 macyhEx-IspPremium,MVM
join:2001-04-24
Medina, OH
 ·Armstrong Zoom ..
4 edits | VZW vs Sprint EVDO in Cleveland results I've got VZW EVD0. My brother has Sprint EVDO. We both have IBM T41 P4m 1.7ghz Thinkpads w/XP SP2 using AC595 Sierra cards. So how do the services compare?
Sprint wins outright on speed, with very good coverage in Metro Cleveland (five counties) plus the southern shore of Lake Erie. He's a real estate broker, wife a travel agent, they use VPN via EVDO on their boat at Cedar Point in Sandusky all the way to Kelly's Island every weekend in summer and then some. However, if you go very far off the Interstate into rural Ohio, the Sprint EVDO signal fades.
VZW wins on extended national, coverage and roaming. I get disconnects on an SSH or VPH seesion from time to time. I'm surprised by some of the rural areas that have EVDO here in OH. Works great for me in LA, LV, DC, much of central/south FL and most of the freeways between. IMO, if you travel much, it's the one to buy.
Otherwise, I'd go for the speed and discounts available on Sprint. I'm very impressed with how much progress Sprint is making on both their voice and data wireless networks. I'll give them serious consideration when my contract expires.
btw, I tried Alltel for a while, very decent service, but rural and multi-city coverage at the time was not adequate for my needs. It's gotten better since then. Local service/coverage was quite good. Don't fail to consider them if they have service in your area.
Sprint gave best pre-sales support. Post sale support from all best described as resembling a toothache, it felt so good to hang up and fix it myself.
I find that EVDO works well enough with a router that I'm thinking about shafting the arrogant cable modem folks next. That is, if I can get my Linksys EVDO router back from my brother, he took it for his boat last time I saw it.
Nice to have more broadband choices: EVDO is almost comparable to base rate ADSL with a l-o-n-g cord attached. Not recommended for gamers or bitorrent addicts, though.
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Macy Hallock, Medina, OH and Lutz, FL
Ex-telco tech, network engineer and former ISP Owner |
2 edits | "VZW wins on national coverage and roaming. "
Verizon doesn't do EVDO roaming, only 1xRTT. Sprint does both EVDO and 1xRTT roaming and actually has better roaming agreements than any carrier. Sprint actually roams on Verizon 1xRTT. And you have more granular control of forced roaming/1xRTT with Sprint than with VZW.
Verizon also does not have greater EVDO coverage than Sprint, but it depends on the area. VZW is slightly less actually but they've been playing catchup to each other the last few months. |
