Clearwire is in the business of delivering people unlimited, fast, mobile 4G internet. In order to ensure that every customer receives the highest level of service, we must take certain measures to allow us to provide the services our customers deserve. One of these measures is a network management system.
Lately we have seen an increase in conversation around our network management practices. This is likely due to recent enhancements that have been made to our network management system in order to ensure the best possible experience for the vast majority of users.
The recent enhancements make our network management system more dynamic, surgical, and selective than ever before. It is dynamic in that it constantly evaluates the conditions of the network and only responds at times of high network utilization to deliver the best experience possible to the most customers. It is surgical in that it can evaluate and respond to highly localized areas on an as-needed basis, often isolated to a specific tower. It is selective in that it only effects the heaviest users, who make up a small fraction of our customer base, during limited times of high demand for shared resources. The heaviest users are users who consume nearly 10 times the amount of data as the average user.
This system does not target users who utilize specific applications like file sharing or streaming video nor is it triggered when a customer hits a specific usage threshold. Remember – unlimited means unlimited. During times of high network utilization our network management system may limit speeds, but we never limit the amount of data a customer with an unlimited data plan may use. The algorithm in place reviews several factors including long and short-term usage, current network capacity, and network demand to determine if network management needs to be applied.
The end result is that a few heavy users temporarily give up some speed during limited times of high demand so that everyone can have a good experience. A majority of customers are having a positive experience and experiencing faster speeds during times of greatest demand since these enhancements were enacted.
If you have any further questions about our network management system, we invite you to join our community-powered support forums at http://forums.clear.com/clearcom