Lawsuit Claims Clearwire Corporation Misled Consumers over Internet Speeds
Allen Yesilevich | January 19, 2011
Broadband Internet service provider Clearwire Corporation (Clearwire) promised, on its website and in marketing materials, to provide its customers with high-speed Internet service that was “fast” — up to 25 times faster than a traditional dial-up modem — and without any connection interruptions. The service Clearwire actually provided was slow, unreliable and unable to perform even basic Internet functions, like downloading movies, a federal lawsuit in Washington claims.
Milberg LLP, a firm with a specialty in consumer protection litigation, has filed a class action lawsuit against Clearwire seeking to recover damages on behalf of certain Clearwire customers who were overcharged for a level of Internet service they never received and who, upon seeking to cancel their service, were required to pay a significant termination fee. The complaint alleges that the Washington state-based wireless Internet provider secretly limited its customers’ internet service because it lacked sufficient capacity to provide the promised service.
The Clearwire customer seeking to represent the class said he chose Clearwire as his Internet provider after reading Clearwire marketing material that boasted of its superior Internet service. He paid $50 every month for broadband service and noticed that at around 8 p.m. every night, his Internet speeds decreased significantly. Using third-party testing software, the plaintiff determined that at about 8 p.m. each day, his Internet speed actually dropped to approximately 0.03 Mbps — well below the 2.0 Mbps that Clearwire promised. A download speed of 0.03 Mbps is insufficient for users to perform any of the basic functions for which broadband or “high-speed” Internet is necessary; users cannot “stream movies” or “download music and video” and simply surfing the web becomes tedious.
Read complaint:
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