Any experience with cell phone wireless cards???

[gt350mike]

Sorta long so stay with me…………..Since AT&T doesn't provide DSL service and my local cable company doesn't offer internet service to my home, we have used a satellite as our ISP for the past 2 years. Our first year with Hugh's network and the second with AT&T (Wild Blue)……..Wild Blue was ok but Hugh's was beyond pathetic. Six months ago we switched to a new ISP that uses the same type of technology that we all use with wireless router inside the house/office, but on a much larger scale (I think the acronym is WISP). Last week we found out that because of the economic times, the company is going out of business and we're left with just three choices:

1) Use dial-up

2) Go back to Wild Blue ($125 up front plus $60 for 512k download speed to $70 for 1m download speed). They will not let me use my old satellite modem.

3) Use our cell-phone company's wireless card (Sony GC79) from T-Mobile at a monthly charge of only $30 per month for about 256k download speed).

I went ahead and ordered the T-Mobile card and should receive it tomorrow. My question is this; Is the "advertised" download rate close to the actual rate and has anyone used this type of service (is it good, bad, or just plan terrible)?

My overall assessment of the situation is this; I’m screwed! My son plays internet games and I know that the T-Mobile card won’t support the games, but he’ll be going to college (hopefully in 8 months he'll be at American University/D.C.)......I hate to pay that kind of money to Wild-Blue, especially since I already have their @*%$ equipment, just so he can play games for such a short period.

On the bright side I can return the T-Mobile within 20 days for a full refund if I (we) don’t like the service!

Any comments would be welcomed!

[masraum]

i have a company paid for ATT 3G wireless card. it works surprisingly well. it even works well at my mother's out in the middle of no where.

[epbrown]

Originally Posted by gt350mike

3) Use our cell-phone company's wireless card (Sony GC79) from T-Mobile at a monthly charge of only $30 per month for about 256k download speed).

I used to hang out on a website called howardforums.com when I first got into WWAN, and I recall lots of people in a similar situation used the same set up. A WWAN connection shared via wi-fi at a rural location.

One thing for sure - the connection will have a lot of lag, all of the services do. You can also be impacted by cell traffic using T-mobile and AT&T, since the data uses the voice network, resulting is slow down at peak talk-times. Supposedly Sprint (which I'm using now) runs data and voice separately, but it seems comparable to the others. During the day it's slow.

And you need to consider how much data you're moving - most "unlimited" services actually have a 30GB/month limit, so some home users have been dumped for downloading movies, music, running servers, etc. From the provider's persective, the issue is that a cell tower can only handle so much bandwidth and someone dowloading a bootleg of Dark Knight in a remote area will have 500 voice customers getting dropped calls.

[jriera]

A quick Google search says that BellSouth (DSL), Cox (Cable), Earthlink (DSL) and Mediacon (Cable) provides service to the Huntsville area. Don't know how accurate this information is or the service can be terminated in your home, but is a start.

EVDO or 3G will be a solution, with EVDO you can have a router for home, look at this for some info --> http://www.evdoinfo.com/

I hope this helps

[Halm]

IMO, wireless cards are only acceptable if your carrier has a strong 3G signal. And based on your original post I doubt you will have any level of 3G.

An expensive but possibly viable alternative would be a true T-1 line, or a fractional T-1. A few months ago you could get a full T for well under $400 / mo with a 2 year contract. And there is nothing more reliable and stable than a T-1. Try www.megapath.com and see the current rates.

As a last resort, check and see if you can get an IDSL line. This is essentially 144 up and down DSL over an ISDN circuit. These are usually $100/mo, +/-.

[Seahawk]

I use a Verizon device that plugs into a USB port. I love it. Verizon let me rent it for a month to see how I liked it before I had to sign a contract.

5G a month for $50.00 and I feel is worth every penny given travel and the fact that I write it off for business BTW it does work in Huntsville...I used to travel there a bunch.

It is so nice to be connected when the flight gets canceled!

[Dave L]

I tether my phone all the time and use it as a modem. Your speeds are going to depend on your area and I would check a coverage map for your area. If you have 3G in the area it should be fine. I use mine mainly for email or light web surfing (pelican) when Im on the road. I would forget gaming or any type of downloading torrents, music, video etc.

[Scott R]

I use a verizon air card, but only as a last means of connectivity. Its a cell phone after all and they drop calls. If you don't require a persistent connection like I do, then you're probably ok.

[campbellcj]

I have an AT&T USB device (made by Sierra Wireles) and it works extremely well esp. when there is a good 3G signal, but even without 3G it is OK for email. It works on my Mac and Windows boxes interchangeably. The technology has really evolved - I previously had an earlier-gen PC card that crashed my laptop regularly, and was never as quick or stable as the new one.

[speedracing944]

I use a Sprint cell usb antenna. It works great for what we do. I can watch youtube vids non stop and can download and watch our Netflix movies quickly. If we travel we can take my laptop and surf while whipping down the interstate. Now that Netflix offers instant movie downloads we could have the kids entertained in the van while driving. Its about $60 a month but we were able to cancel our land line service and ended up being a cost savings.

Speedy

[gt350mike]

Quick Update.......I received the card and was really disappointed! I didn't expect the data rate to be really fast, but when I tested the baud rate, the download speed was around 46k. Although its faster than our dial-up (which is barely 28k), its not worth paying the extra $30 per month.

Thanks for everyone's feedback....my might look into the Sprint service because Sprint's device (using the USB antenna) may have the speed we need. Not sure if I can just get Sprint's internet service w/out being an existing cell customer.

[id10t]

One more vote for dedicated line... heck, you could maybe form a neighborhood association and share the connection, split costs, etc.

[jyl]

Have used VZ EVDO data card for years, it works pretty well depending on signal where you are. Download speed if strong signal and not overloaded w/ users in the vicinity has been from 500-800 kbps, which should be DSL equivalent, sometimes cracks 1Mbps. Latency is high, not issue for normal websurfing. Can get a wireless access point that uses the EVDO card. Have read can also get better antennas, e.g. directional antenna that you aim at the nearest cell tower, but I am a little skeptical. Have heard that Sprint data service also good, where there is coverage. Have not heard anything about ATT or T-mobile's cellular data service. Try each and pick whichever one has better signal/download speed in your location. Cost $50-60/month. Make sure to stay under the 5GB/month limit, probably means need to control son's usage. For ordinary home use, a regular DSL or cable broadband will be better, if you can get service.

[masraum]

we are using Sprint EVDO for a backup for our router landlines. It works very well including VoIP working over the signal.

[Halm]

From your first post, it sounds like you are in a pretty rural area. Is that a good guess?

If yes, you should really look into a IDSL line. This is basically DSL over an ISDN circuit but it can be many miles away from the local POP, unlike DSL service. Check you non-standard carriers like Megapath. 144 Kbs up and down for $100/moth is not great, but it can be a workable solution.