driving on the Interstate. Now somebody needs to convince Sprint to beef up their network to 4G across the country.
LOL we can barely get 3G across the country. Doing that with 4G will be a herculean feat. Maybe if they start by lining 75/85 with towers..
There was talk about Rhode Island becoming the first state entirely WIFI ready. It was supposed to be all WiMAX and Wi-Fi, but this was back in 2007.. Searching now I can’t find any official page to “Rhode Island Wireless Innovation Networks” and the links from blogs going to the “official page” are all 404ed..
2 technical points:
1. I think speedtest.net is basically using the AS record to “locate” where you are — it’s saying Seattle not necessarily because that’s how you’re topologically connected to the internet, but because the network block is registered via some Seattle postal address. It’s possible you really are routing through Seattle, but you’d have to do some other testing to figure that out. A good way would be ping some servers you know are physically located on the west coast and compare round-trip times to a ping of something on the east coast.
2. speedtest.net measures TCP download times. If there is a lot of latency on your link, then TCP transfers will get crippled due to the delay on the ACKs and the TCP congestion control algorithms used in most OSes which don’t like high latency links much. It would be interesting to repeat the test between a client and server which are both using Hybla for congestion control…
Yeah I definitely agree. There are some interesting things I could do if I had the hardware to test it out myself more thoroughly. Thanks for stopping by Craig. I hope to see your expertise in more comments around here. :-)
thnx for the post, i’ve been wondering about wimax since i heard an ad on the radio 2 days ago. in the past tho, i’ve read a bad things about wimax, and that LTE was the ‘chosen’ 4g technology.
Actually, ATT is being very leniant with their iphone customers. I’m thinking about upgrading. http://www.att.com/gen/press-room?pid=13745
early upgrade pricing of $399 isn’t that lenient, of which i am not personally eligible until December! (according to *NEW#) even though I got my last iPhone on launch week, and have been an AT&T user for years prior (5 years so far). so if I want the iPhone 3GS (16GB) I have to pay $599, or wait months and still pay $399. Now, if I had to wait until December and then I could pay $199, I could deal with that, but that’s not the case.
WiMAX will die a slow death. Both Verizon and AT&T are going with LTE, the global standard supported by the largest mobile network vendors, such as Nokia, Ericsson, etc, as well as the bulk of all carriers in the world. Sure, LTE is behind at this moment, but they will easily beat Sprint and Clearwire’s offerings in the end.
Yeah I hear ya. I’m just happy that it’s (wimax) here and now. I will be glad to hop on the LTE bandwagon when it arrives though. ;-)
Hope and pray that LTE does not win out! Because if it does, then nothing’s changed and we get more of the same from Verizon, AT&T, and their ilk. Do you think we’ll be getting a reasonable flat-rate, all-you-can-use data plan like Clear WiMax is offering right now? I highly doubt it. The established wireless companies make tons of cash from people going over their allotted primetime cell minutes and paying through the nose for their overages. They want Clear WiMax to die off, so they can maintain this horrible status quo. All those bazillion free evening and weekend minutes are just a gimmick. Most people need to use their phones during the day, during the week, and before 9pm. So if you care about choice, support and promote Clear WiMax as much as possible! And remember, Clear WiMax is a separate entity from CLEARWIRE and has a lot of very satisfied customers!
According to the CLEAR website, “CLEAR is the brand name for next generation mobile internet products and services offered by Clear Wireless, LLC. Combined with significant spectrum holdings, our WiMAX network provides unmatched capacity to deliver next generation broadband access.”
They may be a separate entity from CLEARWIRE, but they are a piece of CW. I would assume, that as CLEAR becomes more prevalent, CW will drop the WIRE or at least the service for the hopefully money maker, CLEAR.
I had Xohm in DC/Baltimore. It was great (sppeds, price) in the locations with coverage. But I travel and Clear/Xohm is severely limited in coverage. They also didn’t provide Mac drivers for my USB card. Needless to say, I went back to 3G and in fact just picked up a Sprint MiFi puck.
Great write-up Paul! I couldn’t have done it better myself. For full disclosure, I am a Clear Authorized Reseller. I do technology consulting and was approached by Clear a few months back to be a reseller. I operate virtually with no store front. For the Mac users out there you may want to wait a few months. Clear is going to launch a hybrid 3G/4G WiMAX device in August that will have support for Mac and OS X. I have a speed test video up on YouTube (www.youtube.com/wimaxatl) that I did over in Piedmont Park and almost hit 10MB download speeds using the Speakeasy speed test. Trust me, the potential is there. For some, this is a fantastic option. Not for everyone but a solid offering.
Thanks for stopping by Will. I just watched your youtube speedtest vid and was impressed by the 10Mbps download speed as well (I live next to Piedmont Park too haha). None of the demos they had at the event the other day got numbers like that, so I’m not sure what the deal was but as I stated earlier I only had very, very limited testing.
But I gotta say, as DaveZatz mentioned.. the more and more popular MiFi type devices are very enticing. the clear spot is kinda like that but it requires the big dongle sticking out the end. Looking forward to CLEAR releasing more details about that upcoming 3G/4G hybrid device.
http://tinypic.com/r/21eakbd/5
I get 12Mbps in home park (above GT), with either USB or the home modem.
Jacob could you tell me in which direction you have you modem pointed. I live in Homepark as well and I am having real trouble getting a decent signal.
Thanks
I would also like to know as well. I am living in Homepark as well and am having troubling finding a sweet spot.
Great post Paul — I was looking a bit more into wimax after reading this and realized it’s offered in Baltimore, so I’ll definitely have to check it out (especially since they have a 7 day free trial, and free USB data card to go along with the home “modem”.
Assuming it’s good enough to beat my comcast connection (even if it’s “provisioned” at 12Mbps….I don’t seem to ever really get close to that….), it’ll be a great deal especially considering the “free add-on” to use on my laptop on the go (though, currently tether to my phone)
Paul, thanks for the nice review. My primary interest in using something like CLEAR is so I can stop paying very expensive Bellsouth costs for phone/DSL (any suggestions?)
I know several people that are doing this. Since you can buy “just Internet” with Clear, you save a bunch of money by ditching DSL/Landline and going cellular for your phone but Clear for your Internet. In some cases people are saving $40-50 a month doing that.
Just be sure you have a strong Clear signal, so you get the best connection speed. If you send me an email, I can do a very detailed signal test. It’s the most important thing when looking at Clear.
William,
How do you perform this?
As I stated earlier up in this comment thread, I am a reseller. I have access to some tools that are not available on the Clear website. Personally, I will not sell Clear to someone unless I can determine the signal and experience will be positive. It all depends on the signal.
william (at) wimaxatl.com
Here is a bit of advice for those look at Clear WiMAX. Just because the Clear website says your address can get the Clear service, don’t assume that means you will have a strong signal. Your actual bandwidth and speed still depends on several factors based on your location and proximity to the closest tower.
If you go through a reseller like myself, we can do an on-site signal test to give you a real idea on what you can expect out of the service. I have lost sales because when I came to do the on-site test the signal was just not strong enough to get the speeds as advertised.
Don’t get me wrong, when it is good, it is good!
I am very interested in dumping Comcast, but I need to know that I am not giving up too much. I live in Woodstock. Is that too far out to get good service???
There is service up in Woodstock, but it really depends on exactly where you are. You email me your address I can tell you exactly what your signal looks like. william (at) wimaxatl.com. If you are close to a cell tower then the chances are good that you will get a good signal.
I have the ClearWire Home and Mobile bundle. It wasn’t a bad deal really for two seperate broadband connections. $65/month for life. With the mobile, I get 10mbs down and .5mbs up in my living room, on the marta, and downtown.
Now will this last as more users start crowding the pipes? no idea.
Have been using the Clear Wimax Home modem for over a week now, and it works great ! I live in Marietta , in East Cobb, and the speed of it is fine for me…I am able to stream movies from Netflix, download music files , surf the net…etc…I have posted a video of a speed test on youtube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cjrSbTlQTIo
I am getting a lot of questions about the lack of Mac support for the CLEAR mobile USB modem. I went ahead and wrote a post about this on my blog to try to answer those questions. The link is below:
The good news is that on August 1st a new 3G/4G device will be available and will feature Mac support.
William Higgins
Sorry, about the comment above. I mangled the HTML tags. Here is the link and proper title of the post in questions:
Details on Clear WiMAX and Mac Support
Thanks for the tips William, and for the blog lead Paul.
Would love an option like CLEAR to then ditch the land line for good by opting for the T-Mobile @ home line. Is that compatible with CLEAR William?
@Wingnut I believe the answer to your question is, yes. With CLEAR you have no need for a land line or any other phone type connection for the service to work. WiMAX is delivered to your location wirelessly. So unless I misunderstood the question the answer should be yes. You could have CLEAR WiMAX for Internet and then use your T-Mobile @ home line for phone. I hope this helps.
I just signed up for Clear and live near Cumberland Mall. So far, so good. Speed tests from dslreports are pretty dismal (1/130), but real-world speeds are within reasonable limits (4.5-5mbit down, ~300k up) considering that I’m located on the bottom floor of an apartment. At the bottom of a hill. Surrounded by trees. With a highway between me and the tower. Latency is also pretty respectable, especially for wireless, ~80-150ms. All-in-all, this is beating my DSL. It isn’t going to turn the heads of people getting good speeds with 6/8/10 Cable, but I don’t think there’s much to complain about when you consider the service is $65/mo for home *and* mobile. ($55/mo if I buy the hardware, but I’m waiting until the 3G/4G equipment is released).
Signal has been good so far (just signed up last night, though). 2-3 bars, had one lost sync, but that was while I was still playing around with the setup. Unfortunately, I tried all kinds of positions and couldn’t get 4 bars, which is where my reseller wants me to be before she’ll sell me the VoIP service (commendable, I must say, even though I’d like the voice).
The only thing I absolutely *don’t* like is that the Motorola CPEi 150 you get is a UHP modem, and can’t be turned into a simple bridge. The default pass for it is ‘motorola,’ though, and you can set up port-forwarding/DMZ/static leases, so it isn’t all bad. As long as you can disable the DHCP server on your router, no trouble connecting things.
Interesting, looks like CLEAR may not work with the T-Mobile @ home… which would have helped cut forever the anachronistic landline! (wife still wants one…)
Just pulled this from T-mobile’s site:
http://www.t-mobile.com/shop/addons/services/information.aspx?tp=Svc_Tab_TMobileAtHome
“Here’s what you need to get started:
• A home broadband Internet connection. Sorry, dial-up, satellite, and WiMax (Clearwire or Xanadoo) are not compatible
I see what you mean now. It still seems strange. They must have something special going on with that router they talk about. I would have to learn more before I would give up. You could use CLEAR Voice service, it is a very similar. $20 for unlimited calling can it can hook up to your old telephones. Let me know if you want more info on that. It is just an add-on to the CLEAR bundled services.
William
blog.wimaxatl.com
http://www.wimaxatl.com
Obviously late to this, but t-mobile at home does work with Clear service. I know, I set my dad up with it. Problem with it is, that both the Clear modem and the t-mobile ATA are set to the same IP range (192.168.15.X), so all you have to do is change the range on either the ATA or the Clear modem. He’s been happily using it ever since.
Makes one wonder if T-mobile does that intentionally, seeing Clear and Xanadoo as competitors in a space they want to be in…? Anyways, Clear offers VOIP for $20, not bad. So $40 for 6mbts in an at home station, and then $20 for VOIP service. That’s generally a savings of $10-$15 from phone company combos of those services. That should end up being a formidable competitor in Atlanta.
I have relocated to Las Vegas and was approached by one of the sales reps for Clear. I do have a simple question which I have not received adequate, or a believable answer (by the sales rep) to: I live in a direct flight path to McCarren Airport (primary airport to vegas). Some of the planes are flying incredibly low here. I have had some problems with cell service diminishing or having difficulty finding the tower during the flyovers. Will WiMax be affected in the same manner? I am not moving anytime soon, and I was looking at their home and mobile service. Any input would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Gina
That is an interesting question. I have not heard of any issues so far with low flying planes effecting WiMAX performance. WiMAX and Cell technologies are different. WiMAX is more similar to WiFi.
My advice would be to get with a reseller that will set you up with a 2 day trial. That is what I usually do for customers that have a real question about how the service will work in their situation. That is really the only way to know for sure. Also, a little know fact is that you do get a 7 day satisfaction period with CLEAR. So, if things don’t work out you have an option to send everything back to CLEAR.
I’m wondering when the hell Denver is going to see WiMAX… -_-
Just got word from an official Clearwire press release that Mac support for the USB adapter is due to land on August 17th. I also confirmed this date with the head of CLEAR in Atlanta, Marc Brachman. This date seems to be solid.
I have updated my blog with this info:
http://blog.wimaxatl.com/2009/06/details-on-clear-wimax-and-mac-support.html
Here is the press release:
http://tr.im/tqD4
How’s CLEAR compare to Comcast? That’ the no-customer-service company that I am dying to ditch (for internet at least).
MSB
It’s hard to do a straight up comparison to Comcast. I have several customers that ditched Comcast for CLEAR and have not looked back. It depends on what your situation is. When the CLEAR signal is good, the service rocks.
Clear dont think you are getting a great deal at all. I got the serivce for 7 days trial period. I got the highest speed service since i really need to run 2 phone lines. Clear cannot do 2 phone lines unless they charge for 2 boxes for wimax. I was going to get Vontage for my 2nd line since At&t is no longing going to offer CallVantage. I set up my clear but only got speeds of 2.9 vs 6. The speed was not as good as my DSL of 6. You would think AT&T woudl have Uverse is downtown Atlanta!
THe service at clear is good and very responsive but they could not help me find and window in my house that faced South that would improve my speed!
Just wanted to let you all know that a new version of the CLEAR WiMAX connection manager software was released over the weekend. This is not the new Mac version but it does now provide support for the new 3G/4G modem. I have some more details and a link to download over on my blog:
New CLEAR Connection Manager Software Released v1.04
http://blog.wimaxatl.com/2009/08/new-clear-connection-manager-software.html
William Higgins
Just found out that the Clear sales guy lied. You do not get access to the new 3G when 4G is not available and you do not get a new USB when its rolled out Aug 1. Instead of “its included” now they are saying it is changed service and will be $80 to take advantage of the 3G/4G connection. That is true bait and switch which really leaves a bad taste. This makes it a much better deal to go with one of the other existing 3G networks because I am not seeing the benefits. And its almost as slow with real world speed at about 4 not the promised 6. I’m already finding service holes in major areas in Atlanta too. Very disappointed. Wishing I had never gotten Clear.
Lance, would you mind emailing me the name of the sales rep that gave you the bad info? I think CLEAR should know about some of the bad sales tactics that are going on out there. The truth is, as a reseller, we did not get any official word on the 3G/4G plan until late last week. It was always my understanding that the 4G+ plan as they are calling it was going to be a totally different plan that was more expensive. I just got my batch of 3G/4G cards today so I have not even opened one up to test it out yet. I am sorry you got some bad information. Please let me know if there is anything I can do the help.
William Higgins
william (at) wimaxatl.com
I got the bait-and-switch treatment from the salesman, too: was told that since I was getting the unlimited plan, I’d be able to roam nationwide on 3G, that all I’d have to do was pay the $80 for the 4G+ modem. Guy set me up to lease the USB dongle while I waited for the 4G+ (which he also said would support Mac OS on August 1. Another lie.)
Turns out that this was a complete fiction and that CLEAR not only wants more money, they want it IN ADDITION TO the “Unlimited” plan they sold me the prior month. That’s right, $80 per month IN ADDITION to the $55 per month so-called “Unlimited” plan. They’re absolutely crazy if they think I’d hand them any more money after this debacle.
I have to agree: this leaves a VERY bad taste.
Likewise, the hour or more on hold with CLEAR trying to get this straightened out, and the flat-out-NO response from the company on delivering what they promised has destroyed the nascent relationship.
C’mon, I’m coming over from a very responsive local ISP in order to get the mobility. I’m used to getting a knowledgeable, empowered human in the US to take my call by the 3rd ring and get something done about my issue. Talking to CLEAR is like talking to a wall.
Finally, there’s virtually NO documentation available of the electronic contract I “signed”. Go ahead: try to find what you agreed to. Since it’s electronic and you don’t have a paper contract, they can move the text around at will. Nice. More broken trust.
The mobile connection is very good, has proven very useful.
Too bad CLEAR will quickly lose me when something better comes along because a: they lied, and b: they don’t care. They’re just like a phone/cable company in this regard.
I have just got the service with Clear (In Atlanta) about 10days ago. At home, I get 4-5 bars and with usb modem I get almost full bars. I run speedtest almost 4-5 times a day at different time and this is the average speed I get:
Home modem: 6.25Mbps-Down and .48Mbps-up
USB Modem: 8.5Mbps-Down and 0.45Mbps-Up
I just ditched Charter cable service after receiving satisfactory service from Clear. I am extremely please with Clear’s service so far. To check out whether your house is covered, please go to the nearby Clear Tent (you will find it easily..they are verywhere in metro ATL area). Provide them your street address and they will enter that into Google Earth which features Clear’s WiMax tower location with the coverage area graph. They will measure the distance from your home to the nearest tower. I am about .56 mile from the closet tower. I think, as long as you have 3+ bars on your home modem, you will get pretty good speed. I am a mac user as well, and good news is that they are coming out with USB driver on August 17th..I Already see the diference between landline or cable connection and the Clear WiMax service. You have so much to worry about the physical connections as far as service outage is concerned. over the air, I don’t see any break on service. I always had a problem with Charter due to the every day maintenance crap. At least, i’m free from them.
I was just like many of you what’s the future and I have read enough about LTE, WiMax, & 4G. in the conclusion, I can say confidently that I will not regret Clear’s WiMax service for at least few years. Thanks to Clear Wimas
By the way I live in Lawrenceville, GA…
Hi William,
I still cannot get my vonage phone service to work with my Clear. I have tried calling but they don’t seem to be educated enough on this situation to help.
Does anyone know what I can do so I can DUMB Comcast.
Eleanor, what kind of problem are you having? Is there a specific error message? If you can provide a little more information about the problem I may be able to help. I have been able to 3 different VOIP services to work using my own CLEAR setup at home. 1. Skype: Works! 2. MagicJack: Works! 3. CLEAR’s own VOIP service: Works. I also have a customer that I just setup and she uses the T-Mobile@Home service and it is working for her fine.
Eleanor – if your Vonage modem is a Vonage ATA+router, it’s on the same IP range as the Clear modem. Just change the DHCP range on the Vonage ATA+router and you should be fine.
CLEAR Connection Manager for Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard RELEASED!!!
I have not tested this software yet myself. But I wanted everyone to know that CLEAR has released the beta connections manager for Mac OS X 10.5. Head on over to my blog to grab the download:
Link: http://ow.ly/kalK
I am in Woodstock, Georgia. I have CLEAR and just downloaded the drivers to use with my MAC Book. My house didn’t qualify at first with CLEAR, but now I’m up and running. I have to admit, I switched between tethering on my Sprint Motorola Q and ehem, picking up a few public wifi spots close to my home. Even with limited reception, my speed is definitely better than both.
Can’t say that I’m not jealous of a few of my friends that are zipping through videos because they have full reception. Then again, that keeps me out of trouble.
Anyone else experiencing the dreaded ’searching for network’ status in places where you could previously connect? Tried both my USB modems in multiple locations (Alpharetta, Roswell) where I know I could connect in the past, and… nothing.
No outage message on Clear’s website or when I called support?
Not worth it.
I went for their choose two non-monthly plan where you get the USB modem and the Home service. I thought the home service would be a great idea since it was cheaper than cable and I got the USB modem for my netbook. I also called the store beforehand and asked him if it was suitable for gaming, and he assured me that it was.
I live in Sandy Springs and know where the closest tower is. Unfortunately no matter where I placed the modem and pointed it at the tower, I’d only get three lights. This would provide me with 3mbps speed. Woo! That gave me an whopping one red bar on my XBOX 360 (even though they had an XBOX 360 set up in the Clear Store I visited). Took me five hours, rather than 20 minutes to get a 500mb download on BitTorrent. I believe it has to do with the trees in my area… So I decided the home service wasn’t worth it, but I’d go ahead and keep the USB modem for the occasional day pass when I was out and about in Atlanta with my netbook. I really felt their mobile service was solid for the times I’d be out at conventions in and around Atlanta.
Then there’s their return policy:
One of the reasons I decided to try it was because of their 7 day trial period. Unfortunately when I brought the stuff back to the store, I learned that none of their stores will accept returns, and you have to call their customer service to get a label to UPS the stuff back. When you do call them, they will drag their heels, doing everything they can to get you to change your mind. What a hassle. If I had known it was going to be like this, I wouldn’t have tried it in the first place.
The fact is, Clear will NOT replace your cable internet. If you enjoy high speed downloads, HD streaming, gaming and are a power user…keep your cable..because not only is your cable internet faster (40mbps +/-) Clear also has a much stricter, “Acceptable Use Policy” which will probably cause them to terminate your service anyways. I have a friend who is fighting with them over this right now.
Until Clear Home service can do away with line-of-sight signals and provide the same sort of coverage you can get by wardriving your neighbors open wireless connection, I’d skip it.
As a reseller, I will say that CLEAR WiMAX is not for everyone. Cable Internet for the most part is faster than WiMAX. But, you can’t take your cable modem with you around town. So for the top 5% home Internet users that are heavy Torrent/Netflix/Online Gamer type users, CLEAR WiMAX may not be for you. I will not argue with you at all on some of the points you make. But, I would have also told you that before you made your purchase because it does me no good if you sign-up only to cancel in 7 days. I help people avoid some of the problems you ran into by doing a real on-site demo. In some cases I can even allow you to use the equipment for a day or so with no commitment. That way you can see for yourself it it will work for the type of Internet usage you do on a daily basis.
I have several DSL and Cable users that switched to CLEAR WiMAX and they are very happy. Just remember that having options is a good thing and CLEAR WiMAX is a good option for many people. Not all, but good many.
Update to my previous post:
It turned out to be a combination of Windows 7 and the latest connection manager version (which I downloaded from the clear support site). After following some steps I found online, I got the whole thing working again.
Still loving the experience so far. Coverage can be flaky at the north end of Alpharetta (coverage stops around Windward) where the coverage map says I should have signal. Other than that it works fine (4-6MBit average, extremes of 1 MBit and 11 MBit)
William is spot on. Make sure you take the opportunity to take advantage of complimentary signal checks offered by the majority of resellers. That way you won’t have to purchase equipment and realize that your coverage area isn’t as good as expected.
I’m happy to report mine is increasing…and I was shocked that my two bars is now 4. It’s taking a month for them to build up, in fact I didn’t even qualify for home service when I initially signed up. Now, I get to swap out one of my USB modems for a more powerful home modem.
What’s better is I can finally set up my VOIP accounts the way I want!
As a consultant, I find that some coverage spots are better than ever. Keep in mind that they continue building coverage towers to better serve the needs of customers, but there are challenges we face in Atlanta that Dallas doesn’t have to worry about!
The point is to get a consultation to make sure you get the right products to meet your needs.
Technology is not a one size fits all type of deal–otherwise we all would be carrying around the stuff (cell phones, laptops, etc). The beauty is we have more options in Metro Atlanta than we did prior to this year. Find what’s best for you and make it work.
Have fun, be safe out there and don’t rush into anything before you do your research and consult with an expert.
I will give you a comparison for me it has been straight hell working with Clear. I was very unhappy with Comcast the price and service was getting rediculous. So I said I am going to switch to clear, I can get the shows I like on the internet so what is the point having cable. I bought the home modum and WIFI USB connection, big mistake I am buy a house and did not wait them to run my credit it brings down your score so I could not lease, which was fine. I get the everything in the mail the next day. I have an older Mac not leaperd I was told it would work that is untrue. So I firgured fine I will keep the service I will upgrade my laptop in a month or two, I had the home service. It was slow but not that bad. Then one day it just stops working. I call and call and call. I am on hold for hours. When I get a person they kept me on the phone for 2 hours and 45 minutes were he just told me to keep waiting we might have spoke 15 minutes the whole call. At that point he said we are going to have to send someone out. I said ok. The soonest they could come out is in 28 days. I said that will not work I will be moved by that point I was told tough. That is the day they will be out. So I guess when they show up no one will be there. IT IS NOT WORTH GETTING THE SERVICE IN ATLANTA!!!! By the way I live less than a 1/4 mile from the tower.
Elizabeth, I am sorry you are having issues. It sounds like you were given some bad info about the MAC capability. The download page on Clear’s site was pretty specific about what it supported. They also disclosed it was a beta.
As for your customer support experience, I will be happy to forward your experience to some people I know in Clear. They need to be aware if support is not being helpful or respectful.
Just wanted to add that coverage seems to be improving day to day. I used to be at the northern fringe in Alpharetta. Now, the coverage has appeared in places where there was none before (at my place of work near McFarland/Shiloh rd for instance). Also, the coverage map now shows that 4G coverage has been built out towards Cumming.
I’m looking to Clear for residential. I live in Atlanta and currently use Comcast for $65/mo. So the sound of $35/mo really appeals to me? What are the other local options?
I’m looking to Clear for residential. I live in Atlanta and currently use Comcast for $65/mo. So the sound of $35/mo really appeals to me. What are the other local options?
Just remember, you will only get 1/3 the bandwidth if you go from Cable to Clear. Depending on how you use the internet, this can affect you greatly.
Its a much better deal if you go from DSL to Clear…
“Its the only internet you’ll ever need” if all you do is browse the net and check your email. If you use it as your primary source for your television entertainment (IE streaming NetFlix, or watching HULU every night), I’d think twice. Not only is the bandwidth not very good for such things, you’ll go over their “acceptable use policy” in no time.
Its also not very good for console gaming as there is higher latency….meaning the time it takes for info to get from your Console to the modem, through the air, to the tower, to the network and back.
Let’s be CLEAR (pun intended) about a few things. If you sign-up for an CLEAR unlimited plan there is no usage cap or data profiling. COMCAST does puts a cap on your usage and they also give priority to certain traffic on their network. This is very well documented. Net Neutrality is a hot issue right now so please understand the facts. CLEAR is an OPEN network and that’s why Google is a major investor. I personally use my CLEAR service at home to do Netflix streaming, Torrent downloads, Skype, etc… I can tell you that I have had NO ISSUES.
Dan makes a good point about gaming. CLEAR does have higher latency then cable but unless you are a hardcore gamer this is a non-issue.
Check out my friends blog:
http://broo2.blogspot.com/2009/08/clear-usage-addendum.html
This is the automated email he keeps getting…using his internet THE SAME AMOUNT he used it using Cable Internet..
“We have previously notified you regarding an issue with your account. An excessive amount of Internet traffic on your Clear connection is negatively impacting other Clear customers in your area. This can be caused by a variety of factors including for example virus or spyware on your computer, by having a wireless router with no password set or by using certain applications that may cause congestion. Until the issue is resolved, we have modified your connection to the network.
Please contact us at 888-657-1456 as soon as possible so we can assist you in resolving the issue.
Excess Utilization of Network Resources
The excessive use or abuse of Clear’s network resources by one subscriber may have a negative impact on all other subscribers. Clear has adopted an Acceptable Use Policy, which all subscribers are required to follow as a condition of Service. Accordingly, you may not use the Service or take any action, directly or indirectly, that will result in excessive consumption or utilization of the system or network resources, or which may weaken network performance, as determined in Clear’s sole discretion. Such prohibited actions include, but are not limited to: using the Service to host a web server site which attracts excessive traffic at your location, continuously uploading or downloading streaming video or audio, usenet hosting, or continuous uploading or downloading from file sharing web sites, when examples of such actions described above have the effect of degrading network performance and affecting other subscribers.
Violations of AUP
If you violate the Acceptable Use Policy, Clear may, without limitation, restrict your access to Clear’s network, increase the fees associated with your Service, including upgrading you to a higher class of Service, or immediately suspend or terminate your Service. In the event of termination of your Service, all applicable termination charges will apply. Except as expressly provided herein, the rights and remedies of Clear are cumulative and not exclusive of any rights or remedies that Clear may otherwise have at law or in equity.
For more information on Clear’s Acceptable Use Policy, please follow this link:
https://www.Clear.com/company/legal/terms.php
Thank you for your prompt attention.
This message contains information that may be confidential or privileged. The information is intended solely for use of the addressee(s). If you are not an addressee, your disclosure, copying, distribution or use of the contents of this message is prohibited. If this message has been sent to you in error, please notify the sender by return e-mail. Thank you.”
As a dealer, my contacts at CLEAR have been consistent with their claim that CLEAR is a true open network with no broadband caps. I will investigate your friends situation.
I use CLEAR myself with an Unlimited plan I have never received any thing like that. And trust me when I tell you that I am a heavy user.
Dan, thank you for the excellent feedback here. You made it easy to understand the real world concept of latency and bandwidth for the average user.
I see Clear as an excellent product for mobile use when “out & about” but would probably want to stick to cable for heavier home downloading/streaming.
I am sitting in a Panera Bread in Atlanta I just moved to Atlanta to sell Clear so far so good I can tell you with my modem it is three times faster then the internet at Panera and they kick me off after 30 minutes. I was by the river the other day and just sat there on a picnic table doing internet stuff and it was faster than if I was using my old hardwired modem from home. If anyone lives within Atlanta and would like to know how you too could sell this service give me a call my name is Robert 404-910-4531 This is the reason I came up here they just did millions in advertising of the service and everyone here knows what it is, not a hard sell.
Ohh I was just at Panera 2 hours ago (the Buckhead/Peachtree one close to that Benihana). As for them kicking you off at Panera after a while, I was able to convince their Wi-Fi provider to whitelist my MAC address so I never had to log on and it always kept me on. :) But yeah, still not the fastest!
I have been selling and using CLEAR for a while now. The response here in Metro Atlanta has been great. Fast service + Reasonable prices + No pesky overage fees = Many, many satisfied customers. If anyone here wants any information about this great service, visit http://www.clear4u.net or call 678-938-0637.
I will be receiving my CLEAR kit tomorrow but no one seems to be able to tell me if Wimax is full or half duplex.
Not sure I understand what your are asking. All the network settings I am aware of are full duplex. Do you have a requirement for something different? What is your real question?
I have started to informally collect speed statistics in the Alpharetta/Roswell area. It’s a work in progress, but the first few results are up:
speedtests
Even though officially I have a 6Mbit connection, my usual speed is over 10Mbit. Except at home, where it drops to 2Mbit :-( Hopefully they will fix that soon. They apparently are still expanding the network coverage, since some of the speed tests are in places where I would get 0 signal just a few months ago.
One other thing about Clear. They call me EVERY WEEK now trying to get me to upgrade my service.
I originally tried the pick any two and ended up returning the home modem due to the fact the bandwidth was horrible for my needs.
Then suddenly they start calling me, leaving me messages how they wanted to call me and talk to me about upgrading my service now that they claim they have improved the service in my area. (I currently do the day pass thing when I need it). Twice a week I’d get voice mail solicitation messages. I finally managed to answer when they called and told them to stop hounding me and to take me off their call list. I am NOT going through trying it again after the whole bother of their return policy.
Right now, I’ve been annoyed with Clear so much that I wouldn’t recommend them to anyone unless you want to get call spammed.
The only way I would consider Clear for 100% of my internet needs is if they match Comcast Cable Internet bandwidth…that is the only way.
If verizon and comcast and Intel are loooking to go a different way,Why have they invested millions in clear WiMAX.??also, could it be that someone has the control of the spectrum for WiMAX
in case you didnt see my post, Atlantans get @clearwire CLEAR WiMAX service now: http://bit.ly/hWEHd
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CLEAR Launches 4G WiMAX in Atlanta http://ff.im/-46cSy
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CLEAR Launches 4G WiMAX in Atlanta — PaulStamatiou.com http://bit.ly/TSdBx
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@loganj not exactly a usage review, but checkout @stammy’s writeup on clear: http://bit.ly/U1Oll
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@athletetraining Let me know if you have any questions. @stammy did a great post about the Clear launch. http://tr.im/pFQT
This comment was originally posted on Twitter