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 Review by Vtblues 
Posted: 57 days ago
member for 3.5 years, 1806 visits, last login: a few hours ago
 Brookfield,Orange,VT
 $30 per month
 "Quite reliable"
 "The cap"
 "Works better than HughesNet but the 5 gig cap is too low"
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I've been a HughesNet user for 8 years and that is my primary connection for a network of up to 5 computers at times, This is no replacement for that due to the 5 gig cap and brutal overage charges. That said, it is a much more stable and reliable connection that I use tethered from a Blackberry to my laptop when out of range of my network.
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 Review by Hazy Arc
UPDATED: 67 days ago
member for 3.6 years, 1050 visits, last login: a few hours ago
Greenwood,Greenwood,SC
$60 per month (24 month contract)
 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"
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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 screavic
UPDATED: 80 days ago
member for 3.3 years, 365 visits, last login: a few minutes ago
Paron,Saline,AR
$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.
Followup comments:  
olearda
@myvzw.com
| 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. | |
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ssanders2k7
@myvzw.com
| 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 | |
| Earl_Wallace
join:2004-04-11
Peyton, CO
 ·Verizon Wireless B..
| 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. | |
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Review by allquixotic
Posted: 81 days ago
member for 130 days, 8 visits, last login: 81 days ago
Pasadena,Anne Arundel,MD
$29 per month (24 month contract)
about 1 days
"Amazing reliability; clarified terms of service"
"5GB cap is too small compared to transfer speeds"
"Great if you're on the go, but only for web/email"
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I just completed a review of my abysmal Verizon DSL, and thought I should share my polar opposite experience with Verizon Wireless.
In 2006 I was due for a cellphone upgrade as part of my 2 year contract renewal with Verizon. I went to a brick-n-mortar Verizon store in a local mall to check out their offerings.
Then I saw the Samsung SCH-i730. Based on its price, features and the tantalizing prospect of broadband on the go (which I had never heard of before then), I emptied my discretionary spending fund and went for the unlimited data plan, and the phone itself retailed at $699. Whew!
The price sure hurt in those early days -- the service was $44.99 for "unlimited" and there was still the implicit 5GB cut-off if you read the fine print. And the smartphone was a rip-off. Its feature set wasn't worth that price.
Before I knew about the potential ToS violation that is tethering, I used to do it all the time with my SCH-i730 -- this helped me stay connected to the net all the way across the country on a vacation trip via Amtrak train, from Maryland to California. Sure, there were substantial periods of having no coverage (this is to be expected out in the plains of absolutely nowhere), but every major city and even some rural areas had either 1xRTT or EvDO. Cool. 3 years ago, having anything faster than dialup on a dual core ThinkPad, riding a train going 70mph in the plains of Illinois, was pretty amazing. Of course, I was completely oblivious to the fact that this whole time I wasn't supposed to be tethering, and I was probably being monitored closely because of the way I was using the service (i.e. more than just checking email).
Fast forward to 2009. Verizon clarified their TOS, which had always been that you would get cut off if you used over 5GB/month on the "unlimited" plan. Now they no longer call it "unlimited", which is a real drag; but at least now they aren't outright liars. I got a new (and much cheaper) phone, due to the fact that Windows Mobile has advanced to a new major release and Verizon isn't updating the SCH-i730, and because my i730's battery is just about useless, and because the i730 was slowly becoming frail and beaten up with age. Understandable. It was a rugged and useful little device during its time.
My new smartphone is a Verizon SMT5800, a re-branded HTC LIBR100. The capabilities are almost identical to the i730, except that it cuts out some of the features I didn't need of the i730: I hardly ever used the i730's WiFi (802.11b/g), its IrDA (infrared), and the touchscreen didn't make things easier. I like buttons. Other than that, its CPU, RAM and NAND seem comparable to the i730, but this phone only retails at $160. It's also got a standard Mini USB-A hookup, which means that the cable that comes with every MP3 player, camera, or other small miscellaneous digital device will work with my phone just the same. This is huge for the convenience factor.
The SMT5800 has similar software issues to the i730 that I blame on Windows Mobile (I'm a Linux guy primarily), but I can work around them. The important features are still there.
Anyway, the phones are good, but the service itself is infinitely more valuable. If I could somehow get two EvDO Rev. A connections to a single box, I would buy the modem and pay $100 - $120/month to get 2 x Rev.A speeds, and make that my primary home internet connection. But with the current transfer caps at 5GB, I couldn't very well do that, could I?
In its current state, EvDO Rev. A on Verizon's network is an outstanding way to look something up on Google Maps or Skyfire (my mobile browser of choice) while you're driving around looking for somewhere to eat, or a hotel, or whatever. But the bandwidth caps make tethering or any sort of "interesting" uses (even instant messaging apps on the phone) impossible.
I give it two thumbs up because it's just so amazingly reliable, and the coverage of the network is actually quite good, speaking from experience on a round trip cross-country train ride. I hope that someday this kind of reliable, wide-area connectivity will replace land lines that take years to finally get hooked up to your house. And if there's a problem with a cell tower, it affects hundreds of users, not just you, so they prioritize fixing it. That means you won't have to beg Verizon to fix your problem.
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Review by Tubisten
Posted: 84 days ago
member for 4.8 years, 294 visits, last login: 27 days ago
Farmersville,Collin,TX
$70 per month (12 month contract)
about 1 days
"Download speed"
"Not reliable"
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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
UPDATED: 90 days ago
member for 1 year, 262 visits, last login: a few hours ago
Waverly,Wood,WV
$67 per month (24 month contract)
about 1 days
"Latency, Consistent Speed, Convienience"
"Price vs. Speed, Data Caps worse than Satellite"
"Reliable but not worth price,caps,2yr contract"
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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
Posted: 109 days ago
member for 7.9 years, 46 visits, last login: 69 days ago
Louisville,Cass,NE
$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!"
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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
UPDATED: 115 days ago
member for 6.4 years, 139 visits, last login: 102 days ago
Baxley,Appling,GA
$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
UPDATED: 120 days ago
member for 5.4 years, 203 visits, last login: 2 days ago
Mattoon,Coles,IL
$120 per month (24 month contract)
"Excellent Customer Service and Network"
"None in my book"
"I would recommend it to a friend"
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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
UPDATED: 127 days ago
member for 331 days, 308 visits, last login: a few hours ago
Pensacola,Escambia,FL
$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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