I hate to use the obvious "4G or not 4G" pun ... but I just did.

• Should I order Clear 4G/3G internet service? I'm about to move into a new apartment. By default, I was going to get TimeWarner cable for internet, as TimeWarner is what I've used in the past and my new apartment (which is in NYC) will be cable-ready. But I see that Clear has a plan that gives you 4G wireless access at home + 3G access anywhere else (their http://www.clearwirelessinternet4g.com/clear-deals.html). This sounds very appealing, but I'm concerned I might be too much of a power user for it. If you've used Clear 4G, did you have problems with low speed or restricted data usage? Details: - I'm not constantly downloading huge files, but I sometimes do. It's important for me to be able to watch YouTube, though it's OK with me if I have to wait a couple minutes while it loads. I don't use the internet to watch movies or TV (I use DVDs for that). - Clear claims that the 4G gives you "unlimited data," while the 3G has a cap. I don't see the cap on 3G as an issue, since I only occasionally use my laptop outside the home. - However, it turns out that "unlimited" for 4G actually means ... limited! See, Clear has an http://www.clear.com/legal/aup The Policy says you have to make a vague agreement not to hog bandwidth; if you do, they could restrict or even cut off your service. Here's the full legalese in case anyone's interested (but please don't feel obligated to wade through this before commenting!):Excessive Utilization of Network Resources.Wireless networks have capacity limits and all customers can suffer from degraded or denied service when one or a small group of users consumes disproportionate amounts of a wireless network’s resources. Clearwire, therefore, will monitor both overall network performance and individual resource consumption to determine if any user is consuming a disproportionate amount of available resources and creating the potential to disrupt or degrade the Clearwire network or network usage by others. This process of monitoring both overall network performance and individual resource consumption is consistent with the description of the nature of the Service previously described in this AUP. Clearwire reserves the right to engage in reasonable network management to protect the overall network, including analyzing traffic patterns and preventing the distribution of viruses or other malicious code. During periods of congestion, Clearwire uses various techniques such as reducing the data rate of individual bandwidth intensive users whose use is negatively impacting other users. This temporarily limits the amount of bandwidth available to the bandwidth intensive users until the congestion has diminished, at which point Clearwire will endeavor to lift any limits it may have imposed on bandwidth intensive users during the period of congestion. Clearwire may also consider historical usage patterns when temporarily reducing the data rate of bandwidth intensive users during periods of congestion. When feasible, upon observation of an excessive use pattern, Clearwire will attempt to contact you by telephone at the telephone number you gave to us or otherwise to alert you to your excessive use of bandwidth and to help you determine the cause. Clearwire representatives also are available to explain this AUP and to help you avoid excessive use incidents. If you are unavailable or do not respond to Clearwire’s attempt to contact you regarding excessive use, or if excessive use is ongoing or recurring and repeatedly having negative effects on other subscribers of the Service, Clearwire reserves the right to immediately restrict, suspend or terminate your Service without further notice in order to protect the network and minimize congestion caused by the excessive use. While the determination of what constitutes excessive use depends on the specific state of the network at any given time, excessive use is determined by resource consumption relative to that of a typical individual user of the Service and not by the use of any particular application. Unlimited Use Plans. If you subscribe to a service plan that does not impose limits on the amount of data you may download or upload during a month, you should be aware that such “unlimited” plans are nevertheless subject to the provisions of this AUP. What this means is that all of the provisions described in this AUP, including those that describe how Clearwire may perform reasonable network management such as reducing the data rate of bandwidth intensive users during periods of congestion, will apply to your use of the Service. The term “unlimited” means that we will not place a limit on how much data you upload or download during a month or other particular period, however, it does not mean that we will not take steps to reduce your data rate during periods of congestion or take other actions described in this AUP when your usage is negatively impacting other subscribers to our Service.- So ... yeah, that's kind of a drag. I don't know how much they actually crack down on "excessive" users or whether this mostly a CYA thing. I did find http://forums.clear.com/clearcom/topics/acceptable_use_and_bandwidth_throttling?from_gsfn=true That's discouraging. But do you think this experience is common enough that it's a good reason not to use Clear 4G? - Price is not a significant factor, as the Clear 4G/3G plan is only slightly cheaper than TimeWarner (the base monthly fee is the same, but getting TimeWarner would mean I'd pay extra for a wireless router). - Unfortunately, though Clear does offer a cheaper, non-4G option, it's not available in my area yet.

• Answer:

  I download a music or video torrent from time to time, with an occasional bender, and I watch a fair amount of Netflix. I got throttled in my first WEEK using Clear, and hovered around dial-up speeds for nearly a week after that. Now I am careful to not torrent and watch Netflix simultaneously, and I haven't been governed again, but that situation really really sucks. If all the other providers didn't suck in their won ways I would drop Clear like a hot rock, but the wireless convenience and the price can't be beat. But don't go into it thinking anything like unlimited. It is NOT cya, they WILL throttle you, and they will NOT un-throttle you until they feel like it, no matter how much you complain.