Wireless internet is a GREAT idea, but AVOID THIS COMPANY AT ALL COSTS, even if dial-up is your only alternative!
The implementation of this great idea by Clear(wire) is terrible. My experience with the company dates back to a couple of years ago, but my experience was so bad that I would not consider going back to them until it was widely reported that they have cleaned up their act. (judging by the blog at http://clearwiresucks.com/blog/ they have not done much apart from changing their name).
1. Every time I called customer support, I had to deal with a hassle of some sort--either the tech didn't know how to answer my question, or I had to go through a script of diagnostics, or some other frustrating customer no-service issue, one of the problems was that they wanted to restart the clock on your two-year contract EVERY time you made an adjustment to your account settings.
2. I was on the hook for a two year contract, and when I realized that they were charging me the same amount as their competitors for internet service that was 1/4 the speed of those competitors, I called to cancel, only to be told that I would have to pay the LARGE cancellation fee (It was like $250!)
3. I haggled with them for 45 minutes, explaining that I was now an unhappy customer, stuck paying way too much for way too slow internet, and they begrudgingly granted me a discount.
4. I set a reminder up in my calendar because i heard that they like to just re-up your contract if you don't call EXACTLY within their window to cancel your account, and when I called, and they badgered me about leaving, they promised that they were going to offer a better, higher speed product. I told them that unless their customer service/tech support improved, I would never make use of their service again
Basically, this is the iPhone of the internet--REALLY great idea!!!!!! Implemented by the worst possible company (AT&T).
UPDATE: Locations for Clear keep popping up in Jacksonville. Here on Yelp, it appears that each time one goes live, there is a 5-star review on it. I think the company is encouraging its sales reps to come on Yelp and up-star the locations. If you look for Clear in other cities, the same trend exists. I've already flagged two suspicious reviews where the person making them was a new member with only 4 reviews: all of them 5 stars, and all of them for Clear in various locations.
Update 2: In April 2009, Clearwire was listed as the defendant in a class action suit. Here's the documentation: http://www.tzlegal.com/wp-content/themes/tycko/clearwirecomplaint.pdf read more