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Review by svBackstreet 
UPDATED: 1.2 years ago
member for 1.4 years, 5 visits, last login: 344 days ago
 85742-9650
 $79 per month (36 month contract)
 about 30 days
 "Good upload speed."
 "Is not producing the promised 1MB down on Netflix"
 "You aren't getting what you are paying for."
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I had Sprint Wireless Broadband for the last three years. My normal download speed was around 1.5 MB. They are pulling the service as of 7/31/08.
I am now subscribing to Wi-Power. I have the 512kb upload 1.5 mb dowmload service for $49.95 a month. $10 more than I was paying for Sprint.
I cannot reasonably view "Watch Instantly" movies from Netflix.com. I had no problems doing this when I used Sprint Wireless.
I can bring up a "status" window by shift/right click on the Netflix screen. when the movie starts the status window showing speeds vary from 1.7 MB down to .07 MB. The speeds shortly before the movie starts are usually about .30MB. Within minutes the movie stops but the downlod speeds never increase above .30 MB. Less than a third of the bandwidth I am paying for.
Wi-Power tells me they NEVER limit bandwidth. We get the speed we pay for all the time no matter our useage.
Netflix says the problem is not at their end. Wi-Power tells me that the problem is the responsibility of Qwest who has been aware of it for a month. Qwest is the owner of the pipes.
Anyone know anything about this?
I will email Netflix, Wi-Power (TWN Trans World Network) with a link to this review.
My August bill is $79.95 twice as much as I paid Sprint and the service is worse. Computer related serivces should get better and cheaper, not this one.
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Review by Vulcan464
Posted: 1.7 years ago
member for 4 years, 1 visits, last login: 1.7 years ago
Tucson,Pima,AZ
$65 per month (36 month contract)
about 3 days
"Consistent speeds and low latency"
"None to speak of"
"Excellent gaming option when cable is not available"
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My sons and I are hard core on-line gamers. Unfortunately, we live in an area where wireless internet connections were our only option for high speed. Sprint Broadband Direct was our only option for years but is not well suited for gaming due to frequent high latency spikes (up to 2000 ms) and multitudes of long outages in service. Then, along came Wi-Power, a wireless service I was not familiar with, who advertised gaming quality wireless connectivity. I signed up for the max speed service (1.5 Mbps down/512Kbps up) costing $65 per month and have not been disappointed. I elected to go with a 3 year agreement so my equipment and install were free. Service has been solid providing consistent latency ranging from 60ms to about 250ms even when sharing the connection with 2 other gamers and 1 web surfer (4 connections total). Lag seems unnoticable when playing World of Warcraft. Speedtest actually shows DL speed of 1.7 Mbps and UL speeds of 550Kbps, slightly higher than what was quoted. Install of the small dish was 3 days after my call for service and went smoothly. Wire routing looks professionally done. I've had the service for 3 months now and have only noticed 2 or 3 interrupts in service but for only a minute or so each time so it was no big deal. They advertise 24/7 technical support but if you call after normal business hours you will need to page an on-call technician. Finally, a wireless connection suitable for gamers!
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Review by NoahCount
UPDATED: 1.9 years ago
member for 4.9 years, 76 visits, last login: 1 year ago
Tucson,Pima,AZ
$39 per month (24 month contract)
about 9 days
"Solid service, great customer support"
"Only minor glitches so far."
"Took care of my VOIP phone problems."
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I had been a Sprint Broadband Direct customer for 7 years. Download speed has been a solid 900k to 1.5m, but unfortunately they cap their upload speed at 125 to 150k. When the net was busy, that upload speed frequently dropped to below 60k. That just is not enough for VOIP, causing chopped and broken audio.
When Wi-Power ( wi-power.com ) became available, I signed up. Installation was scheduled one week later. Installation fee is $250 for a 1 year contract, or $100 for 2 years, or $0 for 3 years.
Wi-power is very similar to Sprint Broadband Direct. Wi-Power is a service offered by TransWorldNetwork which they offer in partnership with rural electric providers in the USA. The service I signed up for was 512k/512k, a slower download than Sprint, but a substantially faster upload. They mounted a small dish on my house, aimed to their nearest tower about 10 miles to the west of my location (range is up to 30 miles). Equipment used is the Motorola Canopy Wireless Platform.
The install tech was very knowledgeable, and completed the installation in a little over 2 hours. He set up and checked my speed at 680k up and 720k down.
So far I'm quite happy with the service, and only have a couple more small glitches I need to work out with tech service. My VOIP phone service is rock solid now, with no choppiness or breaking up.
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Wi-Power
