Review by Hazy Arc Location: Greenwood, Greenwood, SC, USA Cost: $60 per month (24 month contract) Install: about 1 days Gives quasi-broadband speeds on the go Quite pricey, fairly slow speeds, high latency Better than satellite if you have no access to broadband

Pre Sales Information: Install process: Connection reliability: Tech Support: Services: Value for money:

Prior to Embarq bringing DSL to my remote location, I used Verizon's USB modem to connect to the internet. Luckily I didn't have to pay for it...my employer foot the bill. Good thing too...no way I would've shelled out 70 bucks a month for this. The 24 month contract was as laughable as the monthly price. Then again, if you are without broadband, it is a better choice than satellite (as long as you have a decent cell signal and have access to EVDO).

Speaking of which, my area (luckily) had EVDO Rev A, so speeds were decent (1.5mbps or so). Latency was rough (150-200ms), but much better than satellite. I was able to connect to Xbox Live successfully through my PC's internet connection sharing feature, but the latency made gameplay a little difficult.

The 5GB caps are a joke...one ISO or a few heavy YouTube sessions and you're done. Verizon needs to take care of this, especially since many people use these cards as their primary internet connection.

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Review by screavic4 Location: Paron, Saline, AR, USA Cost: $65 per month (12 month contract) Faster than dialup at times Disconnects, Latency spikes Not worth the time / money I have put into the service now

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You can't do hardly anything besides do basic web browsing on this piece of crap. Contacting support as many "alltel" refugee's have found out is worthless.

I don't play on xbox live anymore because their connection latency is so skiddish. I DO try to use it to download new content to get more out of the game but that doesn't even happen anymore. Everytime I connect to Xbox live this service disconnects me.

I dislike this company, they ruined a decent company's network. At least with Alltel after I got my connection fine tuned it would stay connected more.

9/16/09
As the 2nd commenter said about my review, I don't have any other options at this time. As soon as I get another option that will work (satellite not an option, T1 too expensive) I am going to give them a shot and give them a fair chance just as I am doing Verizon.

Also on another note: I have talked to a Verizon rep that agreed with Alltel on the part of me being in the "fringe" of service and that is where the majority of my problems come from. Weekends I don't even try to use the net cause it don't work the majority of the time.

olearda @myvzw.com olearda Anon 2009-Aug-10 10:49 am Verizon Wireless Broadband Dude... I have to tell you, if your using a wireless connection to play xbox, you need help. Take the $65 and pay for a real broadband connection from the phone or cable company. It's just not bright to use a wireless connection which goes dormant and is subject to "sharing" of spectrum, which affects speed, for gaming. 2009-Aug-10 10:49 am: · hey mods ·

ssanders2k7 @myvzw.com ssanders2k7 Anon 2009-Aug-10 2:42 pm Mobile Broadband well, since you live in Paron, I go up there sometimes because I live in Ferndale, I know that that is the only broadband connection you can get up there, no DSL and no cable internet, Alltel was the only carrier that provided decent service there, I personally don't like the merger either, but give it a few more months, and see what happens, you should not have as many issues once they get everything finished and btw, I have an Alltel aircard and I never intend to change it to Verizon, because of the 5GB cap thing 2009-Aug-10 2:42 pm: · hey mods ·

Earl_Wallace join:2004-04-11 Peyton, CO Earl_Wallace Member 2009-Oct-10 2:30 pm Insane I think it is INSANE to go with Wireless Internet if you have access to DSL or Cable. I have been bouncing between Wireless and Wired connections for the past 10+ years and in EVERY SINGLE CASE, the Wired connections were faster and had less problems. I don't know why we can't have good wireless internet connections in the country, but I have given up and will never use wireless if I can get a wired connection instead. 2009-Oct-10 2:30 pm: · hey mods ·

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Review by Tubisten Location: Farmersville, Collin, TX, USA Cost: $70 per month (12 month contract) Install: about 1 days Download speed Not reliable

Pre Sales Information: Install process: Connection reliability: Tech Support: Services: Value for money:

It works great when it works, but the connection is not always the Broadband (Rev-A), antenna signal varies from -90dbm to -106dbm. Just not strong enough. Speed is hit and miss, sometimes lower than dialup. I am returning it within the 30 day trial period.

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Review by pistachionut Location: Waverly, Wood, WV, USA Cost: $67 per month (24 month contract) Install: about 1 days Latency, Consistent Speed, Convienience Price vs. Speed, Data Caps worse than Satellite Reliable but not worth price,caps,2yr contract

Pre Sales Information: Install process: Connection reliability: Tech Support: Services: Value for money:

UPDATE: 9-6-09

-Ended up taking the mifi device back and canceling the service (you get 30 days to test it). While the pings were much better than satellite and speeds more consistent, I couldnt justify the startup costs and getting locked into another 2yr contract.

-Also the data cap is horrendous. All these companies tout that "rarely does the normal user go over 5GB in a month". Not sure who they consider a "normal" user, but 5GB is way too low for $67 a month AND a two year contract AND startup costs exceeding $100. This is not the year 2000, and their spin doctors are doing a poor job convincing all of us 5GB is reasonable. After about a week of testing I could tell that it was going to be way too low, especially if you have multiple computers in a household utilizing the connection.

-Oh yeah, their rep on the phone said they do have a 10GB plan, FOR $199 A MONTH?! Give me a break. And if you go over their cap they charge by the MEGABYTE. And it isnt cheap. At least HughesNet has a 5 hour free window each day you can use for updates and large downloads, Wildblue has a rolling 30 day period but has more generous caps based on the plan you get, and Starband has a 7 day rolling period.

-Anyways, seems Ill be with satellite indefinitely at this point.

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ORIGINAL REVIEW BELOW

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-CONS-

Cost: Too expensive, cell companies continue to gouge customers on pricing.

Caps: Why? How is 5 GB chosen? It seems like nothing more than a random number, though Im certain they use some quasi formula to determine that 5 is the magic number to keep bandwith issues to a minimum or force overages for the ridiculous costs, but in todays market 5GB is paltry and pathetic, especially for $65.00+ a month. Honestly their caps are even worse than satellites.

Contract: Still requires a 2yr contract unless you want to pay full price for the device (200+ dollars)

-PROS- (*I am within an EVDO footprint with Rev.A so keep that in mind*)

Speeds: More consistent than satellite, averaging 500k to 1M+ down, 200k-500k up, and pings at 100-200ms. Compare this to satellite which would have wild flucuations and pings 1000-2000ms.

Equipment: Took maybe 10 minutes to get online, and with their new MiFi device allowing up to 5 wireless connections, you dont have to buy those overpriced routers designed for wirless internet cards anymore.

As I stated earlier, this is a 24 hour first impression review. Ill update a couple weeks from now to see if anything has changed. So far my sticking point is going to be the 5GB cap, I will average my weekly usage to see if it is realistic, especially since updates to windows, etc can almost reach gigabyte levels at times. Other than the cap, if you are within the Rev.A footprint for wireless internet I would say it soundly defeats satellite (as far as service quality goes).

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Review by captpackrat Location: Louisville, Cass, NE, USA Cost: $72 per month (24 month contract) No bandwidth cap IF you sign up with Alltel Very limited hardware available through Alltel. Get an Alltel plan while you still can!

Pre Sales Information: Install process: Connection reliability: Tech Support: Services: Value for money:

I just signed up as an Alltel customer; you can still do so in some markets. Alltel's plans cost the same as Verizon, use the same towers, and will eventually be incorporated into Verizon's billing, but you can get UNLIMITED Internet access for the length of the contract (2 years).

You can only pick from the limited selection of Alltel hardware; you can't get the new MiFi or anything else from the Verizon side. If you pick Verizon hardware, you'll be stuck with a Verizon plan and a 5 Gig bandwidth cap. I got the Huawei EC168, which has both cellular and WiFi radios and a MicroSD card slot. Supposedly it has GPS, but I haven't figured out how to enable it yet. It was free after mail-in rebate. Setup is extremely simple, all the software is built into the dongle; just plug it in and it's ready to go.

I get about 1.5 Mbit download speeds, 350 Kbit upload. I live in a rural area, so service may be faster in the city. EV-DO Rev. A has a theoretical maximum of 3.1 Mbit.

This was probably the easiest broadband install I've ever done. I was up and running in less than an hour after signing up (and most of that was the drive home).

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Review by BlessPat Location: Baxley, Appling, GA, USA Cost: $69 per month (24 month contract) Have internet can travel Modems not so sturdy MUCHO better price/service/access than Satellite

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Bought Verizon USB 760 and tried for a couple months before dumping HughesNet. Best move I've made! Not much chance around here for cable or DSL, so this is a good choice for me. My home location is not technically within their 3G coverage. The closest tower is about 7 miles, line of sight. With my cheapie little plug in booster antenna I consistently get 80-90 RSSI and sometimes as good as 75. Speeds vary based on load on the tower. I LOVE that I can travel with the modem and have windshield time ISP access and don't have to worry about looking for Wi-Fi or what kind of ISP the hotel has, or camp off my kids connection. The 5G limit has been no prob for me as I'm not a gamer, or movie downloader. My only complaint is that I wish I had the new little modem/router combo that came available recently. Also, I first tried the USB 727, went through 2 of them, the body seems to be too heavy for the USB plug. I'm now on my second 760, the first one the solder came loose on the auxiliary antenna plug. Tech support has been very easy to work with. However, for something that is suppose to be portable, the USB modem is rather fragile. To fine tune my connection I suppose I need to set up a home LAN and will get to that soon. Probably need a more permanent antenna.

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Review by ClayL1983 Location: Mattoon, Coles, IL, USA Cost: $120 per month (24 month contract) Excellent Customer Service and Network None in my book I would recommend it to a friend

Pre Sales Information: Connection reliability: Tech Support: Services: Value for money:

I have had VZW since 2000. When I first signed up our area was still analog, and I wouldn't always receive my calls. Once they went digital, I have not had any big problems since. I have went over my txt message limit once, and I called and had them change the package and had them back date it to absorb the overage fees. Anytime I have called Customer Service, I have never had to hold for more than about 3 minutes or less, and they have resolved my problem everytime I have called.

Our Monthly Plan is 700 Minute Basic Family SharePlan with 3 phones. The monthly access charges before taxes are roughly 97.95 (that price includes insurance on all 3 phones, Unlimited Mobile to Mobile TXT/PIX/Flix package on 1 phone, and 250 Message Allowance on another phone. That price also includes a 20% discount that I recieve because of my employer. ) After taxes and everything else, its about $120. Just be careful about Megabyte usage. If you have a plan that does not include unlimited Megabyte usage, you will be billed 1.99/MB -- this is anytime you browse the Get It Now Catalog, Download from Get It Now, or Browse Mobile Web. Megabyte usage can be a little expensive.

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Review by cameronsfx Location: Pensacola, Escambia, FL, USA Cost: $100 per month Is there any unless you have FIOS? It's Verizon Wireless that Ruined Alltel's Superior Network!! Ruined Alltel's Superior Network!

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Was a 5 year customer of Alltel. Now, with Verizon's takeover completed, customer service, unless you get a former Alltel rep, TOTALLY SUCKS! They can't read a bill, supervisors never call back, and they just plain suck.

Alltel tethered at 300 down/100 up. No caps. VZ is like dialup. Latency is like 200-300ms on VZ. It was like 50ms on Alltel.

WHY IN THE BLUE HELL DID ALLTEL SELLOUT TO THESE LOSERS? EVEN ALLTEL REPS ARE LIKE, "YEAH, I KNOW THEY SUCK!"

I cancelled them since no contract. I am not dealing with VZ wireless or Satan or AT&T. I'd rather live in a bus down by the river than deal with VZ Wireless's incompetence. Go on YouTube and search "Verizon Wireless Sucks" and laugh you rearend off.

Alltel would get all 5s. VZ would get 0 if possible. They SUCK!

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Review by YellowSnow Location: Temecula, Riverside, CA, USA Cost: $65 per month (12 month contract) Install: about 7 days You get internet were dsl and other services arent avaliable Crappy connectivity and a very low 5 gb cap wich you will definatly go overin 1 month. Dont be a sucker and pay 65 bucks a month for a 5 gb limit (which once reached speeds are reduced to less than dial up)

Pre Sales Information: Install process: Connection reliability: Tech Support: Services: Value for money:

I am a big gamer wheather it be xbox or pc i play just about anything... If your looking to to have an extremely high ping and a 3 secound latency then this is for you... Bassicaly this is their only plan and ill just say it, "verizon broadband sucks"

Their 5 gb cap is just an excuse to upgrade their hardware. There service can even be compared to dial-up.

If verizon broadband was smart they would up their hardware and beat out their compitition whome all have the gay 5 gb cap. (just my opinion though)

Opticwonders Premium Member join:2009-03-31 united state Opticwonders Premium Member 2009-May-30 8:35 am WOW! Wow! I never had that kind of latency. I was seeing anywhere between 300-500ms usually. Maybe I was lucky? Or you're just unlucky? I don't think data cards were ever meant for gaming anyway. 2009-May-30 8:35 am: · hey mods ·
	ggultra2764 join:2007-09-13 Cambridge, NY ggultra2764 Member 2009-Jun-1 7:13 pm Re: WOW! Temecula is Covered!! Latency isn't so much an issue on my end. I normally get 100 to 150 ms for ping time, so not really much to complain about. Still, I don't see why he could be complaining. I checked the coverage map of his city on VZW's site and the entire place is covered so it might be something on his end that he hasn't done right. Though I do have to agree that the 5 GB data cap with all the major WISPs is ridiculous. 2009-Jun-1 7:13 pm: · hey mods ·
		YellowSnow join:2009-05-29 Temecula, CA YellowSnow Member 2009-Jun-7 11:50 pm Re: WOW! Excactly what i'm saying my town is covered with broadband and my speeds still have high latency. 2009-Jun-7 11:50 pm: · hey mods ·
	YellowSnow YellowSnow to Opticwonders Member 2009-Jun-8 8:58 pm to Opticwonders Ya theres always latency... But Im just sharing my experience with other gamers who wish to play online were dsl isnt avaliable. Plus I dont even live in a rural area, I wish verizon would put in fios! If they did they would get a tone of subscribers who are running off dish for tv and satalite/wireless broadband for internet. But their probaly to busy to take a look at a custom home track... 2009-Jun-8 8:58 pm: · hey mods ·
		BB_Hunter join:2008-05-16 BB_Hunter Member 2009-Jun-23 11:10 pm Re: WOW! It could be possible that there are just to many users on your tower. Have you tried locking the card into HDR mode? I use mine to game on all the time. Every once and a while I'll drop a connection and get disconnected from the match but everything seems to play pretty good for me. I use a KR2 for my PS3/360 and PC. My typical pings are around 90-120ms. Measuring a game like CSS on the PC I get pings around 130-150ms to the servers. 2009-Jun-23 11:10 pm: · hey mods ·
			YellowSnow join:2009-05-29 Temecula, CA YellowSnow Member 2009-Jun-23 11:43 pm Re: WOW! Hey, Mattie you said that the card can be "locked into HDR Mode"? ok... So I'm using the KR1 which probaly isn't that different then the KR2 but anyways what are the advantages of locking it into that mode? And if I wish to do that (I probaly do because your pings seem playable) how or what are the instructions to do so? Thanks! It helps when you have people that expierence the same thing as you to give advice! 2009-Jun-23 11:43 pm: · hey mods ·
	BB_Hunter join:2008-05-16 2 edits BB_Hunter to Opticwonders Member 2009-Jun-25 11:25 am to Opticwonders Locking your card into HDR mode means it will only connect to EVDO. So if you end up in a National Access area you'll have to switch it back or else you won't be able to connect. The advantage is if your in a marginal area your signal won't jump in and out of EVDO. Meaning your ping times shouldn't fluctuate as much. To do it you'll need to take your card out of your KR1 and put it in your PC. Bring up the VZW Access Manager were you would dial in through there software. Make sure your disconnected and hit Ctrl D and a password prompt will appear. The password is (diagvzw) and that will bring up a menu. I have not reset mine for so long but I believe its under settings. You'll see automatic is most likely checked then you want to change it to HDR only. This will lock the card into that mode. After its locked in put it back in your KR1 and those settings will stick until you reset them via the VZW manager. This insures that your connection doesn't drop off to National Access and will hopefully improve your ping times some. Every tower will give you different results. If you look at the speedtests under user speeds you'll notice lots of different ping averages for people. That can pretty much be the luck of the draw though. Hopefully that gives you an improvement though. I just ran a quick test and this is what I'm getting ping wise through speedtest.net. I also attached a screen shot of CSS servers on my computer. These are organized from low to high. Normally you can figure on adding about 15-20ms to the latency reflected there once I get in the game. 2009-Jun-25 11:25 am: · hey mods ·
		YellowSnow join:2009-05-29 Temecula, CA YellowSnow Member 2009-Jun-25 8:42 pm Re: WOW! Hey Thanks man it cut my latency about 20m's! Know if there was only a way to get around the 5gb cap lol. Maybe I'll see you on cs:s -YellowSnow777 2009-Jun-25 8:42 pm: · hey mods ·
			BB_Hunter join:2008-05-16 BB_Hunter Member 2009-Jun-26 6:19 pm Re: WOW! said by YellowSnow: Hey Thanks man it cut my latency about 20m's! Know if there was only a way to get around the 5gb cap lol. Maybe I'll see you on cs:s -YellowSnow777 Nuts I was hoping you would see a bigger drop than that. I don't play to much on steam but if you want send me an invite. AbsynthHaze I mainly play on the PS3 right now. Just can't get away from Killzone 2. 2009-Jun-26 6:19 pm: · hey mods ·
				YellowSnow join:2009-05-29 Temecula, CA YellowSnow Member 2009-Jun-26 6:50 pm Re: WOW! Haha alright thanks for the suggestion and btw it's weird how verizon just installed dsl a few weeks after my first post lol. 2009-Jun-26 6:50 pm: · hey mods ·
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Review by sneakaround Location: Staten Island, Richmond, NY, USA Cost Contract price not specified. Internet while traveling speed If you need the internet while away from home this is great.

Pre Sales Information: Install process: Connection reliability: Tech Support: Services: Value for money:

I use Verizon wireless while at work in the field. I can almost always get a connection, surprisingly even when I can't make a wireless call I can often connect with my laptop. If you need an internet connection while away from home then this is the way to go, but if you need a connection for your house then FiOS, DSL, or cable is the way to go. I have never needed to call tech support, the bill goes directly to my company, and the laptop I use had the hardware needed for connection pre-installed so I cannot comment on any of these points.

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