Oh well...
I had hoped to get Comcast out of my life once and for all.
I got set up with Clear to see if they could provide the level of service I need. Unfortunately, they cannot.
Downloads were much faster than Comcast. Uploads were slower. If all I did was average internet use, they'd be the bees knees. However, I build and maintain FileMaker databases for a living. FileMaker is rather finnicky about its connection to its server. Connecting to a client's database was massively slower (5+ minutes vs <10 seconds) and the connection was unstable causing the application to crash within 10 minutes of getting connected. I suspect this may be due to the "bursting" used in WiMax connections. Rather than a constant back and forth, data is compiled and sent in "bursts". FileMaker is pretty demanding about its server connection. The client wants reassurance from the server that the server is still there every few seconds, or you get a message that it can't talk to the host and all files from that host are closed. With Clear, instead of that relatively graceful shutdown, I consistently got a hard application crash.
It's like if I were ta
lking to you and suddenly pa
used. You'd get rather annoyed wi
th that and decide you'd rather not deal with me until I could manage to complete my sentences (or possibly send me to a hospital for a neurological exam). In any case, you'd assume I had some sort of malfunction.
The other issue I had was getting my VoIP phone working. I suspect I could have gotten that worked out, but FileMaker was a deal breaker.
Overall, I was quite pleased with the service and support they provided in the short time I was with them, and would recommend them to anyone who did not have application specific requirements for a constant connection. Their tech support was easy to reach, and they had a tech at my door the same day I reported the issue with FileMaker. Unfortunately, all that tech could say is "I got nothin'."
I suspect the "bursting" could also pose problems for gamers.
I got set up with Clear to see if they could provide the level of service I need. Unfortunately, they cannot.
Downloads were much faster than Comcast. Uploads were slower. If all I did was average internet use, they'd be the bees knees. However, I build and maintain FileMaker databases for a living. FileMaker is rather finnicky about its connection to its server. Connecting to a client's database was massively slower (5+ minutes vs <10 seconds) and the connection was unstable causing the application to crash within 10 minutes of getting connected. I suspect this may be due to the "bursting" used in WiMax connections. Rather than a constant back and forth, data is compiled and sent in "bursts". FileMaker is pretty demanding about its server connection. The client wants reassurance from the server that the server is still there every few seconds, or you get a message that it can't talk to the host and all files from that host are closed. With Clear, instead of that relatively graceful shutdown, I consistently got a hard application crash.
It's like if I were ta
lking to you and suddenly pa
used. You'd get rather annoyed wi
th that and decide you'd rather not deal with me until I could manage to complete my sentences (or possibly send me to a hospital for a neurological exam). In any case, you'd assume I had some sort of malfunction.
The other issue I had was getting my VoIP phone working. I suspect I could have gotten that worked out, but FileMaker was a deal breaker.
Overall, I was quite pleased with the service and support they provided in the short time I was with them, and would recommend them to anyone who did not have application specific requirements for a constant connection. Their tech support was easy to reach, and they had a tech at my door the same day I reported the issue with FileMaker. Unfortunately, all that tech could say is "I got nothin'."
I suspect the "bursting" could also pose problems for gamers.