Like XOHM, Clearwire is offering a "mobile" and a "home" choice. The MOTOWI4 is the home modem and operates exactly like your typical cable or DSL modem: simply plug it into the wall and then connect your computer via ethernet, and you're all set! You can even use it with any standard wireless router and share the connection throughout your home or office. At $175, it's a little pricey, but they also offer the option of leasing it for $4.99 per month. If you're an Apple user, the home modem is your currently your only option for the Clear service, as their USB modem does NOT support Mac. The mobile option, the aforementioned PC-only USB dongle, is the Motorola w100 and is available for $49.99.
Their plans are also similar to those offered by XOHM, but Clearwire is offering more options. They followed XOHM's lead with the separate plans for home and mobile use (although the "home modem" is semi-mobile, too - you just need to have a power source - so there's no reason you can't take it with you to a hotel, etc), but Clear is offering plans with different usage allowances and even different speeds. With the home modem, you are guaranteed unlimited bandwidth (let's see how long that lasts), but you can choose the speed you pay for: $20/month for 768 Kbps/128 Kbps, $30 for 3.0 Mbps/384 Kbps, or $40 for 6.0 Mbps/512 Kbps. With the USB modem, you are limited to 4.0 Mbps/384 Kbps, but you can choose from three bandwidth plans: 200mb for $30, 2GB for $40, or unlimited (again - enjoy it while it lasts!) for just $50/month.
Just to complicate things further, you can choose between a no-contract month-to-month plan or be bold and sign up for a 2-year contract. To sweeten the deal, Clear is NOT charging activation fees for contract customers (month-to-month customers will pay a $35 activation fee each time they activate their service) and you can save ten dollars per month for the first six months on any of the three available "mobile" usage plans. Also, if you want to purchase both the home and mobile modems and service, you can select a discounted combo package - but only with a 2-year commitment.
While there are quite a few plans available, I would imagine that the unlimited usage plans at the highest available speeds will prove to be the most popular - and despite the 6-month price break and free activation, I think most people will be opting for a no-commitment plan to start.
Will you be signing up with Clear? What do you think of these plans? Discuss the CLEAR plans and products on the 4G Forums!
