Mobile Broadband vs. Satellite Internet

[dooleysm]

Good advice - no doubt.

And, believe you me, we're gonna watch that like a hawk. The program (ACM) has a "fuel guage" for each session as well as the billing period. I'm also going to check on it via my online account as well. Overage charges are 5 cents/meg.

We were a little bit surprised that even after the couple of hours we were on it last night, and the downloading of the books, we only hit 40 megs, and that was a pretty busy two hours (we had to see how fast all of our normal pages loaded).

When I was checking on things last month via 3Gstore.com, Mobile Broadband Made Easy. CradlePoint Routers, MiFi, Antennas, Amplifiers and Verizon & Sprint EVDO Modems. they were saying AT&T was $.50/mb for overages. Verizon was $.05/mb. Check that and make EXTRA sure you don't go over your 5 gig/month limit.

I've been pretty happy with our recent Verizon air card purchase. I've got the wireless router for it, but I'm still considering the zBoost repeater/antenna. I took the router up on the roof in a few places and tested it out. I got a much better signal up there.

 

[bubbas45]

If you are going to be using the air card to download videos, books and other large files. Your 5 GB will disappear very quick. Keep an eye on your usage to avoid going over the limit.

Very true. If all you do is read email and do some shopping and forum browsing, 5 GB is probably more than enough. I work from home two days a week and my wife and I are on the Web for some hours most days. If you start messing with downloading videos, or watching a lot of them, expect to go over at some point.

The overage charges are outrageous. They are brutal. Tracking your usage via the VZ website is possible, but it's an approximation and generally a few days old--meaning that your usage at the time you check is more than what the website shows. VZ also will throttle users that exceed the limit. Throttling doesn't seem to be applied to any rigorous guidelines.

VZ has no (individual) plans more than 5 GB. You cannot upgrade. If you are accessing the Web just through a smart phone, you can get 5 GB for $10 a month, or unlimited for $30, yet 3G mobile broadband is $60/month. The intent of VZ is for the mobile broadband to be used for mobile access, not static, home use. I think that is stupid, because there is a huge market of folks that have no other access to reasonable bandwidth and speeds.

Someone else wrote:
"go with mobile broadband. It may not be the greatest but it will beat satellite and certainly dialup."

That's the bottom line. I had DirecPC and I had DISHnet and they stunk. 3G broadband is so much better, but it is not great.

The advertised download speeds are possibilities, not guarantees. Folks close to towers with few other folks using 3G tend to get good speeds. I'm not that far away (1 mile-ish) and doubt there are many other users, yet my download speed today was about .29 Mbps. That's dial-up speed. I may be getting throttled, but I have never gotten anywhere close to the advertised speeds.

For 3G equipment, I recommend 3Gstore.com. Don't go directly to the service provider. That site also sponsors very informative forums regarding EV-DO access: evdoinfo.com and evdoforums.com.

bws

 

[ronjhall]

When I was checking on things last month via 3Gstore.com, Mobile Broadband Made Easy. CradlePoint Routers, MiFi, Antennas, Amplifiers and Verizon & Sprint EVDO Modems. they were saying AT&T was $.50/mb for overages. Verizon was $.05/mb. Check that and make EXTRA sure you don't go over your 5 gig/month limit.

I've been pretty happy with our recent Verizon air card purchase. I've got the wireless router for it, but I'm still considering the zBoost repeater/antenna. I took the router up on the roof in a few places and tested it out. I got a much better signal up there.

Best to go to the source for good info. AT&T overages are $.05/MB. Get Started - Wireless from AT&T

 

[rekees4300]

VZ has no (individual) plans more than 5 GB. You cannot upgrade.

I sent an email to VZ about that and they replied I could upgrade to 10GB for $199/mo (that's not a typo) :laughing: What are those people smokin' !?

 

[tommu56]

TheRealBuzz

Not to hijack the thread what do you suggest to get a good satellite install??

tom

 

[TheRealBuzz]

tommu56

I'm in Ontario Canada so I can't really suggest any specific companies that would be in your area.

What I can tell you is that for most of North America there are several different brands of residential satellite service but that they all come mainly from 2 sources. Hughes Net and Telesat. And from what I understand they operate the same way on both sides of the border so I think the following info should be relevant.

The biggest difference between the 2 to consider is how they operate their FAP and how it will effect you. Systems running on the Hughesnet platform tend to use a daily FAP, i.e. 200MB per 24 hrs. The Telesat platform tends to use an hourly FAP , i.e. 25MB per 60min. When you go over your FAP both systems react same, they cut your speed back to 50kbps. This is why many people comment that it is no faster than dialup. They got "FAPed".
The duration of your FAP penalty period is the same as your FAP allowance period. So you will be less likely to hit your FAP on Hughesnet but if you do you are in slowsville for 24hrs. You will probably hit your FAP more on Telesat but your only down for 1hr. You will have to determine which one best fits you intended usage. Both have FAP free zones in the early morning for automatic updates and nighthawk down-loaders.

I sell both and I find Hughesnet to work best for most users both residential and business. But the dishes are a bit bigger and less aesthetically pleasing to look at than the Telesat.

One of the small benefits of satellite over "Cell Sticks" is that you get FAPed not charged so you bill is the same every month. And if you add up all your daily FAP allowance it is usually much more data than you get with most reasonably priced Cell packages...up here anyway. You have a lot more cell choices in the 'states.

My advice is to try to find a dealer that has a storefront, has been around for a while, and has a demo system you can try in the store. Ask a lot of questions and look for candid answers.

Good luck.

 

[DavidVT]

We have two ATT usb cards and two VZ usb cards that we check out at work when we travel with our laptops. Some prefer one or the other. I have better luck with the ATT but I suspect this is really a software issue.

None of them work at my house as I have ZERO cell coverage. Fortunately I have had DSL in rural Vermont for many years now. I used the one way dish thing years ago before DSL but it just did not work on the VPN to corporate america so I gave up on it.

I did find software that runs on my blackberry and using a usb cable it allows me to get internet when traveling with just the phones data plan. A bit flakey but better than having to buy some shady local wifi plan in the airports or food places. I only use it if I forget to check out one of the cell cards.

The irony is that my ATT cell card software recognizes my ATT blackberry phone when on the usb cable but will not connect because ATT wants us to buy another $60/month plan beyond the fortune we pay for unlimited data to the phones themselves.. weird.

 

[ronjhall]

I sent an email to VZ about that and they replied I could upgrade to 10GB for $199/mo (that's not a typo) :laughing: What are those people smokin' !?

One of the many features of a Cradlepoint MBR1000 router is it will balance the usage of 2 air cards plugged in to it at same time.

 

[rtimgray]

5 cents or 50 cents, I still don't want any overage charges. After all, the internet connection for me at home is strictly a convenience/luxury item. $60 a month for that is already more than I should be spending.

I've gotten registered so that I can see my account online, and the sales rep did make me aware that the data may be a couple of days old. He also said to be sure that the billing period syncs up with the usage that is shown on both the online account and the ACM.

I've been a little puzzled as to why these air cards aren't marketed more. It seems (for me, since I have decent cell coverage) like a better deal than satellite. I see ads for Hughesnet on TV all the time, but I don't know that I've ever seen an ad for an air card.

After another days use, I'm still happy. Most of our use is forums (like this) and online shopping, browsing, reading sports scores, etc. Again, it's not high speed, but sooooooo much better than dial-up.

Thanks for all the comments. The more I read the more I learn.

Take care.

 

[tommu56]

TheRealBuzz

Thanks for the info!
I was thinking of what to look for in the install.
It seems from what I have been reading the install is as important as the equipment it self.
I am an electrician what can I do to make sure its done properly even if I have to do it my self and how much can I do my self?
I was thinking of getting this at my cabin (off grid and no reliable cell service)
Can the receiver / transmitter be powered by 12v dc? can it be powered off and back on with out a major issues?
What's the delay when powering up to get a signal?


thanks again

tom