Clear WiMax Caps -Better than Dial-up!

If you have followed my blog, you wills see I have a love-hate relationship with Clear Wireless in Atlanta, GA.

Love: Good speeds in god weather and in the Winter (when trees are bare) up to 10Mbps!

Hate: Inconsistent speeds and inconceivable policies of bandwidth capping

A few weeks ago, I was complaining that Clear was capping my speeds (I assume during ‘peak’ hours) to about 1 Mbps (about 130KBps). 

This occurred for a few weeks and then it stopped; I was getting a constant 6-10Mbps 24x7.

For the past few days if I attempt to download something that takes more than 15 minute, I have been enjoying a cap of about 230kbps (about 29KBps):

Tonight I attempted to download the new Ubuntu 10.10 ISO- and after about a quarter hour of decent speed it dropped to the above abysmal speed.  Good God Clear- what the Hell are you doing to me?

Luckily I have two other Clear connections in my package that I can switch to and get a resemblance of the speed I was promised when I signed up to Clear about a year ago.

Be warned all- Stay clear of Clear! (if you think you will ever need to actually use your Internet connection!)

More Clear WiMax Complaints

Just when I think Clear WiMax in Atlanta, GA couldn’t suck any harder, they implement a new draconian cap/bandwidth throttle and show they are the queen of horrible internet service.

Clear Wireless does NOT want you to use their service.  If you have a download running for over 15 minutes, your bandwidth instantly drops to 512kbps: i.e. your normally unstable 4-8Mbps WiMax connection will drop to a rock-solid .5Mbps.

It appears that Clear has resolved their issues with poor signal strength (now showing a CINR of 22db), but at 512kbps It will take me 2-3 days to download a Linux ISO…

I am assuming this is how Clear can support all of those 4G EVOs that were released into the wild a few months back.

This is the Clear 4G coverage map (from Clear’s web site) for Atlanta, GA:

Notice all of the white spots (I would include all of the light green as well) where there is no WiMax coverage?

From my understanding, WiMax is directional and line-of-site.  All of the WiMax antennas point South, creating a cone of WiMax coverage (note the triangle shaped patterns on the right side of the map).  You need to align your home WiMax modem so it’s antennas face north toward your closest tower.   If there are trees or buildings in the way, your coverage will be degraded.  If it is off axis by more than a few degrees, your throughput will suffer even more.  If it rains, your speed will drop to 1/2 of normal.  i.e., WiMax sucks!

I actually can see ‘see’ 11 towers on my modem- albeit only 4 of them are close enough to actually be usable:

In addition, as a WiMax market matures, the saturation of a single tower can quickly be exceeded if too many people try to access the Internet at the same time (kind of like the problem of being on a busy cable modem node).  In Atlanta, I believe Clear has greatly oversold their service as I can rarely achieve the speeds I was constantly getting at this time last year (usually only during 3am – 5am).

I did a test with my Clear USB stick last week; I plugged it in to my laptop and started a download log as I drove into work.  When I arrived at my office (9 miles away via the Interstate) I had experienced no less than 5 connection drops- most of them taking 30+ seconds to reconnect.  Not quite the 3G experience.

In short, Clear WiMax has very spotty coverage and they do not expect you to actually use your connection.  If you are planning on getting Clear WiMax to replace your existing DSL/Cable Internet- JUST DON’T!  Wait for AT&T U-Verse or upgrade your existing service to a faster connection (AT&T DSL goes up to 6Mbps, Comcast up to 12Mbps)- all at a comparable speed to Clear WiMax- and without the added headache of trying to align the modem just perfect to hit the right antenna (and the WiMax speed drop when it rains).

So when is LTE going to be rolling out?

The Demise of Clear WiMax

For those of you following my blog, you might have noticed I have some mixed feelings about Clear WiMax in Atlanta, GA:

Clear WiMax Initial Review

Clear WiMax Follow-up

Clear ‘Unlimited’ Plans

Clear Usage Addendum

Clear WiMax: Bandwidth Throttling Now In-Place?

WiMax Speeds at Different Times:

Clear WiMax- getting progressively slower…

Clear Upgrades?

The past few weeks have been abysmal for Clear WiMax; as the trees leaves grow in the spring, the WiMax speeds have plummeted.

I positioned my modem in the top of a closet nearest to the North wall of the hose and for most of Winter I was enjoying speeds of 8-12Mbps (except when it rained- then the speed was 1/2 of that). 

My 5 bar Winter signal dropped to 2 bars in a matter of weeks; I have tried to re-orient the modem to get most signal, but I am getting a max of 3 bars. I now consider myself ‘lucky’ on nights when I can get over 200Kbps… 

Currently I am ‘blessed’ with 2 bars of signal strength (or a 7dB CINR) and tonight’s speeds are:

My other WiMax device (the Mobile USB device) cannot even get a signal lock in my house; I have to go outside on the edge of the deck to get 2 bars. 

I think it is time to call Clear and tell them what a piece-of-shit service they have.

I dread to see how many pissed off people there are once the Sprint EVO comes out- unless it is released in late Autumn. 

Clear WiMax: Bandwidth Throttling Now In-Place?

A few months ago, I decided to try out Clear Wireless WiMax as they offer ‘unlimited’ 6Mbs down over WiMax (refer to Clear WiMax in Atlanta, Clear WiMax Intial Review, and Clear WiMax Follow-up). However, after a few weeks, I started receiving notices that I was using too much bandwidth (see Clear ‘Unlimited’ Plans and Clear Usage Addendum).

More recently these warning letters have ceased with no explanation.

A few notes about WiMax; it is a very moody connection: often I can get speeds of up to 8Mbps, but other times I am stuck at around 2Mbps (rotating the router an inch or so left/right usually resolves this). During a rainstorm, my speed tops out at about 3Mbps, but with a wide range of variance (4Mbs down to 500kbps). The result of this bandwidth ‘feature’ it is very often hard to figure out what the heck is going on.

Today I tweaked with my bandwidth monitor (NetLimiter) to try to see if there are any traffic shaping/throttling patterns.

• One obvious pattern is that if I use my full bandwidth for 10 minutes, by speed drops to 1Mbps (about 125kB/sec). If I disconnect for about 15 minutes and reconnect, the bandwidth returns to full speed.
• If I run full speed for 9 minutes, cap my downloads to 1Mbps for 9 minutes and then go back to full speed, I will top out at about 1.9Mbps and 10 minutes later it drops to 1Mbps.
• When I set my download limit to about 3.6Mbps (450kB/sec), I do not see any throttling after 25 minutes at this speed.
• After about 9pm at night, there does not appear to be any bandwidth throttling

It could be my imagination or it could be an incredible coincidence, but I believe that Clear Wireless is doing bandwidth throttling in the Atlanta, GA area. While I am not overly concerned as I am using WiMax as a secondary connection, it would be very nice to know the stipulations of this traffic shaping if this actually being enforced!

Update: It also appears that this is only being used during peak hours- and the 'peak hours' are not always the same. Yesterday (Sunday), there did not appear to be a cap in place until around 5pm. This limited me to 1Mbps if I used any amount of bandwidth for over 10 minutes. It ended around 11:00pm. Perhaps this is an automated system that starts limiting connections when a WiMax tower is being saturated?

Update 2: Pretty much the same as before; bandwidth caps occur between 5pm to 11pm and not on Sunday- but I noticed that the caps are at different levels on different occasions; sometimes 1Mbps, others 2Mbps, etc. This does appear to be some sort of 'auto throtting' that kicks in- perhaps when the WiMax tower is saturated?

Another interesting note is that rebooting the modem usually clears the limit (until the 10 minute timeout expires); so I would guess the cap is per session and not per device (and rebooting establishes a new session)?

Using DSL + WiMax Together

A few months ago, I signed up for Clear WiMax. I decided to keep my Bellsouth ADSL connection as I have received notices from Clear that my ‘unlimited’ connection was being over-utilized.

I tried to combine both ADSL and WiMax connections by putting a switch on the WAN port of my router and assigning static IPs to the two connections. By using route tables inside the router I was able to direct high-usage traffic over one connection and route all other traffic over the other. This works good- except that when I put both connections to static IPs, I create double-NATs and I run into issues when trying to open ports to internal systems:

Furthermore, after trying a few different Open-WRT firmware versions (Tomato, Gargoyle, DD-WRT) I found that routing inside my WRT54GL to not always work as I wanted it to.

After several failed attempts, I came up with another idea: I disabled DHCP on the WiMax modem, gave it a static IP on my local network and plugged it into the LAN side of my router:

I then added outbound static routes on my PC to all direct traffic for GigaNews and BackBlaze to the WiMax modem:

route add –p 70.42.186.0 mask 255.255.255.0 192.168.10.5
route add –p 70.42.243.0 mask 255.255.255.0 192.168.10.5
route add –p 205.11.107.0 mask 255.255.255.0 192.168.10.5
route add –p 216.196.96.0 mask 255.255.255.0 192.168.10.5

These routes direct all outbound traffic for my blackblaze client (70.42.186.0/24, 70.42.243.0/24 and 205.11.107.0/24) and GigaNews (216.196.96.0/24) over the WiMax connection. All other traffic is passed to the default gateway and out to BellSouth.

I am using NetLimiter to monitor my bandwidth usage and restricting GigaNews downloads to about 6Mbps in NewsLeecher (I can still remove the cap and jump up to about 9Mbps if I an in a hurry for a specific article)- which appears to have stopped the ‘excessive usage’ emails/calls from Clear support.

On other hosts on my network I can leave Bellsouth as default or add the above routes if I want to connect in a similar manner.

I was also having some strange issues with the Gargoyle firmware was not automatically connecting via PPPoE, but the latest firmware and setting my MTU to 1500 appears to have resolved this.

On another note: the WiMax connection does not appear to be an asymmetrical connection; on my Bellsouth ADSL line, my download bandwidth decreases as my upload bandwidth is utilized- this is not the case with WiMax.

Now I am able to access a cumulative 12Mbps down/1Mbps up on my PC. In theory, I could break out the WiMax mobile and connect it to a 3G router and have a 3rd route- but I am not going to push my luck too much with Clear… :)

Clear Usage Addendum

I have now received two automated messages and two emails from Clear stating that require my ‘Immediate Response’:

We have previously notified you regarding an issue with your account. An excessive amount of Internet traffic on your Clear connection is negatively impacting other Clear customers in your area. This can be caused by a variety of factors including for example virus or spyware on your computer, by having a wireless router with no password set or by using certain applications that may cause congestion. Until the issue is resolved, we have modified your connection to the network.

Please contact us at 888-657-1456 as soon as possible so we can assist you in resolving the issue.

Excess Utilization of Network Resources

The excessive use or abuse of Clear's network resources by one subscriber may have a negative impact on all other subscribers. Clear has adopted an Acceptable Use Policy, which all subscribers are required to follow as a condition of Service. Accordingly, you may not use the Service or take any action, directly or indirectly, that will result in excessive consumption or utilization of the system or network resources, or which may weaken network performance, as determined in Clear's sole discretion. Such prohibited actions include, but are not limited to: using the Service to host a web server site which attracts excessive traffic at your location, continuously uploading or downloading streaming video or audio, usenet hosting, or continuous uploading or downloading from file sharing web sites, when examples of such actions described above have the effect of degrading network performance and affecting other subscribers.

Violations of AUP

If you violate the Acceptable Use Policy, Clear may, without limitation, restrict your access to Clear's network, increase the fees associated with your Service, including upgrading you to a higher class of Service, or immediately suspend or terminate your Service. In the event of termination of your Service, all applicable termination charges will apply. Except as expressly provided herein, the rights and remedies of Clear are cumulative and not exclusive of any rights or remedies that Clear may otherwise have at law or in equity.

For more information on Clear's Acceptable Use Policy, please follow this link:

https://www.Clear.com/company/legal/terms.php

Thank you for your prompt attention.

This message contains information that may be confidential or privileged. The information is intended solely for use of the addressee(s). If you are not an addressee, your disclosure, copying, distribution or use of the contents of this message is prohibited. If this message has been sent to you in error, please notify the sender by return e-mail. Thank you.

I am taking a trip to Vegas soon and I am planning on using my WiMax connection while there. I have disconnected my home modem for the time being; I will resume my normal ‘negative impact on the network’ usage after I return.

To summarize my current thoughts on clear, here is a small Clear WiMax decision guide:

Use Clear if:

• You want an inexpensive alterative to bundled DSL/Cable broadband options
• You live in a large city and do not travel much

Do not use clear if:

• You do not have a ‘clear sky’ path to the nearest WiMax tower (trees included)
• You want to play online games
• You travel and need a mobile connection that will work outside of the major cities that will be receiving Clear WiMax
• You want to use you internet connection for anything beyond emails/web browsing

If I had more than 7 days to evaluate the limitations of the service I would have canceled a few weeks ago… :(

Clear ‘Unlimited’ Plans

While leaving work yesterday, I received a call from 888-657-1456; it was an automated message from Clear to inform me that they had detected ‘unusual usage patterns’ on my connection that may be ‘affecting the performance of their network’. The message went on to express that this could be a sign of a computer virus or an unsecured wireless network.

Guess what guys- I signed up for an unlimited usage 6Mbps plan. I am using said plan to it’s greatest potential. I verified with the sales person that I would be using it 24x7 to watch movies, VPN to work, download ISO images and such and I was told ‘no problem’.

If the WiMax network is affected by my single 6Mbps stream, then Clear has some other issues it needs to address.

I received an email notification this morning informing me that my address was updated on my clear account. I logged in and found that a ‘!!Read Acct History!!’ message had been added beneath my name.

I think I will have some fun calls with Clear over the next few days. :)

Clear WiMax Follow-up

I have decided to keep Clear; the final decision to cancel my DSL is now in question (do I really need two 6Mbps+ lines to my house?).

I am disappointed that Clear does not offer a reasonably priced Static IP option ($10/month is not acceptable). However, it does appear that my external IP as remained unchanged since I started using the service about a week ago. The DHCP lease time is 24 hours- so perhaps as long as I do not go offline for more than a day I will continue to renew with the same IP (which makes sense if it is typical DHCP). The Dynamic DNS options offered are very inadequate (DynDNS, Dyns.cx and ZoneEdit) as well.

That said, I ran into my second issues with Clear: They do not have a SMTP server. The two email addresses provided with each account by Clear are actually Google Mail accounts- so if I need to send a message out from an application on my server (Such as GeoVision alerts), I need to authenticate and send it out to the Google SMTP server: the problem I have is that Google only accepts SSL SMTP (on TCP port 465) messages and my application cannot use this. As a work-around, I am using a legacy Yahoo account (which had POP/SMTP before Yahoo started charging) to route my out-bound email alerts.

Configuring the modem to co-exist with my current router (D-Link DGL-4500) was fairly easy: log in to the router (default at http:\\192.168.15.1, password is ‘motorola’), disable the firewall:

and setup a DMZ IP address for for the one your router picks up from the modem:

The above two steps will take any traffic from the external IP address and forward it to the WAN interface of your internal router.

This configuration allows me to control external port access/forwarding for my GeoVision camera system, access my internal webcams, monitor/control my home alarm system and RDP to my desktop from remote locations (most of them from my G1 Android phone).

An alternative would be to configure the port forwarding in the router to the system you need in-bound access to from the internet:

I need a wireless router for my wireless devices- and I want to keep them on the same subnet with my PCs and servers- so I chose to use the router behind the WiMax modem (double-NAT is not THAT bad).

I am still trying to find the 5 bar Nirvana to see what speeds I can obtain. I have found that an unsteady 5 bar (i.e. toggling between 4 bars and 5 bars of connectivity) is much worse than a solid four bar. The router appears to need to re-negotiate each time the signal strength changes- causing large dips and spikes in download bandwidth.

Unlike the XOHM Zyzel WiMax Modem, the Clear Motorola WiMax modem does not have any connectors (SMA, TNC or N). I purchased the WiMax modem, so I decided to take it apart to see if there are any antenna interfaces. The modem has no external screws; the bottom held on exclusively by plastic snaps:

Careful use with a plastic putty knife was all that was needed to open the bottom an reveal the router board:

A careful inspection found what appears to be two SSMT Mini Coax connectors in the top of the board:

I am not sure if this was designed for an additional antenna, but I am toying with the idea of finding two SSMT Mini Coax to SMA (or N) male connectors and making some holes in the modem casing to mount these through. Once I have accessible antenna connectors, I could then order an external antenna to see if I get a better signal. :)

Clear WiMax Intial Review

Clearwire has started marketing WiMax in Atlanta, GA under the Clear brand. From what I gather, WiMax was tested in Portland, OR with great success, quietly launched in Las Vegas, NV and has now been deployed in Atlanta, GA.

The big offer at the moment is ‘Pick 2’; You can get a home WiMax and a mobile WiMax connection for $45/month (or two mobile WiMax connections). The home WiMax connection is rated at 6Mbps down/512K up and the mobile WiMax connection is rated at 4Mbps down/512K up.

The home and mobile modems can either be purchased outright or leased for $4.99 per month for each device.

I will go over each of the connection options in better detail:

Clear WiMax Home Modem

The home modem is a Motorola CPEi 25150 (also called the CPEi 150). Clear sells this device online for $79.99, or leases for $4.99/month.

There aren’t a lot of instructions in the box, but I managed to figure out the five lights on top of the modem indicate the signal strength. From what I have found, you will not be able to get a decent connection unless you can find a spot in your house that can maintain at least 4/5 lights (and I have been unable to find a 5 bar spot in my house- but I have no doubt that I will spend the next few weeks looking for that perfect spot ).

I was only getting 3-4Mbps so I returned to the clear Kiosk to ask a few questions. A few things the sales person told me:

• The device is directional; the side with the Motorola logo is the antenna and I should direct it to my closest WiMax Tower
• The higher in elevation the modem is, the better

The Clear rep pulled up a Google Earth map with a map of all the WiMax towers in Atlanta. We entered in my address and she was in the signal range of two towers (#555 and #174). The towers are north and north west of my house, so I needed to point the antenna side in that direction.

Finding a good spot is most aggravating part of this entire process

Setting the modem on a table, I usually get 2 bars. If I rotate the modem 15 degrees in either direction, I may gain or lose a bar. If I change the elevation of the modem by 2-3 inches the same results can happen. If I move the modem left/right or forward/back about an inch, the same change in signal happen again!

From what I gather on Motorola's site, the device utilizes MIMO (multiple in, multiple out) antennas to improve signal reception.

To further complicate matters, the presence of a human body seems to assist in the signal reception (perhaps the signals are bouncing off me and reflecting back into the modem?)- so I may get a solid 4 bars and when I walk away it drops back down to 3 bars…

I eventually found a solid 4 bar connection in a most unexpected place; atop an external my server case in the data closet- in an area with the highest amount of random EM signals (two servers, wireless router, multiple external devices, security camera power, etc.) in my house (which they tell you to avoid).

One additional factor is that the speed is not generally instantaneous when you move the router or connect to the Internet; it will start slow (300-400KBps) and go up to full speed in about a minute- so with each movement of the router you will need to wait to check your new speed.

That said, once you find the sweet spot in your house, you can get some pretty decent throughput:

Bandwith gauge from NewsLeecher:
Note: the ‘max’ is just the speed I adjusted the graph to represent.

At an average of 1.04MB/sec it is about 8.3Mbps (if I did my math right)- which is about 28% faster than my BellSouth 6Mbpx DSL connection. It may not be quite the 12Mbps burst speed that Comcast offers (which is not actually stated on their page), but it also does not have a bandwidth limit (like the 250GB/month cap for Comcast).

Note: to get into the management of the Motorola CPEi 25150, you will need to open a web browser and point it at the device. If you are plugged directly into the modem with your PC, this will be your default gateway (my default was 192.168.15.1).

The default password for the device is ‘motorola’.

The modem interface is fairly basic, but you can setup port forwarding, DMZ host address, enable/disable firewall and setup a dynamic DNS client (choices are from dyndns.org, dyns.cx and zoneedit.com).

The status screen will give you some useful information on the router:

The modem has a basic firewall (i.e. you can turn it ‘on’ or ‘off’) and the device does have a DHCP server so you could plug it into a switch and serve up multiple LAN PCs with Internet access. However, if you require wireless 802.11a/b/g/n access, you will need to put a router in the mix.

Clear WiMax USB Mobile Modem

The wireless mobile device is a Motorola USBw 25100. Clear sells this device online for $59.99, or leases for $4.99/month.

The device is rated by Clear to get up to 4Mbps- but I have already hit 10Mbps (while stationary) with this guy in my Windows 7 laptop.

The adaptor comes with an interesting adaptor that goes in-line with the modem and the USB port and allows the modem to pivot up to 90 degrees on two axis. The purpose of this is to allow the modem to be perpendicular to the laptop keyboard- I assume this is both for better reception and to help prevent it from being broken off in a USB port when someone forgets it is plugged in.

The included CD is for Windows XP and Vista x86, but doing a driver search on the CD in Windows 7 turned up the correct drivers. The software consists of of a connection manager (that must be used as it does not create a dial-up network adaptor as the Verizon/Sprint EVDO modules do) that runs as a tray icon. While the icon is up, it also indicates signal strength with 10 green blocks that illuminate as the signal get stronger.

Coverage is good in Atlanta and Alpharetta- but this is also a line-of-sight connection. If there is a large concrete building between you and the only WiMax tower in range, odds are that you will not get a very good signal.

I did not do extensive bandwidth tests, but it appears that the USB modem can obtain similar connection speeds while stationary. In motion, these speeds will vary as you will be moving between WiMax towers.

Clear Spot Mobile WiFi Access Point

I also purchased a ‘Clear Spot’ access point. Clear sells this device online for $139.99.

This device is a Cradlepoint Wipipe PHS300 with a ‘CW’ addition at the end of the model number to indicate it has the Clear firmware on it.

The Clear Spot is a battery powered (AC adaptor is included) WiFi router with a USB connector. The USB slot is designated to be used with the Clear WiMax USB Modem. Using these devices together will give you a portable WiFi access point that can be used by up to 8 devices.

The management web pages of the Clear Spot are very reminiscent of a D-Link router interface, including the use of ‘Gaming’ as the port forwarding selection:

There are three dual color (red/green) LEDs on the Clear Spot:

• power on/charging status
• WiMax signal
• WiFi Signal

The WiMax signal is either on or off- there is no indication of signal strength; if it is red you do not have a signal. The web interface does offer signal indication on the ‘Status’ page:

There is a very good review of the Clear Spot on Gizmodo, so I will not go into detail on how it performs.

Final Thoughts

Overall, I am very impressed with the speeds and price that WiMax can offer. The setup can be a little picky and I will be researching the options for other WiMax routers with external antennas for my residence to try to get a solid lock of the fabled 5 bar connection.

The nationwide coverage is not very good at the moment (only Atlanta, Las Vegas and Portland) and the device cannot be used on the long Interstate stretches in-between cities. There are several additional cities going live by the end of 2009 and more promised for 2010 and later. (Hopefully New Orleans will soon be on this list).

There is a 7 day trial for the service and I have two days remaining to decide to migrate from DSL to WiMax or return everything. So far I am leaning towards keeping everything. Today I will test my remote connectivity (without the benefit of a static IP- which costs $10/month from Clear!) and see if there are any issues with remote desktop/camera viewing/etc. over WiMax. I will try to post my final decisions in a few days…

Clear WiMax in Atlanta

A kiosk in the Lenox mall was brought to my attention today; it bears a bright green ‘C’ for the Clear WiMax service that is now available in Atlanta, GA (and also in Las Vegas, NV and Portland, OR).

Their big offer is a ‘Pick 2 and Save’ option- for $55/month (+ hardware costs) they can provide a 6Mbps/500Kbps home internet connection and a 4Mbs/500Kbps mobile connection. In addition, for another $25/month they also can provide unlimited nationwide calling via their Clear Voice VoIP adaptor.

The hardware costs are $70 for the home modem, $60 for the mobile USB modem and $50 for the VoIP adaptor (ordering certain bundles online will give a $35 discount for the later)

One additional item that has really peaked my interest is the Clear Spot adaptor (for an additional $140) that will transform a Clear Mobile USB adaptor into a Wireless access point for up to 8 devices. There is a good review of the Clear Spot on Gizmodo that makes this device look very promising.

The big questions I have are:

1. How ‘unlimited’ is ‘unlimited usage’; will I get a nasty letter if I download 450GB+ of videos/music/youtube/etc?
2. Are static IPs available
3. Are there any port usage restrictions (I have several services I need to access at my home).
4. Is there a return/grace period where I can return the device if the throughput isn’t was promised?