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Review by WarmCoke 
UPDATED: 170 days ago
member for 1.8 years, 119 visits, last login: 36 days ago
 Boise,Ada,ID
 $35 per month (12 month contract)
 about 1 days
 "Completely Easy Installation; Consistent Speeds"
 "Re-Positioning Modem Sometimes Needed"
 "Good Value for the Money, Great Alternative to DSL, Cable, Satellite"
| Pre Sales Information:
Install process:
Connection reliability:
Tech Support:
Services:
Value for money:
(ratings above consensus)
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My wife and I have a strong desire to lose Qwest (our local phone line provider) for good in the future due to past bad experiences with them and simply due to what we view as a very over-priced phone line. With that being the case, DSL was not really a long-term option for us as they require that land line to be in place. Satellite options seem a bit 'hokey' in our area and the cheapest one we could find was $50 a month for pretty slow download rates. Cable is an option but we have our issues with the local cable provider as well and do not have TV service through them - so no bundling discounts to make it affordable.
With all this being said, wireless seemed to be the best route for us and Clearwire has been available in the Boise market for quite some time. The local staff was pretty knowledgeable to be honest and were very patient answering all of my questions. They let me "demo" a modem at home for a few nights before I signed any contracts and I thought that was a very good thing. I was able to test signal strength and download speeds without them having my credit card number yet!
Installation was a breeze and I was up and running with service in a matter of minutes - this has to be a huge advantage that Clearwire has over most other broadband providers. Using the Speakeasy test - I showed that I was getting the download and upload speeds that were advertised. (And this was with at times only two of the 5 signal strength lights lit up....) I ran the tests at all different times of the day as well and did not see any major differences. I subscribed to the 768 Kps service and am consistently getting speeds that are faster than that.
I have only had the service now for a few days, but I cannot find anything wrong with it at this point. I will post updates if the "bottom falls out" but at this point I would highly recommend this service.
2/13/2007 - Review Update -
I had a basic question for Clearwire regarding using their service as part of a wireless network at my home and a particular router setting. I opened a ticket on my Clearwire member page and received an e-mail response within just a day or two. I then received a phone call from them a day later wanting to make sure that my question had been answered. Not blazing fast response times - but I was impressed with the follow through on their part.
4/17/2007 - Review Update
Third full month with consistent service from Clearwire. My "trial" is now over with this service and so my account has been reverted back to a 768K max download, but I consistently get better speeds than that. Still very happy with this service to this point.
8/2/2007 - Review Update
Going on eight months now with Clearwire service here in the Boise, ID area and am still a VERY satisfied customer. Moved the modem to a window in my den and now consistently have 4-5 lights on the modem at all times with very consistent download speeds and low overall latency. Service has also been working well with a wireless router I installed a few months back and now I have nice wireless service all over my house through Clearwire as well. I have had so much success with the service to this point I am considering adding their VOIP service as well.
1/12/2008 - Review Update
Coming up on my one year anniversary with Clearwire and there is nothing that would make me want to cancel this contract. I am not bound by wires as you guys are with cable and DSL and my download and upload speeds are still VERY consistent and more than really what I am paying for. If there was anything negative to report about this service, I would, but there is absolutely nothing. I almost forget who my provider is (I think that is a high compliment to a service like this) at times because it is always up and always works perfectly. More updates to come.....but still very smooth sailing from this Clearwire customer one year into his service.
1/21/2008 - Review Update
Here is an example of the consistent speeds that I am talking about.....keep in mind I am paying for a 768K downlink and a 256K uplink....
»www.speedtest.net/result/225059377.png
5/20/08 - Review Update
I thought that I would update my review. Still just consistent and top notch connection to Clearwire at this point, speeds a lot of the time are still above what I am paying for and strong signal all of the time. The last 6 months may have been the best of my contract actually - the service and signal strength reliability seem to be improving if anything. I am a big believer in modem positioning, I found a great position for my Clearwire modem in my den and I know I am connecting to the best/closest tower to my house. That is key.
Keep up the good work Clearwire!
Followup comments:  ernliz
join:2001-11-25
Abilene, TX | Clearwire -- Response I'm curious: how many lights are you getting on your modem now that you've had it for a while? You wrote about 2 lights. Surely you have more than that, considering the good speed you're getting. Lemme know......
EW | |
| | WarmCoke
join:2007-01-31
Boise, ID
 ·Clearwire Wireless
| Re: Clearwire -- Response I still am only getting two bars on my modem, I really just have not taken the time to try and seriously move it around to get the best signal. It's in a convenient spot where I have it and so I have pretty much just left it alone. I can put it in the window of my den and get 3 or 4 bars - but then I cannot close the blinds.
I don't think that the number of lights on the modem are an indication of the speed of data transfer that you will get to be honest, they are simply signal strength. So with one bar or five bars I would get the same general download speeds, just with one bar I would be in more jeopardy of losing my signal all together. That's not an official stance, but it seems to make sense to me. I have had one bar before and had blazing fast download speeds. | |
| | | ernliz
join:2001-11-25
Abilene, TX
·Clearwire Wireless
| Re: Clearwire -- Response Thanks for the info on the lights. I normally get 5 lights and start panicking when it drops to 4, and start chopping trees and demolishing homes when it drops to 3. However, you're correct about the signal strength and download speed -- little or no correlation. But if I adjust my modem for 2 lights, it takes an extra bit of time in establishing a solid transfer (it pings the tower several times) but locks on and works. But my tower is over 4.5 miles away -- maybe that makes a difference.
See you.
EW | |
| | | | WarmCoke
join:2007-01-31
Boise, ID
·Clearwire Wireless
| Re: Clearwire -- Response LOL - funny post - thanks for the chuckle! You bring up a good point regarding signal strength that I had not considered, if I had 5 lights (or even 4) on all the time I might have lower ping times or latency when accessing site. I will give this a shot, put the modem in my window and see what happens. Thanks for the tip. | |
| | | | | WarmCoke
join:2007-01-31
Boise, ID | Re: Clearwire -- Response Moved my modem to a window seal in my den and now have 4 lights on the modem consistently. Speeds are still good and I consistently get high download speeds than what I am paying for. | |
| 
phoneguy
@comcast.net
| Service really isn't that bad.... A couple weeks ago I decided to give ClearWire a try. We are in Richmond VA and the service was just launched here. So far, so good! The speed is acceptable, even with just 1 or 2 bars. One call to customer service for a question about the service got me a friendly, knoledgeable person. Give it a try! Just make sure you are in the service area. | |
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