Google Clear - Has Anyone Used It?

[whirlcool]

Last week we got a mailing that informed us that Google Clear is now available in our neighborhood. Has anyone here used it?

Our current phone bill through AT&T including unlimited long distance, caller ID and DSL Internet is between $103-$110(USD) per month. Clear can offer us more services than we have standard with 4G Internet for $55.00 per month.

After talking to the salesperson, who by the way was an American here in the U.S. AND also a computer programmer type so I was sold. So we signed up for it. Hey, $50.00 per month savings is nothing to sneeze at. BTW, the agent told me that all their agents are here in the U.S. and English is their native language. What really got me was he told me that if I ever have any questions I can call him anytime on his personal cell phone.

I've read reviews and haven't come up with any negative ones. But since we talk about computers here from time to time I figured I'd ask. Susposedly, Clear is marketed as being faster than DSL.

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[mattl]

The bundled price does not look too bad. The speed is kind of low for that price, 1.5m down for $30. If it fits your needs, try it and let us know how it goes. Is there a commitment?

I get 12m down for $40 from Uverse, and love it. I need at least 6m down for my Netfix HD service that I use all the time. speed is addictive, I'd hate to drop down to 3m, and 1.5 would crawl....

 

[whirlcool]

Clear claims in my area the speed averages out to 4-6 mb. My current DSL gives me 2407KBPS, download and upload is 418KBPS. which is fast enough. SO I should see a increase in speed.

And yes, after 7 days there is a 2 year commitment, but they guarantee that the price will not go up during this period.

 

[MrX]

WiMax from imagine and various other wireless internet products are available here in Ireland too at the moment but, I would warn you that they're not always great DSL replacements.

Wireless technologies all suffer from issues with congestion when they get very busy in a particular cell. WiMax is no different.

There's a lot of over use of the term "4G" too. It has no real meaning, other than a marketing buzz word, so be very wary of what's being sold to you.

If you can get cable or a good contention free / low contention DSL service, I would stick with one of those.

Fibre-backbone cable or NGN (Next Generation Network) based DSL are rock solid products.

Be very wary of wireless ping and jitter too. It can render some internet services e.g. online gaming and VoIP useless.

If you're just web browsing they can be fine though..

Finally, just make sure you check the download caps! Some wireless services will try to keep bandwidth hogs off the network by imposing tighter caps than fixed line products like DSL and cable.

This can be a big issue if you're using a lot of internet radio, watching tv/movies online, using downloads from services like Apple TV etc etc

4G is being stuck on a whole load of wireless technologies which may/may not be worthy of the title.

 

[lordkenmore]

I think this service has been around the Seattle area for years as ClearWire. (It appears to have changed--simplified--names judging from what I see with Google searching.)

I have had no experience, but one problem appears to be spotty coverage. I think I've seen people on Craigslist trying to sell out the remainder of their contract because they've moved and the service doesn't exist at their new address.

That 2 year contract is something else I don't like--I hate being tied to a given company/service.

Still...I can see the appeal of something wireless. One service and one bill which work no matter where you go. Clear might not deliver this 100%, but it sure does a better job than my current wired connection.

Then, the fact that the support is actually based in the US is a big selling point. (My current ISP appears to have service here...but I'm sure bigger companies probably have outsourced to India.)

This wireless field is going to be interesting in coming years.

Here's a link to a review of Clear, which may interest some:

http://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/testing-clears-wimax-internet-service/

 

[whirlcool]

It does seem that Clear has a signifigant market presence in the NW and also in Texas.
Here is a chart of how they compare themselves to other services. We went with the 4G unlimited service for $30. per month.

http://www.clear.com/discover/compare-clear

 

[lordkenmore]

I may be wrong, but for some reason I'm thinking the NW might have been the original ClearWire market. Certainly, they were around at least as early as 2007.

They don't serve the whole area though. I live in a rural area, and there is no service here. A small city a few miles away, however, is served.

The comparison chart is interesting & useful, although some of the info may not be accurate. I think DSL can go faster than they claim. A lot depends on the market and what's available.

Still, $40 a month for something you can take with you is a pretty good deal.

 

[whirlcool]

Yes, the Clear network is the old ClearWire network. Google now owns it. Supposedly, there is an WiNet antenna near our house.
So speeds should be good. The equipment will arrive this week.
I do watch television programs on the Internet, so only time will tell how this works out.

 

[MrX]

Wimax over here seems to come in up to 7mbit/s variety with phone "line".

Clearwire's also present here in Ireland, but they're still using some pre wimax technology which isn't up to much.

I've got a cheap 3G USB broadband dongle which uses the 3.75G GSM-UMTS mobile phone network. Handy when you're on the road. I get 5 to 7 mbits in many areas and up to 14 mbits on the most recently upgraded "fibre power" cell towers.

Cost me 29.95 for the device and it's prepay €20 gives me access for 30 days so I only top up if I'm planning to be out a lot with my laptop.

Link below to Imagine's packages. Seems like a very similar setup to the system clear are offering over there.

http://www.imagine.ie/wimax_broadband.html

 

[whirlcool]

It's Installed!

I got my Clear 4G modem and got it all hooked up. It was very easy. Just replace your DSL box with the 4G box and you are done.
No software to load or anything. Just great.
I didn't have to make any changes to Firefox or Thunderbird, the Clear network found the POP and SMTP addresses instantly.

I did a speed test, and I found 10.5 MB download speed and 1.5MB upload speed. With DSL I had 2.5MB Download and 400K upload speeds. Quite a dramatic improvement.

All while saving $55.00 a month over AT&T. I HIGHLY recommend Clear.

 

[whirlcool]

Oh and by the way, I have also noticed that the sound is much more of a "High Fidelity" sound over DSL. It makes watching videos and music much more enjoyable.

 

[mrb627]

Google

From what I last understood, Google was simply an investor in Clear along with Comcast. Sprint still holds controlling interest.

I couldn't find anything online to indicate that Google had acquired Clear.

Malcolm

 

[whirlcool]

According to the documentation that came with the equipment, it stated that Clear is part of the "Google Group".

 

[mattl]

Oh and by the way, I have also noticed that the sound is much more of a "High Fidelity" sound over DSL. It makes watching videos and music much more enjoyable.

Not sure what you mean by this. What sounds better? Certain things are bandwidth limited, lower band width, lower quality. With Netflix for example the lower the overall connection speed, the lower the quality.

What app are you using?

 

[whirlcool]

The audio that goes with movies is a lot better. Youtube, Hulu, etc all sound now more like a small stereo than a PC with speakers. I do have a nice set of Roland MA-8's on my computer but the never sounded as good as they do now!

 

[sudsman]

Allen

Let me know in 2 weeks how it is.. I have heard a lot about it here but not anything so good.And know of no one that has it. Would sure like to drop a tt .

 

[whirlcool]

I am using Firefox 3.6 to watch video.
One thing I did notice, is that Firefox 3.6 used to take 45 seconds to come up after you clicked on the icon. Firefox 3.5 didn't take that long. But with Clear, Firefox is now up and ready in 15 seconds. I don't know why that is.

Installation is a breeze. All you do is replace your DSL box with the Clear box. That's it! No software to load or anything. And the signal is always there. No setting changes on your software, etc. Couldn't be easier!

 

[mrb627]

Clear

I switched back in Feb. I couldn't be happier to be away from AT&T. And for the same price, I got faster speed at home and the mobile card for my laptop.

Malcolm

 

[whirlcool]

I have been using Clear now for a week. I always get 5 lights on the modem box. The lights mean signal strength, 5 is the strongest. I am getting 12.5 Mps download and 1.3 Mps upload. With AT&T DSL I was only getting 2.5 download and 400K upload.
I can see the difference quite easily.

The phone signal is quite clear, but it sounds like a cell phone. That landline "ambience" is not there.

But I LOVE the fact that I am away from AT&T and all those nickel and dime charges they hit you with. Plus I love the fact that I am SAVING MONEY!