Clearwire Broadband

Traffic

I dont see any posts re. clearwire bb? are they any good?
Anyone use them?

Ludo

Do a search...there are loadsa threads.

Summary: they are SH*TE.

jor el

There are threads, though I haven't seen one for a while. The long and short of it is that it's OK for web browsing, but pretty much useless for anything else. VOIP doesn't work well, most (if not all) P2P apps are completely blocked down, gaming is not too reliable I think and even downloading large files off the web can be problematic as Clearwire do not allow continuous downloading for long periods.

As Ludo says, basically it's shite.

You'd be better off with one of the 3G offerings from the mobile companies.

in sudurbia

Last year, following much frustration with IBB, I decided to give Clearwire a try. As mentioned above they basically do not enable p2p use and there have been problems with other services as well, such as skype. I returned the modem whilst still in the trial period.

Don't bother with Clearwire.

Cake Fiend

I'm on Clearwire (only option for me ). If you have ANY other option, take it over Clearwire. A 56k modem might be slow, but at least it's reliable and predictable, unlike Clearwire.

thebman

Friend had it and it was fine during the trial but now it has gone to crap completely, sub dial up speeds at times and everything is blocked including the online game he could play during the trial which he now has a subscription for.

Summary: Avoid like the plague. In fact, just get the plague instead of Clearwire, it will be less painful.

dub45

And something else which is totally unforgivable they recently forwarded a list of customers and ex customers to a debt collection agency - there apparently were a lot of people on the list who were included 'by mistake'!

Any isp that incompetent and careless deserve no support whatsoever irrespective of how great their product might be. And in this case the product issue is not even a consideration so avoid like the plague!

As a matter of interest has anyone tried reporting Clearwire to the asa given what they dont say in the ads about their 'censorship'?

philstar

"have a nice day":D

Xennon

"Broadband ....... the American way"

matty84

dub45 wrote:

And something else which is totally unforgivable they recently forwarded a list of customers and ex customers to a debt collection agency - there apparently were a lot of people on the list who were included 'by mistake'!

Any isp that incompetent and careless deserve no support whatsoever irrespective of how great their product might be. And in this case the product issue is not even a consideration so avoid like the plague!

As a matter of interest has anyone tried reporting Clearwire to the asa given what they dont say in the ads about their 'censorship'?

WHATS THE ASA'S E-MAIL ADDRESS AND ILL GET IN CONTACT WITH THEM AS ITS A DISGRACE THEY ALLOW P2P FOR YOUR 7 DAY TRIAL PERIOD AND THEN WHEN YOUR STUCK IN A 12 MONTH CONTRACT THEY BLOCK PORTS AND DONT ALLOW FILE SHARING!THIS IS NOTHING SHORT OF A DISGRACE AS THEY DONT MENTION IT IN THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS!!HOW CAN THEY GET AWAY WITH THIS???IM WITH CLEARWIRE IM STUCK IN A 12MONTH CONTRACT MYSELF:mad:

jor el

www.asai.ie

The ever popular "Terms and conditions apply" is mentioned in all their ads so that probably covers them as they can't possibly mention everything in a 30 second ad.

I'm not sure if blocking P2P ports is an issue for the ASAI to deal with anyway, they do make mention of not allowing continuous downloading or P2P apps in their T&Cs.

thebman

jor el wrote:

www.asai.ie

The ever popular "Terms and conditions apply" is mentioned in all their ads so that probably covers them as they can't possibly mention everything in a 30 second ad.

I'm not sure if blocking P2P ports is an issue for the ASAI to deal with anyway, they do make mention of not allowing continuous downloading or P2P apps in their T&Cs.

What about gaming, VOIP, VPN connections, FTP etc...

They can't possibly list everything they block. They should reported for something to make them realise consumers are trying to fight back at least.

Their service is pathethic. Their trial is unblocked ports and you get the speeds your paying for and it all changes as soon as the trial is up and your locked into a contract.

This should be a case for the advertising standards authority because as the trial period is not representative of the service. Either them or consumer protection authority.

jor el

I agree with all your points brim4brim but I don't think it's for the ASAI to investigate. Clearwire don't mislead or falsify claims in the ad and that's as much as the ASAI will be able to deal with.

Anyone having issue with Clearwire should really take it up with Comreg, however I can't see them actually doing anything about it. The more people that complain about Clearwire's blocking of services (that may not be blocked during the trial) the better though as it just might eventually seep through.

Personally, I don't think Clearwire should even be allowed to call their service "Broadband" due to how the manage it. It's high speed (sometimes) Internet browsing only, practically no other broadband service is usable with them.

The consumers association might also be one to contact, though they may just re-direct you to Comreg as it really is their remit to regulate comms companies.

dub45

brim4brim wrote:

What about gaming, VOIP, VPN connections, FTP etc...
............................ Their trial is unblocked ports and you get the speeds your paying for and it all changes as soon as the trial is up and your locked into a contract.

This should be a case for the advertising standards authority because as the trial period is not representative of the service. Either them or consumer protection authority.

If it is the case that there is deliberate and wilful deception of the consumer here then surely any number of bodies should be interested? Certainly the consumers association should be interested but I wonder if Clearwire can be shown to deliberately mislead customers not just through advertising but by actively changing the product after the month's trial are they actually breaking any laws?

Has anyone tried informing any of the teccy journalists about this alleged behaviour?

Sponge Bob

read my comments on the matter in this thread last year.

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2054990199

its not my fault the tech journos in ireland are mainly illiterate retards

Xennon

Might I suggest that someone contact the companys that sell this Clearwire service in their stores, and direct them to these posts. I mean most companies dont want to be associated with blatantly bad products. If a few lads got emailing Im sure theyd get the hint

http://www.clearwire.ie/cwi/defaultarticle.php?cArticlePath=126_200_202


Dave_W

Thecageyone

Long winded rant - (skip to the end if you're not in the mood for a typical BB nightmare situation)


A month or so back I was cut off by Eircom, a €300 unpaid bill being the reason ( that was over 3mths, with bloody talktime, still don't understand why it was that big a bill, but that's another story ...) Anyway, I went in search of an alternative, line-less ISP.

I went for Clearwire as they were the quickest to get set up with, and 2 of my sisters use it (it never clicked with me that neither of them use p2p programmes) - So I call them, give my details and the girl on the other end says it'll be 3-4 working days before I receive the modem (this was a weds evening, so I assumed it'd at least be Mon) - The next day I was in a shopping centre, and seen clearwire rep's selling the product, so I asked one of them would it be possible to cancel my phone order through him, and set up an on-the-spot sale, so I could have my net back up and running for the weekend. "not a bother" - he went ahead and rang "HQ" , seemingly canceled my order and details, and had me fill out forms on the spot, with the same details.

I got the modem there and then off him, and was happy knowing my previous order had been canceled, and it all felt a bit more personal.


The supposed canceled modem arrived the next day.


So, apparently I had 2 accounts with them!!!

After finding it to be complete and utter **** (Crap speeds, no p2p, even basic browsing seemed a chore ...) I sent them an e-mail, returned both modems, rang to confirm my cancellation, e-mailed their polite response, rang to make sure ... etc ... I managed to get rid within the 7-day "cooling off period" ...


I tried Digiweb after that, fancied their 3mb up and down option, yer man came out, after I'd been told on the phone that my location was suitable, fitted the aerial to the roof, spent 3hrs arsing about with cables and signal testers ... only to inform me I was in a 'black spot' and could only get poor signal! ... what a ****ing load of balls!

I've since paid my eircom bills and got re-connected. They aint amazing, but better the devil you know. Erm ... for now anyway.


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Stay 'Clear' of the wire.