Customers Sue Clearwire Over Throttling, False Advertising
Mar 10, 2011, 2:45 PM by Eric M. Zeman
updated Mar 10, 2011, 3:04 PM
A number of customers have filed a class action lawsuit against WiMax provider Clearwire, alleging that the company is guilty of false advertising and operates as a "Ponzi Scheme." The chief complaint arose from users who noticed their broadband service being throttled down to 256Kbps in late 2010, despite marketing materials that say WiMax customers will always have access to 1Mbps or more. At the time, Clearwire explained that it made adjustments to its customer experience optimization system, which might result in slow-downs for some users. Clearwire didn't define under what circumstances throttling might occur. Further, the customers allege that they were forced to pay early termination fees even though they were dissatisfied with the level of service provided by Clearwire. The customers believe Clearwire is guilty of selling services it couldn't support (hence the false advertising claim), and in so doing attempt to generate the capital needed to build the network out in the future (hence the Ponzi scheme claim). The plaintiffs note, "Rather than limiting its subscribers to a number that its broadband infrastructure can accommodate - such that Clearwire can make good on its representations regarding high-speed service and capacity - Clearwire signed up many more subscribers than it could handle so as to maximize revenue and profit." Clearwire stands accused of violating advertising and fair trade practices in six states across the U.S. Clearwire is currently in financial trouble, as it hopes to hammer out a better agreement with partner Sprint.
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Comments
"Ponzi Scheme" and WiMax Rollout : Get on the lifeboat before this ship sinks.
If you bought an Evo, enjoy your very slow 3G phone and the extra $120.00 you pay per year for a network you can't use.
If you're on Sprint, I'd strong recommend getting on one of the lifeboats before this ship sinks. (Verizon has unlimited plans for now.) Your rates are going to go up and your phones are going to conti...
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Clear may go under but Sprint's going nowhere.
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bluecoyote said:...
This one is a gimme. I'll avoid laughing at the idiots who said the EVO was superior to the iPhone because it ran on the 'superior' WiMax network despite horrendous real world performance. I'll avoid laughing at t
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Anyone who doesn't think Sprint is next...
"Unlimited 4G" doesn't work. There has to be a simple, well-defined threshold somewhere.
Sad to see that Clearwire didn't make appropriate disclosures here.
Perhaps if a company actually spent $$$ on beefing up the network so it can handle say 5,000-10,000 users simutaneously and STILL maintail 3-6mbps+. That 5,000-10,000 simultaneous users per cell site wa...
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Right now your just blowing steam you have no proof or even dates about when this will happen. It could take place years from now and by th...
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DiamondTroll? CamelTrolling?
a few thoughts...
too often this happens....companies like clear and comcast throttle and block whatever they want. comcast charges as much as it wants. you cant go anywhere else besides at&t and uverse isn't everywhere. what happens if you don't want to deal with the idiots at at&t or their inferior network?
AOL "you've got mail!"
how does this help advance america again?
Please God...
After the network was revamped here I get 6-10 mbps down and I love that.
However the whiney b**** that is branded Clear needs to be kicked to the curb, this is ridiculous.
Clearwire...
I enjoy their service, but I could see bankruptcy in their future. We'll see.
