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Review by ocdave67 
UPDATED: 256 days ago
member for 5.3 years, 32 visits, last login: 221 days ago
 Gladstone,Clackamas,OR
 $40 per month
 about 1 days
 "Only 40 dollars a month"
 "Some websites (MySpace to name 1) has issues with the Cricket Network."
 "A unreliable network + pathetic technical support = AVOID"
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Used this service for about 6 months but finally got fed up with issues within the network. I have not been able to load myspace images or access my power companies web site due to Crickets network firewall.
When you try and call tech support to discuss the issue, they know very little about the server side of their business and they will refuse to let you talk to the network administrator about connection/firewall problems. Using Whois and attempting to email the network or technical administrator will NOT get you a reply on network issues.
Also to note.. Fox.com (the tv network), Cricket internet will not allow you to watch full episodes. This is again another Cricket network issue. Try to get help from these people and you will find better help from the family pet..
BOTTOM LINE- Network works with most web sites, but a few major ones it will not. I would rank Cricket as the bottom of all internet providers. Dumped their service as of the writing of this review.
UPDATE- I finally did get a response to emails to the network/technical administrators as mentioned above. I am discussing the problems with them about their network but have not informed them that I have already fired their company as my ISP. I figured I would at least try and help other Cricket users in my area but will only converse with Cricket until my DSL equipment arrives.
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 Review by Mac Bridger
UPDATED: 271 days ago
member for 8.8 years, 3393 visits, last login: a few hours ago
Smithton,Westmoreland,PA
$40 per month
"decent bandwidth, mobile"
"variable speeds, dial up latency, return policy"
"Better than satellite if you have a good cell tower"
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I live in a small town in southwest PA. We don't have a cable company, and I'm too far from the CO for DSL. Options for broadband are very limited. Until recently, it was pretty much satellite or nothing. In the last few months, I had noticed that wireless broadband was being offered. After doing some research I found two companies offering wireless service here. Verizon and Cricket. After comparing the two, cricket seemed the better deal.
I was told by a sales rep that the service can get speeds upwards of 700 kbps down. Thankfully, they have displays set up in their stores, so I was able to test it firsthand. The tests from the store were not encouraging, as the best speed test result I got was a mere 111 kbps down. Keeping that in mind, I bought a modem, UTStarcom UM100C, for $180 and paid the $25 activation fee. Thankfully, they have an instant rebate on the modem right now, plus an additional mail in rebate. ($70 and $50 respectively) The first month of service is also free.
Ordering was painless. I just went into the store and bought it. Brought the modem home, installed it and was up and running. A few notes on the installation: The modem requires 2, yes 2 USB ports. Also, it is important to install the software from the CD first. You will be prompted to connect the modem when it is time to do so. I'd also like to note the return policy. While I haven't had to use the policy, you lose the activation fee once you use the service. In addition, you only have 3 days to return the modem after you activate it. So I'd suggest you make sure you have good cell reception before you try to get this service.
UPDATE: Having had the service for some time now, I'm quite pleased with it. Speeds are widely variable, but are generally between 300 and 500 kbps down. Latency has been ranging between 150 and 350 ms. You're not going to be tearing up multi-player shooters with this connection.
It has been extremely reliable also. I have only been disconnected once, and that was after being connected for 26 hours. I have not had to deal with tech support yet. Hopefully I won't have to. I'd recommend this to anyone over dial up or satellite. So if you can't get DSL or cable, try this out.
UPDATE: I've had Cricket for 3 months now. The biggest problem has been frequent outages. So far, it seems to average 2 outages a month for 2-3 hours at a time. I have been without stable internet 3 times this week. None of these issues have been with signal quality either.
The bandwidth is still decent. I can usually stream video, but it's borderline and sometimes choppy. Latency has been really good of late. (For this connection) Pings have been ranging from 150 ms to 300 ms, but usually right around 200 ms. I'm not burning up the gaming lanes, but they are playable.
Tech support seems competent, but I have not gone through any troubleshooting with them yet. Each time I have called they had already declared an outage and admitted to a problem on their end. The techs I have spoken with were all friendly and spoke clear, concise English.
One suggestion if anyone at Cricket happens to read this. Put outage information on your phone prompts! Not only will it save your customers a half hour hold, it will save your techs a ton of time sorting through outages and getting to other issues.
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 Review by Derch
UPDATED: 310 days ago
member for 5.1 years, 1452 visits, last login: a few hours ago
Tulsa,Tulsa,OK
$40 per month
"Extremely fast setup and go-live on my laptop, cheaper than other wireless services."
"Speed can be better (250/50k) and you can only purchase a USB device."
"If you want to save money, this will do (or until U-Verse fiber goodness comes knocking on my door)."
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What can I say, I'm sort of impressed how easy it was from when I asked questions before giving them my CC to now... being online without hording other wireless signals from my neighbors with a pringles can antenna. So far so good... I'll update as I use this service.
Latest as of 01/25/2009:
Except for a couple of hiccups over the weekend, solid connection. BTW- the service isn't capped: they toggle your connection down the more you go over 5GB's... or at least that was what the Engineer told me. I'm able to route my work VPN connection without issues as well. So far so good.
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Review by DHeine
UPDATED: 324 days ago
member for 324 days, 2 visits, last login: 147 days ago
Las Vegas,Clark,NV
$40 per month
"Easy setup. stable connection"
"Bandwidth is not broadband comparable, more like ISDN"
"It's a good choice if you don't have access to DSL/Cable"
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I live in an area that doesn't have DSL or Cable service at this time so when I saw the add for Broadband connection to the Internet for only $40/mo. I thought that this was the solution I was looking for. Within minutes from purchasing the service, I was connected to the Internet.
The speed is fast enough to load most web pages quickly. If you are looking to watch any video clips online, be prepared for choppy viewing. It's speed is acceptable for light to moderate usage and the connection is very reliable.
The biggest disappointment is the bandwidth that they give you. The fastest speed that I have seen is more in line with ISDN connection speeds, better than dial-up but nothing comparable to broadband or DSL..
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Review by TimfromPgh
Posted: 338 days ago
member for 338 days, 7 visits, last login: 278 days ago
Pittsburgh,Allegheny,PA
$40 per month
about 1 days
"reliable, easy to install, decent speed"
"none so far"
"I recommend it if you don't have cable/dsl"
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Live near Pittsburgh, but have no broadband service available at home. Have been using Cricket for one week. Typical download speed is 500 kbps. This service is a huge improvement from dialup. It has performed flawlessly so far. Installation is easy. A $59 rebate reduces the overall startup cost to about $60
Followup comments:  Credence55
join:2009-01-27
Stoughton, WI | Outlook Express Setup Let me know if you find a way to setup Outlook Express using Cricket Broadband access! | |
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Review by JC Denton
UPDATED: 351 days ago
member for 351 days, 0 visits, last login: 351 days ago
San Diego,San Diego,CA
$40 per month
about 4 days
"Easy set-up, compact modem, fast data transfer"
"sucks my laptops batteries down and makes the computer run hot"
"overall, very happy"
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Very happy, I first purchased an AT$T card.
It was bulky and I did not get 3G service even though I was in a strong coverage area.
It went back the next day.
I opted for the Cricket broadband and couldn't be happier.
It set up easy, locks a strong EVDO connection at my house and is transferring on the lower end of cable/DSL speeds (400-500 kb/s).
Also has been very stable (going on 1hr+ with no issues)
If you are in an area with good coverage, I highly recommend it.
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Review by statewd
UPDATED: 1 year ago
member for 1 year, 3 visits, last login: 1 year ago
Fresno,Fresno,CA
 Business customer
$40 per month
about 2 days
"Good if you are in rural area where DSL/Cable not available."
"Very Slow at 500kbps downloads."
"Go with DSL/Cable if available, only go with this if there is nothing else available."
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My sonic.net 1 year special pricing contract was ending soon, so I was looking over my possibilities. I decided to go with this since it was the same price as DSL and the plus I saw was the ability to use with my notebook when driving around locally in the Fresno area. Their plan is for $40 per month (month-to-month no contract) for "Cricket Broadband" with an advertised speed of 1.5Mbps, but it is realistically 500Kbps download speed. The latency seems pretty bad at around 300ms. Normal DSL here is around 30ms in comparison. I did a trace route from Fresno CA to Los Angeles CA of this connection and it actually routes from Fresno CA all the way to Denver CO and then back to Los Angeles CA. That is not a very good network setup in my opinion. From the speed of this service it makes me think they just have one T1 installed for the local cell towers and let their customers have at it with just that. So the bottom line, until they upgrade their local network speed, only get this service if you can't find any DSL/Cable in your area or if you really must have portability for your notebook when driving around locally.
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Review by thebabe07
Posted: 1 year ago
member for 1.9 years, 583 visits, last login: a few hours ago
Springdale,Washington,AR
$35 per month
"inexpensive and portable"
"5 GB cap"
"ok"
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Not really thrilled with the 5GB per month cap. Really limiting with 3 kids.
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Cricket Broadband
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Texas Cricket broadband having problems
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Cricket is the worst ever