4G in Atlanta - Not Ready for Prime Time

[BizTravler]

I picked up a U300 4G/3G card from the Sprint store based on the speeds possible, my needs, and the detailed coverage maps.

It's a no go.

You simply cannot get Wimax 4G service here in Atlanta unless you are right downtown or right outside a Sprint store. basically, anywhere there would already be a WiFi connection.

Deceptive. Very deceptive.

As a Biz traveler, I would like this kind of speed for VoIP.

I thought this would free me from sitting in hotels, offices, and video conference suites when presenting. I even had the fantasy of cancelling my home broadband access. No go.

I drove around in several Atlanta suburbs as well as in ATL business areas such as Perimeter, Buckhead, etc.

Good luck getting 4G coverage in ATL metro. Signal is so bad, that SmartView just turns the Wimax radio completely off. For $50, a two year contract extension, an extra $10 a month, three calls to support, and 6 hours of my time, this is a horrible deal, since there is no usable speed increase.

To make matters worse, the 3G performance with this new USB dongle is worse than with my previous dongle, the 595U. With signal this poor, one would think that there would be an external antenna port.

Even worse, tech support claims that you many times must use an AMD-based PC with a non-64-bit OS to activate, or activation will fail, due to chipset issues. Good thing that I have half a dozen laptops, otherwise, this would have been a major inconvenience. That, and the version of SmartView included with the device needs an immediate de-installation, upgrade download, and reinstallation.

And yes, I was using the old SmartView skin to monitor the Wimax signal, as well as stopping the car and disconnecting from 4G and trying to connect to 4G.

What a joke. Sprint did this 13 years ago with their digital cell service, moving portable towers around to try to "fake" coverage, before their $600mm tower expansion.

Sprint wanted to beat everyone to market with 4G speeds but has failed.

Not ready for primetime; of no use to BizTravler.

[carcarx]

To make matters worse, the 3G performance with this new USB dongle is worse than with my previous dongle, the 595U.

Have you tried getting a replacement for that (another 595U)?

Sounds like the dongle itself could be bad.

[Jerz]

I just picked up the U300 and the cradlepoint yesterday as well and I couldn't get a wimax signal at all and even had the 64bit OS problem (had to use the kids laptop to activate what a PITA); 32bit Vista Business with an Intel Processor works fine for activation but Windows 7 64bit or Vista 64bit is not compatible....

I'm downtown Atlanta for Dragoncon so felt this would be a great excuse to get this new toy and AT FIRST even in the heart of downtown I couldn't get a signal. I called tech support and the lady tried to tell me that WIMAX wasn't turned on yet which I called BS on because of everything that I read. ANYWAY I don't know if it was something that she did or not but after plugging in and unplugging the U300 several times on the laptop I FINALLY got a one bar WIMAX signal.... I then switched it to the cradlepoint and am happy to report that I have full bars in the heart of downtown Atlanta (woot)... Two laptops and a PS3 with wimax in a hotel is a beautiful thing; now I can play MAG beta all weekend :-D

We'll see how much of a signal I get in Duluth and Suwanee after Monday since that's where I spend most of my time but right now I am very satisfied althought yesterday I was very upset....we'll see how I feel about it next week. :headbang2

http://www.speedtest.net/result/557278041.png (http://www.speedtest.net)

[Jerz]

:mad:

Well I just lost my WiMax connection again and am now connected via EVDO revision A which totally sux. My WiMax connection suddenly went from full bars to nothing....

http://www.speedtest.net/result/557294891.png (http://www.speedtest.net)

[Jerz]

WiMax is back up again....

http://www.speedtest.net/result/557354043.png (http://www.speedtest.net)

[BizTravler]

It's probably the portable repeaters/towers. Sprint most likely towed one to the general area of the event.

I guess Verizon will actually have to send their million-man "network" out to follow customers around for it to work for them. Sprint is more efficient; they will just tow out a repeater.

Sprint, if you are listening, please tow a few out to Cobb County, GA.

BizTravler

[Bibbin]

Well, I just felt compelled to chime in for the benefit of the Atlantans. I'm in Kennesaw, Cobb County just a spit's distance from Marietta and I've had my 3G/4G card since the 10th of August. In all that time I have managed to access 4G speeds a maximum of 15 minutes. The tower near me was inoperable for a week and although my LED was solid blue for over a week, SSV Sprint Smart View would not allow access to WIMAX. Don't even get me started on the limitations based on 'puter systems (No Vista 64 bit, no xp Service Pack 1 or 3, no Intel just AMD, etc)

Instead of a dedicated connection manager for this card and the new technology, Sprint piggybacked the connection software onto SSV and as I was told until version 2.7 is complete this card and its driver, etc. will continue to be problematic. I wonder if Clear is having these problems?

As it stand, I would have been better off just getting one of the free 3G cards or even better just sticking to my PAM lines as I'm getting no better speeds with the 4G card. I have decided to return mine.

[Jerz]

I wonder if Clear is having these problems?

Good question... I wonder if clear is having these problems too... For me though, the cradlepoint works great so I'm keeping mine and I AM getting a 4G connection South of McGinnis Ferry Road although the speed isn't near what the Clear guys were bragging about in the Best Buy that I saw them at.... I even saw a Clear sales guy in a Taco Mac in Duluth and he was trying to tell me that Clear was as fast as Comcast... HA! that is absolutely laughable... Even downtown atlanta the fastest download speed was 3-4 mbps compared to 7.85 mbps from comcast...
http://www.speedtest.net/rank/409111484.png (http://www.speedtest.net)

Sprints best 4g that I can get which is actually REALLY good; just definatlely not better than comcast:
http://www.speedtest.net/rank/2928959729.png (http://www.speedtest.net)
http://www.speedtest.net/rank/2928952786.png (http://www.speedtest.net)

[PokerFace23]

My WiMax drops here in the outskirts of Portland all the time. The same problem happens to my friend who has Clear. I'd say after about an hour of connection, it just drops.

I'm on EVDO at the moment because I can't even connect onto WiMax right now.

[tenpins]

I don't have this but a guy at work just got it. He is is in Cumming and works at the airport (Hartsfield/Jackson). He says at his house that he gets 4G. At the airport outside he gets 4G and inside he gets 3G. He loves it and says it's faster than what his home connection was.

[Jerz]

I don't have this but a guy at work just got it. He is is in Cumming and works at the airport (Hartsfield/Jackson). He says at his house that he gets 4G. At the airport outside he gets 4G and inside he gets 3G. He loves it and says it's faster than what his home connection was.

Cool... can you ask him to go to speedtest.net and let us know what kind of speeds he's getting in Cumming? That is Northeast of my house and I only get a 3G signal but maybe there is hope here.

[bigchico68]

I picked up a U300 4G/3G card from the Sprint store based on the speeds possible, my needs, and the detailed coverage maps.

It's a no go.

You simply cannot get Wimax 4G service here in Atlanta unless you are right downtown or right outside a Sprint store. basically, anywhere there would already be a WiFi connection.

Deceptive. Very deceptive.

As a Biz traveler, I would like this kind of speed for VoIP.

I thought this would free me from sitting in hotels, offices, and video conference suites when presenting. I even had the fantasy of cancelling my home broadband access. No go.

I drove around in several Atlanta suburbs as well as in ATL business areas such as Perimeter, Buckhead, etc.

Good luck getting 4G coverage in ATL metro. Signal is so bad, that SmartView just turns the Wimax radio completely off. For $50, a two year contract extension, an extra $10 a month, three calls to support, and 6 hours of my time, this is a horrible deal, since there is no usable speed increase.

To make matters worse, the 3G performance with this new USB dongle is worse than with my previous dongle, the 595U. With signal this poor, one would think that there would be an external antenna port.

Even worse, tech support claims that you many times must use an AMD-based PC with a non-64-bit OS to activate, or activation will fail, due to chipset issues. Good thing that I have half a dozen laptops, otherwise, this would have been a major inconvenience. That, and the version of SmartView included with the device needs an immediate de-installation, upgrade download, and reinstallation.

And yes, I was using the old SmartView skin to monitor the Wimax signal, as well as stopping the car and disconnecting from 4G and trying to connect to 4G.

What a joke. Sprint did this 13 years ago with their digital cell service, moving portable towers around to try to "fake" coverage, before their $600mm tower expansion.

Sprint wanted to beat everyone to market with 4G speeds but has failed.

Not ready for primetime; of no use to BizTravler.

Not sure what area you were in, but you are completely wrong, because it does work just about everywhere in atlanta. The only problem they are having is using it inside buildings in certain areas. You have to go outside and let it find the 4g then go inside and it works fine. This is only in certain areas though, not most.

[gottago]

Not sure what area you were in, but you are completely wrong, because it does work just about everywhere in atlanta. The only problem they are having is using it inside buildings in certain areas. You have to go outside and let it find the 4g then go inside and it works fine. This is only in certain areas though, not most.

This was the exact reason I canceled my Clear subscription a couple of months ago. I got great service while mobile but in the house it was non-existent. I would imagine Sprint to be no different.

[bigchico68]

Yeah they are working on the issue. Makes no sense that you can't use it inside, so hopefully they fix it soon.

[TECH]

at least u getting mps on sprint on clear nada under 200kb

[Bibbin]

Cancelled mine last week.:td: 15-20 minutes of actual 4g access in a 30-day timeframe tells me that the service needs some more tweaking, at least in Kennesaw. Maybe I'll give it some time and try again later.:D

[bigchico68]

If I had it personally I wouldn't cancel because the card does 3g/4g so even if you don't get 4g at the time you still get to use the 3g and the plan rates are the exact same price for both.

[KingCoop]

I just signed up for Clear 4G in Atlanta over the weekend. They are running numerous promotions right now. I ended up going with the Pick 1 Unlimited Home Internet for $22.50 for the first 6 months and then $45.00 after that. When the price goes up to $45.00 I will just switch to the Pick 2 Unlimited Home + Mobile package for $60 (currently on promotion for $50 for life).

It was honestly the easiest process ever and I thought it would be much harder. I walked into Best Buy and saw the Clear packages and hardware and the rep came over to talk with me. She explained that I could get the service and test it out for up to 37 days (7 days to call and cancel service and another 30 days to actually return the equipment). I got the Motorola Home Modem and am leasing it for $4.99 a month. I walked out of the store paying $27 and some change.

Once I got home all I had to do was plug the modem in and connect it to my router. Took about 2 or 3 minutes for it to find the signal and then it was ready to go. 4 out of 5 green lit bars at the top so I had a very good signal. I tested it using all my pc's in the house and then tested it using our PS3 and it worked excellent. The PS3 said the connection had a download speed of roughly 5 MB and the upload speed came in right at 1 MB. When I tested it on the pc's I used www.speakeasy.net/speedtest and www.speedtest.net. Both sites put the lag time very low which is great for online gaming and the downloads ranged between 4 MB - 9 MB. The upload always seemed to stay right around 1 MB.

So I had a very positive experience so far and think I am going to love this Clear 4G service and may even get it with Sprint as well if they offer better prices when it's nationwide. Currently I just have a 3G aircard with Sprint and the 4G home service with Clear.

Also I am located right in midtown Atlanta so maybe that's why my service is going so well.

[Jerz]

I'm not sure what you have to do to get the fast speeds in Atlanta but I'm in buckhead right now in the parking lot at Piedmont and Peachtree and I get this:

http://www.speedtest.net/result/573078789.png (http://www.speedtest.net)

[KingCoop]

I think it may have something to do with using Sprint 4G vs Clear 4G. My speeds have not been that bad at all, but I am not going through Sprint so that may be what it is.

[Bibbin]

If I had it personally I wouldn't cancel because the card does 3g/4g so even if you don't get 4g at the time you still get to use the 3g and the plan rates are the exact same price for both.

Well the way I see it, and feel free to correct me if in error, Sprint's 3G/4G plan is currently $69.99 (one month free-difficult to determine which month). Keeping that plan and not being able to reap the benefits of 4G makes no sense. This is particularly so, given that I have PAM on my lines. Bottom line, I purchased it solely for the 4G, that didn't pan out so back it went.:indiff:

[Bibbin]

I think it may have something to do with using Sprint 4G vs Clear 4G. My speeds have not been that bad at all, but I am not going through Sprint so that may be what it is.

It definitely has someting to do with the carrier. Sprint's connection manager is truly not ready to accomodate the card. Even though they're selling it, the "WIMAX" dept., last I heard, was still troubleshooting the thing.

[bigchico68]

I think it may have something to do with using Sprint 4G vs Clear 4G. My speeds have not been that bad at all, but I am not going through Sprint so that may be what it is.

sprint goes through clear. they own 51% of it.

[Jerz]

ummm... yeah... it's my understanding that Sprint 4g/wimax is the same network as Clear so uhhhh..... The speed Clear is claiming in Atlanta is simply a load of crap.

[Jerz]

I think it may have something to do with using Sprint 4G vs Clear 4G. My speeds have not been that bad at all, but I am not going through Sprint so that may be what it is.

Please post your results from speedtest.net and tell us where you are at the time of the test....

[le848dave]

I think there are two different issues here. I've been on Clear 4g in Atlanta since almost the first day they went live officially. (Was traveling otherwise it would have been day 1) Anyway, I get greta connectivity speeds 4g all around town, inside my loft and at work. I use it instead of our office connection because it is faster. Now, I think the difference here is that I use the Clear 4g USB and Clear 4g modem. Everyone here complaining about speed seems to be using the 3g/4g USB modems. I've never used these but I'm guessing that is your problem. When I'm outside the 4g range I use my 3g USB by manually switching out.

I agree that I think Sprint is dropping the ball here but it seems it's problems with switching between 3g/4g and not the 4g coverage which I've had yet to find a spot where I couldn't get 4g in Atlanta.