formeat
join:2002-03-23
Las Vegas, NV
edit:
June 3rd, @11:30PM
| Any experience with Cricket Wireless Broadband?
Can anyone provide feedback on Cricket's $40.00/month Wireless Broadband service? They began advertising this heavily in the Las Vegas NV area last weekend. It uses a small USB plug-in modem.
I'm curious about the real cost of start-up ("requires new activation AND up to a $25 activation fee"), the true monthly cost ("taxes and fees extra"), and some of their disclaimers:
* Throughput may be limited if use exceeds 5GB per month.
* Internet browsing does not include, "Machine-to-machine connections, "Peer to peer (P2P) connections."
They state that there's no contract term, no security deposit, and no "carrier's" early termination fee.
I'd just want it for home use, and to save a few bucks over the $52/mo I currently shell out for cable broadband.
Thanks! |
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Max Signal
Premium
join:2008-03-07
Buffalo, NY | I heard there is a 2.5 gig monthly limit and they are using EVDO Rev. 0 devices , that is all I know
--
www.MaximumSignal.Net |
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iansltx
join:2007-02-19
Fredericksburg, TX
 ·Comcast
 ·Qwest.net
 ·magicjack.com
 ·Sprint Mobile Broa..
| reply to formeat
Max Signal, nope and nope...
Here's a thread that might help ya,
»howardforums.com/showthread.php?t=1378641
Anyway, there is a 5GB per month limit, looks to be a soft cap though, on their service. EvDO Rev. A is overlaid on most of their network at is EvDO...which isn't all of it still...
Speeds look to be about 1 Mbit down, 300 kbit up. You may be able to get 1200/500 though, with one person reporting 1400/900 right across from a tower.
The cost of startup is the cost of the modem plus the activation fee, though you might be able to waive the latter. So $150 or so after taxes and the mail-in rebate on the modem.
Taxes and fees should be minimal since we're talking about a data connection and not a voice one...just a few bucks per month on top of your $40. Though they could be more if CricKet wants to gouge...though if I remember correctly your state has very little in the vein of cellular taxes so you should pay pretty close to that $40.
And yes, they have no contracts, deposits or ETFs and you can take your modem anywhere CricKet has coverage and still have internet, though again in some places it will be quite slow (a few times faster than dialup) due to their not rolling out EvDO everywhere.
The bottom line is, before you commit to getting the card, make double-sure you have a good CricKet signal where you'll be using the modem. Vegas is a new market so this may or may not be the case. Then use a usage tracking program to make sure you aren't using more than 5GB of data per month.
Then check your cable company and see if they have a lower-priced tier that is around 1 Mbit down and 384k up (what you'll get from CricKet more than likely...though speeds may lessen on CricKet over time due to tower loading) and if so you probably want to go with that.
If they don't, check for DSL with the same qualifications...you *should* be able to get 1.5 Mbit DSL (faster than CricKet would be) for a lower price than what you'd pay for the mobile service.
In short, if you already have a high speed connection you'd be saving maybe $10 a month...though you'd only be doing so after amortizing the cost of the modem, which would take well over a year. You'd have a slower connection, with higher latency (though it shouldn't be prohibitively high so as to make gaming\VoIP impossible) that what your cableco is providing you, and you'd want to keep under the 5 GB a month limit, which I personally can't do.
The big draw of CricKet's mobile high speed internet is...well...mobility, though. So if you are willing to make those tradeoffs to get a service that you can use anywhere CricKet has service (which isn't exactly anywhere...they're focused on large cities and *maybe* the corridors between them) then the service will be good for you. But I wouldn't dump cable for CricKet Mobile Broadband just 'cuz it's cheaper. In that case, you should dump cable for DSL...or ask for a lower cable speed tier. |
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formeat
join:2002-03-23
Las Vegas, NV
| Thanks! I really appreciate your detailed reply. It perfectly illustrates how valuable this site is, and the depth of knowledge it's users have.
It'd be great to find a cheaper Internet connection than my current $52/month, especially being I'm not hosting sites or using major bandwidth. And I don't really need wireless or mobility, either. But my connection has always been stable, and with speeds about 50% better than advertised. Obviously, no connection at any price is cost effective if it's unstable.
I've thought of switching to DSL, but now that I'm using MagicJack, I don't need someone elses phone service. And that in itself drives the cost right back up to what I'm currently paying.
I'll keep looking for a cheaper alternative, but it just doesn't seem like there are any out there. |
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iansltx
join:2007-02-19
Fredericksburg, TX
·Comcast
·Qwest.net
·magicjack.com
·Sprint Mobile Broa..
| Yeah, I have ideas about a nationwide unlicensed WiMax carrier but it'll be ahile before that gets to Vegas 
Again, if you like VoIP you *could* use it over CricKet MBB but the quality wouldn't be as great. |
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Cyclone971
@coxomaha.net | reply to formeat
Look at KeyOn Communications, a local WISP.
$25 a month for 1.5/128k. No bandwidth limit, and a fairly good city coverage.
www.keyon.com - 866-276-3300 |
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Bob09
@choiceone.net | reply to formeat
From what I've seen in Syracuse, it's a well built network. Problem is their service area is tiny. They could be one of the leaders with the right management. There was talk of them getting in bed with Sprint but I think that died. |
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dak2002
join:2005-09-21
Bakersfield, CA
| reply to iansltx
Well I live in salt lake city, ut and this is my first day. Speeds are not good but they work just fine. 300kb/s and 100 kb/s up. Still need to do more testing. Also the slot 2 type card is being recall and i was one of them who used it and never worked. The usb card works fine but 60 more dollars is not fun. It works good for me i stream radio to my car stero. Anyways i'll update if i feel like it. |
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MarcusVegas
@level3.net
| reply to formeat
I just got the cricket broadband usb modem today for my laptop. It is not as fast as the cable modem that I have for my desktop but it is faster than some of the other cards like the one that I used to use by tmobile. It uses the EV-DO network. So depending on where you are it may not be as fast as the 3G-networks. I love the soft cap of 5gb. This means that I do not have to keep track of my data usage. I went into the store over on Raibow in Las Vegas and out the door the total including activation and card insurance was 148 dollars. You also get a 50 mail-in rebate. The monthly bill it about 48 dollars including taxes. But the best thing i love is that i get relative broadband service with no contract. |
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quantoson
@direcpc.com
| reply to formeat
read this before buying. cricket is nothing more than what is available already thru other carriers.
»blogs.lvcitylife.com/cityblog/20···ing-area
I know a person that actually bought the laptop connection, and she states that if she is more than 6 miles from the center of Las Vegas, there is no broadband connection. The ad is totally bogus. |
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hottboiinnc
Kyle
join:2003-10-15
Toledo, OH
·buckeye cable
·Time Warner VOIP
 ·1and1
| reply to formeat
Cricket is a MAJOR MVNO with Sprint. Most of their network is just resold Sprint which is how fast they turn their networks on and the EVDO-A. Why build a network when Sprint will lease you theirs. Also doesn't the 5Gigs a month cap sound like Sprint? Also Cricket does have nationwide coverage now if you have that on your plan but limited to 200 minutes per month (on the Sprint network again)
Once in a while depending on your area you can actually pick up Cricket's 611 from a Sprint phone-well at least here you can. |
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FOR YOUR INFO
@utah.edu
| reply to formeat
Get the card online or by calling cricket's toll free number directly and you can get the pcmcia card for free or the usb for $59 (both after mail in rebate).
»www.mycricket.com/broadband?se=m···ycricket |
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mcoan
join:2002-07-29
Taos, NM
| reply to formeat
So, I just returned from the Cricket kiosk at my local shopping mall. They had a notebook set up with a PC card. I went to www.speedtest.net and got a recommendation of using a server in Kansas City (I'm in Santa Fe; Denver and el Paso are closer, but whatever). I got 400K. I asked where the anntenas are because maybe I'll be closer. Didn't know. Walked away...there went the only "unlimited" option available.
Meanwhile, over at Verizon's store, I got 768K dl. Was fourth in line; store was packed. Went next to Sprint, where they had two people helping about 20 customers and didn't have a computer set up with wireless broadband. Walked out.
Verizon or Wildblue? |
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iansltx
join:2007-02-19
Fredericksburg, TX
·Comcast
·Qwest.net
·magicjack.com
·Sprint Mobile Broa..
| Millenicom.
Find a computer with a PCMCIA card slot in it. Then order a Pantech PX500 on eBay for ~$20. Activate on Millenicom, put the card in the computer and see how it goes. If it works, keep the card or upgrade to a USB modem. If not, you can probably sell your outfit to someone else. |
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