“Intermittent at best” - User Submission from Julie Wilson
March 19th, 2008 | by Tim |We’ve had Clearwire service for a few months now and I will likely switch to another provider and just suck
up the early termination fee, as I clearly have very little choice. My issues thus far are:
1. Intermittent speeds. (I can pretty much forget about watching or listening to anything streaming.) Infact, when I talk to them about this issue they say, “We are not set up for streaming.”???!!! Perhaps this should come up in the initial sales pitch.
2. I either have to keep the modem plugged into my computer (kind of defeats the “freedom” aspect of broadband) OR I have to use a wireless router which, according to Clearwire, must be kept a few feet away from the modem as “it interferes with the signal” This is not very convenient, as we already have to place the stupid Clearwire modem in very inconvenient places, like the top of our dresser, in order to get enough signal. THEN we have to move the router accordingly and it needs to be on a long cord.
3. At one point not too long ago, my speed went down to practically….nothing. It took me 5 min to access an email and maybe longer to access a website. I work from home and nearly lost my job due to these problems. When I called Clearwire, I was told that they had “done this on purpose” because we were using too much bandwidth. I couldn’t for the life of me figure out how, but they suggested that perhaps our network wasn’t protected (it is) or that we were bootlegging movies or music (we weren’t) or that there was a virus in one of our computers and it was being used as a spam server (which I seriously doubt.) My boyfriend also does a lot of work from home for Microsoft and couldn’t get anything done. After I freaked out over the phone, they reset my account so that my speed went back to it’s usual intermittent levels. (And I live in the University District of Seattle where they claim they have PLENTY of coverage.)
4. I was also hoping that at some point they would offer a slightly more mobile version of their service so that one wouldn’t have to haul around a large modem everywhere just to get a signal. (Give me a break! Like anyone would want to sign up for broadband and have to go to their local coffee house with a computer and a modem that required them to walk around trying
to find the best placement to get a signal) They do now offer individual cards for laptops, but it’s an extra cost and you are charged PER computer.
I’ve used both Comcast and Millenium in the past and while their services are a bit technologically archaic, at least they function at seemingly higher and more stable speeds. Customer service is also a tad better. Actually, I occasionally use the neighbor’s Comcast service to watch streaming video. Luckily, I am a very social person and a marketer by trade, so I’ll make sure to pass the word regarding Clearwire’s lousy service.