Review by Sprint_MBB 
UPDATED: 1.5 years ago
member for 7.4 years, 40 visits, last login: 68 days ago
 Monticello,Jefferson,FL
 $61 per month (24 month contract)
 about 1 days
 "Rural access, better and less costly than satellite"
 "Coverage (for me) requires an external antenna"
 "Just what I needed"
| Pre Sales Information:
Install process:
Connection reliability:
Services:
Value for money:
(ratings match consensus)
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Living in several areas of Florida, for Internet access, I have had the chance to be an Embarq DSL, Comcast Cable, and lately a municipal wireless customer.
When I was notified recently that the municipal wireless was no longer going to be offered, I began to look for an alternative to dial-up. The only thing I was aware of was satellite, which one of my neighbors used. He showed me his setup, and said he was paying around $100 a month for business class service. The thing I don't like about satellite is the FAP or service limit restriction imposed by each company. FAP, or fair access policy, means once you have downloaded a certain amount of material your connection speed is reduced, usually to dial-up speed. The upload speed is also very poor, and there is a latency issue with it.
While doing some research on satellite, I saw a link to Sprint Mobile Broadband from a forum member. I followed the link and read about the service. I was pleased to see I was in an EVDO Rev A coverage area.
I went to Sprint's website and it was easy to use (unfortunately my hit or miss wireless connection was mostly miss, so this took several hours, it would have taken several minutes at any regular connection speed).
I picked up a Pantech PX-500 air card. It was free after an instant rebate. I signed up for the unlimited data service for $59.99/month. My WISP was charging $30/month, so this was a reasonable alternative to satellite at $80~100/month. I should note I am an existing Nextel customer, so it was easy to add the data plan to my account. I had no out of pocket expense.
Sprint overnight shipped the air card, so I had it the next day. I had also ordered a Linksys WRT543G3-ST router to use with the air card so I can use the connection with my home network. I found the router for $50 less than Sprint was selling it for. I did try & get them to price match it but the rep said she couldn't do that.
I tried the card in my laptop. It was pre-activated. I followed the instructions provided and it worked properly out of the box. In my house, I do not get a signal. I tried it on the main road and got good signal in a moving vehicle. My DL speeds were up to 1200 and uploads in the 400-500 range. My WISP on a good day was 500 down and anywhere from 10 to 1400 up.
The drawback with using the Linksys router (at this point, I'm not sure if there is a way around this) with the air card is that there is no numerical signal strength meter function (i.e. -95db) and notification of which network and type (i.e. Sprint EVDO Rev A) like there is with the interface provided by Sprint. The Sprint interface will only work when the air card is in the computer card slot, not when it is in the router. Linksys shows the name but not the type of the network and rates the signal strength like "Good" or "Excellent" or "No Signal".
Another selling point for this service is the portability. I could never use all the WISP stuff anywhere but home. With the air card, I can use it in the laptop wherever I go and there is Sprint service. While I don't travel a lot, the coverage map has a lot of EVDO Rev A service for places I usually go.
I am awaiting an external antenna for use with the Pantech. I will update after this arrives, but wanted to share the information thus far. Sprint Mobile Broadband really fills the gap for those in rural areas that until now were struck between dial-up and satellite.
UPDATE
I received an external antenna and 3W amp tonight. Due to a lot of mosquitoes, I didn't put up the antenna in the desired (outside) location. For the time being it is inside my house. I received a small increase in signal w/o the amp, and then around -90 or so with the amp. I did try several locations inside for the antenna and settled for it in the same room as the computer.
I am getting around 500 dn and 20~30 up. The upload speed is an issue I need to research further; it may require a firmware update. I saw an old thread here where another member had the same problem, so I will try to contact them to see if there is any new info on this.
I tried to post this last night, but the website was not available.
This morning I mounted the antenna outside and while the signal did not improve a whole lot, it became more consistent. I am seeing anywhere from -85 to -98db, with the higher numbers usually right after startup. From other posts I have read, I think some of this is cell traffic on the tower.
The other user here that had a similar problem emailed me and advised he switched to a U-720 card and this resolved the upload speed issue. Since the upload speed is slow with the card in both the router and laptop slot, it appears the issue is with the Pantech card. For this reason, I would not suggest getting it and have lowered the connection reliability score one notch due to this. I will revisit the review after I switch cards.
As for the "comments" about my “garbage” review-
I'm in Florida, but I don't fish. Nothing fishy here. However, since you fired the first shot by calling what I wrote garbage, I will respond accordingly. Let's look at the allegations and respond for each one:
Something doesn't add up here.
>OK, let's do the math.
Essentially, 1/3 of this is a rant about about satellite Internet. If I wanted to read a review on that, I'd bloody click on Hughesnet or Directway or Wildblue or whatever...
>First, BUSTED*! You used the word "about" twice, one after the other. Second, this was not a rant about satellite Internet:
Statistics (original):
10 paragraphs
53 lines
642 words
>I deleted all the sentences dealing with or mentioning satellite and got:
10 paragraphs
45 lines
525 words
>Using a mathematical formula, I determined that:
53-45=8. The relationship of 8 to 53 is a little over 15%.
642-525=117. The relationship of 117 to 642 is a little over 18%.
Both of these numbers fall well short of 33%.
NEXT ISSUE
For a person who -- and I do quote -- "...doesn't travel a lot" -- how does this get such a rating if the OP doesn't get a signal in their house!
>Because for the past year I have struggled with a WISP connection and had the following experience:
Paid for service, did self-install.
Due to location, no WISP signal here (at home) either.
Spent thousands of dollars on a 60' tower, still no signal.
Fabricated wireless link to place WISP antenna in line of sight for ISP on edge of property, pole for antennas (2) and box for wireless link device.
Fabricated wireless link on the house, another pole for the antenna and another box.
Ran power to home end box for wireless link device.
Fabricated solar power setup for end of property equipment (would not keep up with equipment).
WISP antenna stolen by unknown person(s).
Paid $200 for another WISP antenna and relocated it out of reach on a taller pole.
Trenched for power line.
Every 1~5 days had to travel 1/4 mile to reset WISP antenna.
>If it isn't plain to see, the WISP ordeal was an expensive source of ongoing frustration.
>I had more signal/connection speed in my driveway with Sprint than I ever had with my prior ISP. That meant a lot to me, and I was not expecting to get a signal inside the house based on my experience with cell phones and the terrain. I traded all of the above equipment and headaches for a small card, a router, a booster, and in effect a CB sized antenna. As compared to my WISP, if I had two soup cans with a string and could get 300K reliably, I'd rate that highly as well.
Another gem: "I could never use all the WISP stuff anywhere but home." - Well, now you can use all your Sprint stuff everywhere BUT home.
>Also incorrect, read the update. I'm at home and using it now  . Works like a jewel for download, perhaps a cubic zirconium for the upload at this point. A card swap will more than likely cure that problem.
"Sprint Mobile Broadband really fills the gap for those in rural areas that until now were struck between dial-up and satellite."
First, you'd be *stuck* between the two -- and second, you still are!
>A thousand pardons SIR, one of my original 642 words was incorrect. I realize the correct sentence would actually read "Sprint Mobile Broadband really fills the gap for those in rural areas that until now were stuck choosing between dial-up and satellite."
Can an moderator please right this ship, I'm not buying this garbage.
>I'm not suggesting you buy anything. The above is a detailed review of my use of the Sprint service, a part of which is my history with other ISPs and my alternatives. By the way, BUSTED*! again- the correct grammar is "a moderator", and you should have used a semicolon after "ship".
*While I usually appreciate the Grammar Police in forums where the post as a whole is illegible (i.e. i vs. I, u vs. you, their vs. there, your vs. you're, etc.), it is always a pleasure to correct them in circumstances such as these (he dinged me for 1 wrong word out of 642) when they post using improper grammar.
SECOND UPDATE: 4-29-08
I have decided against another card since it requires me to pay full price. It is not worth the hassle of doing so since I upload very little and there is no guarantee the speed would increase.
I have updated the monthly cost to include fees and taxes ($1.56).
Another issue is that you will be charged a pro-rated monthly fee for an existing account activated before your normal cycle. My initial bill was $10 higher due to 4 days of use prior to the normal cycle. New accounts will not have this issue.
I remain pleased with the service. My family usage for the service in April has been over 10GB. I have noticed a few times when it is slower than normal, but this has been an issue with every ISP I have used.
Followup comments:  telarium
join:2004-02-28
Saint Louis, MO
| Fishy... Something doesn't add up here.
Essentially, 1/3 of this is a rant about about satellite Internet. If I wanted to read a review on that, I'd bloody click on Hughesnet or Directway or Wildblue or whatever...
For a person who -- and I do quote -- "...doesn't travel a lot" -- how does this get such a rating if the OP doesn't get a signal in their house!
Another gem: "I could never use all the WISP stuff anywhere but home." - Well, now you can use all your Sprint stuff everywhere BUT home.
"Sprint Mobile Broadband really fills the gap for those in rural areas that until now were struck between dial-up and satellite. "
First, you'd be *stuck* between the two -- and second, you still are!
Can an moderator please right this ship, I'm not buying this garbage. | |
|  | CMoore2004
Premium
join:2003-02-06
Jonesville, MI | Re: Fishy... Sounds about right to me. I didn't get service at home when I first signed up. Now I have two data cards through Sprint, and looking to get a 3rd. | |
| | boone1
join:2008-04-04
Alma, ON
| said by telarium :Something doesn't add up here. Essentially, 1/3 of this is a rant about about satellite Internet. If I wanted to read a review on that, I'd bloody click on Hughesnet or Directway or Wildblue or whatever... For a person who -- and I do quote -- "...doesn't travel a lot" -- how does this get such a rating if the OP doesn't get a signal in their house! Another gem: "I could never use all the WISP stuff anywhere but home." - Well, now you can use all your Sprint stuff everywhere BUT home. "Sprint Mobile Broadband really fills the gap for those in rural areas that until now were struck between dial-up and satellite. " First, you'd be *stuck* between the two -- and second, you still are! Can an moderator please right this ship, I'm not buying this garbage. | |
| 
ebb0ts
Premium
join:2008-01-14
Tucson, AZ | Is someone having a bad day? Hmmm..
Since I am in a rural area, the original post made sense.
after the update..It still makes sense. | |
| 
SprintRep
@sprintlink.net
| Updates If there is a firmware update for the card and/or router, they can be obtained from »https://www.sprint.com/downloads. From the description of your speeds it sounds like you are probably connecting at EVDO speeds rather than EVDO RevA. The main difference in the two is in the upload speed. As far as exchanging the card, you can exchange the equipment within 30 days and just pay the difference in cost. | |
| | CMoore2004
Premium
join:2003-02-06
Jonesville, MI | Re: Updates The PX-500 is Rev A, as are all of the aircards Sprint sells. | |
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