CLEARWIRE

We switched to Clear after a sales rep promised super fast service and no fee for breaking a contract. We found out later that there was a hefty fee for canceling our contract. The service was slower than dial up (seriously) and often times didn't work at all. The company was not helpful in resolving connectivity issues.

I've been using them about a year. The connectivity is variable - sometimes they have issues with their towers. They seem to fix the problems in reasonable time. I will continue to use them.

The modem arrived promptly, sales person was very friendly and so where the phone support persons. HOWEVER, the actual quality of the internet connection is iffy at best. I live within less than a mile of a Clear transmission tower yet I am getting two bars when I am very lucky. It usually stays steady at one bar and often even that gets lost. The connection speed is VERY SLOW. It reminds me of dial-up days. In fact, I often run speed tests and get 0.3 meg for download and 0.06 for upload... A far cry from the advertised speeds. I called technical support several times. They sent me replacement modems which did nothing to help the situation. They refuse to acknowledge that there is a problem with their transmission service. My modem is sitting at a window facing the tower. The best they can do at this point according to them is to send a technician FOR THE COST OF ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY DOLLARS (yes, you heard it right) in order to see why I have connection issues in my house... I ran a test with another wireless internet service (AT&T 3G) that I used with a USB modem connected to my laptop and the connection was just fantastic. My house is not made of lead (sigh of relief) but the Clear transmission tower must be faulty. As much as I like the idea of wireless high-speed internet connection (I have successfully used 3G USB modems on my trips abroad), The quality of Clear (wire) is just not there and does not justify the price tag, however "competitive". The cable guy is coming next week, and that will be the day I cancel my Clearwire (aka CLEAR) service.

Come to find out (surprise!) that the new equipment that was sent to fix the lousy performance also got me a new, 2 yr contract. Be very careful with these people - they can't be trusted - if it works or it doesn't, you're on the hook for the full 2 years.

I like the fact that it is simple. Almost anybody can use it. The service is pretty seemless to use if you have your own wireless router.

Initially, it was very easy to sign up for the service and get started. There have been a couple of glitches where the service is unbelievably slow, even though we have 4 or 5 bars lit on the modem. This happened even though nothing unusual had changed regarding the computer itself, or its operations. The first time that happened, they fixed it by doing something on their end(during which I un-plugged and plugged in the modem). The second time, the technician spent an hour on the phone, and could not figure out what the problem was. He told me to take the modem to the nearest store and exchange for a new one. The guy at the store said they were not able to exchange modems in the store. Eventually, we were able to get the modem replaced and the internet service works normally.

The service has been reliable, and the 1 or 2 occasions when I've called with a question, the tech was understandable.

Setup and installation was super easy. Internet service was okay and deteriorated over time. Cancellation is a nightmare.