What Do I Need for WiMax?

[NovaCrystallis]

Okay at my house we have the following devices:

1) My Notebook PC
2) My Mom's Notebook PC
3) Family Desktop PC
4) XBox 360
5) Nintendo Wii

Right now all these devices are connected WIRELESSLY to a Linksys Router. We currently have Time Warner Cable Internet and Phone Service bundled together. However I HATE TWC. Just dumped them for DirecTV and couldn't be happier.

Anyway so I'm in an area where WiMax/Clear will be coming out in November. I'm sorta torn about whether to sign up for Clearwire right now since I know that they will upgrade our equipment to Clear stuff as soon as it rolls around.

However I'm confused about what equipment Clear will actually provide. I just got off talking with a representative for Clear and I'll report what she told me.

Anyways we've got a Linksys WRT610N Router here. She told us that if we got Clear 4G WiMax Service that we could connect the Clear Modem to the Linksys WRT610N AND that provided:

1) The Laptop had the Clear USB Adapter/Modem

OR

2) The Device used an ethernet cable connection to the back of the Linksys Router

That we would be receiving 4G data connection speeds through the Linksys Router. That is we would be getting the 6Mbps download speeds and 1Mbps upload speeds

Now is that correct/right? Or was she lying to me?

[TECH]

i say go for sprinnt u300 4g works better and give u more speed and get cradle point so u can hook up ur devuices ihad clear slow as hell and still my brother has it and still slow my sprint u300 gets from 5 to 7 mps at home down town i get 9 to 11 mps on my sprint 4g

[morgan1112]

i say go for sprinnt u300 4g works better and give u more speed and get cradle point so u can hook up ur devuices ihad clear slow as hell and still my brother has it and still slow my sprint u300 gets from 5 to 7 mps at home down town i get 9 to 11 mps on my sprint 4g

That is just so wrong that Sprint's 4G is faster than Clear's 4G. Both companies advertise the same speeds yet Clear apparently throttles the hell out of their connection for some strange reason. :bang:

[jess101]

NovaCrystallis,

The service you sign up for will determine what equipment you get. If you get home service, you will get the Motorola CPEi 150 modem for your home (once it changes to CLEAR service). Don't see why you would want to try and use a USB modem and a a clear spot to hook everything up at the house, as the signal to the USB modem is going to be weaker indoors than the that of the home modem.

With that said, you should be able to eventually get 4-6 Mbs down and .5 to 1 Mbs up with the unlimited plan, but you should definitely have someone come out and check your signal and speeds at your home before purchasing. Since this is wireless technology, you just don't know what you're going to get until you try it.

If the service works for you, you can plug an ethernet cable from the CLEAR Motorola modem into the WAN port of your Linksys router and get the same results as you do now with whatever modem is being used with Time Warner. The things you need to be aware of are that the Motorola modem from CLEAR does NAT routing. Because your Linksys modem also does NAT routing, all your PCs, laptops, and game consoles will have to pass through this double NAT process when connecting to the internet. This is not a problem for your PCs, but can play havoc with your game consoles. You need someone who can check this for you when you get them to demo the Clear service.

This Motorola modem also has a firewall and has DHCP turned on out of the box, so you will have to address this since the modem and your router will both be duplicating all these processes. Don't let this scare you too much, as it can be done by someone with a little network knowledge. Just find somebody who knows their stuff and have them work with you on getting the service and setting it up. Good Luck.

[NovaCrystallis]

Thanks for all the replies. I talked with a real person at a local best buy and he said the same thing you said Jess.

I'm sure I can get someone to help me with the NAT and DHCP issues.

I just wish more people could tell me if clear is really "throttling" the speed.

And apparently Time Warner Cable and Sprint will also be selling 4G WiMax in the area. So I dunno if I should go ahead, get clear and risk getting slower speeds than advertised OR if I should wait for Sprint to official offer it and sign up theu them.

[TECH]

here in my are clear going 200 kb my sprint u300 from sprint getting 5 mps so far and cear been lik this since agust 4 if u go to clear store check there it will be going fast but if u take a look on a custumer clear box it will go 200 or under and u can check theres and it goes 5 to 6 mps rip offs i went to the clear store and i bought my sprint u300 and i got 10 mps at the store so i made custumer cancle there clear and got them sprint us300 and there very happy with it all the people that has clear my brother my freind from church are complaining to clear y so slow they get full bars and i get 2 to 3 and i still get way more speeds then them if u in contract with clear ur screwed already there gonna tell u or try to extend ur days so they will get u stuck with etf if ur month to month u may have a chance to get all ur money back since i switch to sprint u300 its been so awsome fast ass hell just 2 isssues so far heat up nasty and inside my house i cant connect only when i walk out side my door but still fast afther i connect

[Jerz]

****the cradlepoint only supports 4 simultaneous connections... wasn't sure if that was pointed out... The cradlepoine would definitely NOT be an option in my house.

[NovaCrystallis]

****the cradlepoint only supports 4 simultaneous connections... wasn't sure if that was pointed out... The cradlepoine would definitely NOT be an option in my house.

What's the "cradlepoint"? Is that the Clear Modem that you get when you son up for their home service?

And what type of speed do you get with Clear? And where are you located?

I talked with online with a sprint rep about sprints 4g service and if they had home Internet plans that could be bundled with a customers cell phone plan and they said no because they don't offer home Internet plans.

Then I asked her about Clear and guess what she said? She claimed to have NEVER HAVE HEARD OF CLEAR!! Can you believe that? At this point I was thinking either she's absolutely retarded/stupid (which I've come to expect from sprint employees) or she was lying to me...

I even said how can you know about sprints wimax offerings and not know about clear? Esp considering that your company OWNS 51% in the new Clear venture!?!? And she claims that because she works for sprint.com they don't tell hen about that stuff.

Anyways after that idiotic episode it seems like I have no choice but Clear or wat for TWC to start selling their rebranded version of 4G Wimax.....

[jess101]

Cradlepoint is the manufacturer of the device that Clear sells called the "Clear Spot". This is not the unit you will receive if you sign up for home service. The home unit is the Motorola CPEi 150 modem. The Motorola unit provides only a single ethernet connection, and does not provide any type of Wi-Fi.

The Clear Spot is really pretty cool, and if you'd like to get one, you purchase it separately. It requires that you have the USB modem you get when you get mobile service. You have to plug the USB modem into the Clear Spot to get it to work. Once you do, you now are receiving Clear Wimax service through the USB modem and that service is being converted to Wi-Fi through the Clear Spot. You can know hook up to 8 Wi-Fi enabled devices to the internet with this configuration.

The Clear Spot can run up to four hours on battery power. This means you can set up a hot spot anywhere within the Wimax coverage area without any power. You would most likely not want to set this equipment up at home, as the USB modem is not going to be nearly as effective at picking up Wimax signals indoors as the Motorola home modem, although my USB modem seems to work very well indoors if pointed in the right direction. I am 1.7 miles from the nearest tower and get 4-5 megs down and .5 up with my USB modem and laptop inside. It only gets better outside.

[Jerz]

What's the "cradlepoint"? Is that the Clear Modem that you get when you son up for their home service?

The cradle point from Sprint, which is what I have is a portable wireless router (wifi) that has a usb port where you plug in the Sprint U300 3G/4G modem.... The Sprint cradlepoint ONLY SUPPORTS 4 simultaneous connections although I've never tried 5 so I cannot confirm.


And what type of speed do you get with Clear? And where are you located?
Well I'm currently in Buckhead in my car and I'm only getting a 3G signal... but I've posted speeds in another thread...


I talked with online with a sprint rep about sprints 4g service and if they had home Internet plans that could be bundled with a customers cell phone plan and they said no because they don't offer home Internet plans.
I don't get a 4G signal at my house in the northern Atlanta Metro area anyway so it's irrelevant for me.


Then I asked her about Clear and guess what she said? She claimed to have NEVER HAVE HEARD OF CLEAR!! Can you believe that? At this point I was thinking either she's absolutely retarded/stupid (which I've come to expect from sprint employees) or she was lying to me...
Probably not lying just should be working at a grocery store as a cashier instead of sprint.

[NovaCrystallis]

Cradlepoint is the manufacturer of the device that Clear sells called the "Clear Spot". This is not the unit you will receive if you sign up for home service. The home unit is the Motorola CPEi 150 modem. The Motorola unit provides only a single ethernet connection, and does not provide any type of Wi-Fi.

The Clear Spot is really pretty cool, and if you'd like to get one, you purchase it separately. It requires that you have the USB modem you get when you get mobile service. You have to plug the USB modem into the Clear Spot to get it to work. Once you do, you now are receiving Clear Wimax service through the USB modem and that service is being converted to Wi-Fi through the Clear Spot. You can know hook up to 8 Wi-Fi enabled devices to the internet with this configuration.

The Clear Spot can run up to four hours on battery power. This means you can set up a hot spot anywhere within the Wimax coverage area without any power. You would most likely not want to set this equipment up at home, as the USB modem is not going to be nearly as effective at picking up Wimax signals indoors as the Motorola home modem, although my USB modem seems to work very well indoors if pointed in the right direction. I am 1.7 miles from the nearest tower and get 4-5 megs down and .5 up with my USB modem and laptop inside. It only gets better outside.

Really to the part in bold?

So you're saying if I sign up for Clear today and I get that Motorola modem from Clear that it's absolutely useless to me and that my laptop won't be able to connect to it wirelessly?

[jess101]

Really to the part in bold?

So you're saying if I sign up for Clear today and I get that Motorola modem from Clear that it's absolutely useless to me and that my laptop won't be able to connect to it wirelessly?

Yes, really to the Clear modem only having a single ethernet port, however, you indicated you had a linksys wireless router. I assume you have your linksys router plugged directly into your current Time Warner modem. You would just hook the router up to the Clear modem when you make the switch. Unless you plan on keeping Time Warner, all you're doing is switching out modems.

You may end up plugging your Clear modem into one of the LAN ports on your router instead of the WAN port. It just depends on how everything works for you in your situation. Again, with everything you are wanting to hook up, and the fact that the Clear modem has a NAT router and DHCP, you'll probably want someone to come out and demo the service using your set up.

[NovaCrystallis]

Yes, really to the Clear modem only having a single ethernet port, however, you indicated you had a linksys wireless router. I assume you have your linksys router plugged directly into your current Time Warner modem. You would just hook the router up to the Clear modem when you make the switch. Unless you plan on keeping Time Warner, all you're doing is switching out modems.

You may end up plugging your Clear modem into one of the LAN ports on your router instead of the WAN port. It just depends on how everything works for you in your situation. Again, with everything you are wanting to hook up, and the fact that the Clear modem has a NAT router and DHCP, you'll probably want someone to come out and demo the service using your set up.

OH OKAY. That makes sense!

And once I hve the Clear modem hooked into the Linksys router any wifi enabled device should be able to connect to the Internet and recieve download and upload speeds that WiMax is offering correct?

Now assuming the above is correct how will the Clear Voice work? I'm guessing I would just plug that into a WAN port on the back of the router or would it go on the port behind the Clear modem?

[jess101]

And once I hve the Clear modem hooked into the Linksys router any wifi enabled device should be able to connect to the Internet and recieve download and upload speeds that WiMax is offering correct?

Yes, that's how it would work.

Now assuming the above is correct how will the Clear Voice work? I'm guessing I would just plug that into a WAN port on the back of the router or would it go on the port behind the Clear modem?

Now you've gone and complicated matters. If you are interested in the CLEAR WiMAX phone service, you would get a Linksys SPA2102 ATA (analog telephone adapter) with your order. The Linksys ATA is ALSO a DHCP server with NAT routing. If you were to plug everything up using the CLEAR instructions, you would most likely have issues somewhere in your network, especially if you are gaming online.

So now you have a CLEAR modem/router with DHCP and NAT, an analog telephone adapter with DHCP and NAT, and a Linksys wireless router with DHCP and NAT. This arrangement has frustrated more than one CLEAR customer when trying to set it up on their own and get everything to play nice together. If you decide to go with CLEAR, find an authorized rep that will demo the service and equipment, and is associated in some way with a business that is fairly knowledgeable about networks.

[NovaCrystallis]

Yes, that's how it would work.



Now you've gone and complicated matters. If you are interested in the CLEAR WiMAX phone service, you would get a Linksys SPA2102 ATA (analog telephone adapter) with your order. The Linksys ATA is ALSO a DHCP server with NAT routing. If you were to plug everything up using the CLEAR instructions, you would most likely have issues somewhere in your network, especially if you are gaming online.

So now you have a CLEAR modem/router with DHCP and NAT, an analog telephone adapter with DHCP and NAT, and a Linksys wireless router with DHCP and NAT. This arrangement has frustrated more than one CLEAR customer when trying to set it up on their own and get everything to play nice together. If you decide to go with CLEAR, find an authorized rep that will demo the service and equipment, and is associated in some way with a business that is fairly knowledgeable about networks.

Okay so I went ahead and signed up....

So far it's seems okay. I'm willing to try it out. The only thing that annoys me is that with some websites Firefox browser keeps acting like it's working/loading the webpage even though most of it is up there to begin with.

Other pages like Gmail, Google, Speedtest, etc seem to be load immediately and without hassle. As far as speeds go...down below. I don't know how to convert kbps to MBs or w/e. So if anyone can help me out with that I'd appreciate it.

1) Speakeasy (Washington DC Server)
Downloads: 2823 kbps
Uploads:377 kbps

2) dslreports (Washington DC Server)
Latency: 102 ms
Downloads: 2558 Kb/s
Uploads: 261 Kb/s

3) Speedtest.net
Latency(Ping?): 72 ms
Downloads: 2.64 Mb/s
Uploads: 0.42 Mb/s

How does that sound?

And OH one very important QUESTION I have! We have 4 PHONES in the house. I hope and pray that hte Clear Voice will provide home phone service for ALL of them right? Is there anything special I need to do in order to get that working?

Or is it once I plug in 1 phone that all will work? Assuming I port the number over?

The representative said that if I plug 1 phone into it (I haven't ported my number yet...I want to try it out first for the 6 days and see if I like it).

He said that the 3 phones would still get service from Time Warner Cable without issues and that the phone I plugged into Clear would receive calls so long as we called the # associated with it.

However assuming I keep Clear 4G WiMax I expect that all phones will be able to get phone calls like normal right?

[jess101]

To convert Kbps to Mbps, just put a decimal three places from the right. For instance, your 2823 Kbps would become 2.823 or 2.8 Mbs. Your download of 234 Kbps would become .234 Mbps.

Your speeds seem rather slow if you paid for unlimited service. You should be getting around 4-6 Mbps on dowload and .5 Mbps on upload. It's going to vary at any given time and depending on the server you run your speedtest on. Your ping tests (latency) looks about par for Clear.

You didn't mention how you had everything hooked up. Are you running these test directly through the modem, or through a wired or wireless connection? It really shouldn't matter unless you have a very weak Wi-Fi connection.

Your telephone adapter for Clear will only work with line 1 on the adapter unless you get a second number. Line 2 will not work out of the box. You can only plug in one phone to line one unless you get a splitter, but that kind of limits the locations of where you can place your phones, unless you use some very long cords. You could also plug in a cordless phone base into line 1 and spread out some cordless handsets in the house. If you go that route, make sure you get some handsets that run on DECT 6.0 or something other than the 2.4 GHz frequency.

The only other way to get this adapter to run more phones is to plug line 1 of the adapter directly into one of the phone jacks you have for your previous service. YOU DO NOT WANT TO TRY THIS UNLESS YOU FIRST DISCONNECT YOUR INCOMING ANALOG LINE FROM THE PHONE COMPANY WHERE IT COMES INTO YOUR SERVICE BOX! There are voltages on this line that the Clear ATA can't handle.

Don't request that your number be ported to CLEAR until you are completely satisfied with the phone service. This can be done anytime. If it turns out you like the CLEAR service you can then ask for the number to be ported and then disconnect your old telephone line if you'd like to try the option above. I guess the simple answer to your question is that you cannot run 4 phones off 1 CLEAR phone adapter, and your adapter has to be located somewhere where it can be connected to your network.

[NovaCrystallis]

To convert Kbps to Mbps, just put a decimal three places from the right. For instance, your 2823 Kbps would become 2.823 or 2.8 Mbs. Your download of 234 Kbps would become .234 Mbps.

Your speeds seem rather slow if you paid for unlimited service. You should be getting around 4-6 Mbps on dowload and .5 Mbps on upload. It's going to vary at any given time and depending on the server you run your speedtest on. Your ping tests (latency) looks about par for Clear.

You didn't mention how you had everything hooked up. Are you running these test directly through the modem, or through a wired or wireless connection? It really shouldn't matter unless you have a very weak Wi-Fi connection.

Your telephone adapter for Clear will only work with line 1 on the adapter unless you get a second number. Line 2 will not work out of the box. You can only plug in one phone to line one unless you get a splitter, but that kind of limits the locations of where you can place your phones, unless you use some very long cords. You could also plug in a cordless phone base into line 1 and spread out some cordless handsets in the house. If you go that route, make sure you get some handsets that run on DECT 6.0 or something other than the 2.4 GHz frequency.

The only other way to get this adapter to run more phones is to plug line 1 of the adapter directly into one of the phone jacks you have for your previous service. YOU DO NOT WANT TO TRY THIS UNLESS YOU FIRST DISCONNECT YOUR INCOMING ANALOG LINE FROM THE PHONE COMPANY WHERE IT COMES INTO YOUR SERVICE BOX! There are voltages on this line that the Clear ATA can't handle.

Don't request that your number be ported to CLEAR until you are completely satisfied with the phone service. This can be done anytime. If it turns out you like the CLEAR service you can then ask for the number to be ported and then disconnect your old telephone line if you'd like to try the option above. I guess the simple answer to your question is that you cannot run 4 phones off 1 CLEAR phone adapter, and your adapter has to be located somewhere where it can be connected to your network.

Those tests were done

1) Wirelessly
2) On the main Desktop PC

And I mention 2 only because I just remembered that the wireless adapter in there isn't that great.

My laptop on the other hand has the Intel WiFi 5100 AGN Link (or w/e the official name is).

Here are my speed results with that from Speedtest.net (Wilson, NC Server). I live in Raleigh.

http://www.speedtest.net/result/614134405.png (http://www.speedtest.net)

And thanks for the warning but the Clear rep already told me not to port the number until I was absolutely sure that the service was to our liking.

So far the only thing that bothers me is that it takes a while to load pages on my mom's laptop and the desktop. And to a certain extend on my laptop too.

Is it possibly because of that DHCP thing you mentioned earlier? As well as the NAT routing?