Clearwire Internet Service Providers, a Consumer Viewpoint

I write for a living and I needed a way to get connected to the Internet that was reliable. While I could just go ahead and get a wireless card I worried about using my laptop in places that were not wi-fied. This is what attracted me to the Clearwire service. I called Clearwire to check it out and after talking to a Sales Representative they made an appointment to come out that day to get me set up. I was told at that time the service "start-up fees" were $25, and I would get a special of the first three months of service for $19.99 per month.

Before I got off the phone with my initial call, the customer service rep checked to see if I was in their service area. You see, Clearwire runs off of wireless signals that come from the cell phone towers. Once they determined that I was indeed In an area that was serviced by Clearwire we were able to set up an appointment. The Technician that showed up at my house gave me a little black box about the size of a VCR tape that connected from the computer to any electrical outlet. I would be able to take it anywhere with an electrical outlet and automatically be connected....in theory. It worked really well where I lived and I could move the Clearwire box easily from my PC to my Laptop depending on what my needs were.

The Clearwire was as quick to load as the Comcast account that I had previously and I was satisfied with that. I packed up the laptop and Clearwire box and tried it out at the local Starbucks. I felt like a real nerd dragging everything out though. I had all these wires and equipment all over the table and it looked a little overdone. But it did work and I was very happy to be able to use my computer while I was out and about.

The whole thing went sour for me when I moved in to a new area. I set up the laptop with the Clearwire box and to my disappointment I found that I couldn't get a signal. I called the company and was told that while there wasn't a tower close, there was one 2 miles away. They suggested that I put it near a window to the north (the direction of the closest tower) and that would allow me to pick up the signal I needed. I tried this and it did not work either. So I called a second time and they suggested that I use it in different parts of the house. I tried that and it did not work either.

At this point I would have just canceled the service but unfortunately I could not do this because Clearwire asks you to contract with them for 2 years, much like a cell phone service contract. I realized at this point that I would have to be patient and persistent. For a third time I called the service center and of course the they gave me their spiel because in no way are they to imply that I can terminate my contract. They don't seem to have a policy for those folks that start out in their service area and move to one that is not on their service grid.

I explained to the person on the phone that I realized that this was not their fault and I wasn't blaming them but I needed to speak to a supervisor. Finally after being on hold for awhile I got to the supervisor. He told me that I would have to have a technician come out and determine if in fact that I was unable to get service. After they were able to verify that I was actually unable to get the service where I lived, then they would terminate my contract without a buy-out fee. By the way, if you wish to terminate your contract early and you are in a functioning servicing area you will have to pay a hefty buy-out fee.

Ultimately I just purchased a wireless card and it did the trick. I sort of begs the question of why go to the expense of using a costly service when a one time cost of purchasing a Wi-fi card will solve the problem. One thing that rather annoyed me was that after I signed up they changed the perks for signing up for their service. The current sign up incentives are, if you sign up you get 3 months free and a $75 Visa gift card. Even though this service did not work for me, however, it may work quite nicely for you just make sure you are in their service area and you are prepared to sign up for 2 years.