lujay44
join:2008-08-12
Cedar Springs, MI
1 edit |  [General] Which service, Alltel/Verizon, HughesNet, WildBlue?
My head is spinning now that I've discovered EVDO. I've been reading everything I can find, and I'm more unsure than ever. I was ready to sign up for sat. My only service options seem to be Alltel (I know about the buy-out), Verizon, and the 2 sat systems, which seem to be universally hated. I wondered about supposed recent upgrades by the sat companies, but complaints actually seem to be up, with many outages. Everything I read says go EVDO if you can. But since Verizon bought Alltel, I assume the 5G cap will eventually be universal (not in Sprint coverage area).
I'm ready to do something but reluctant, because this will push me over the $200 / month figure for various kinds of connectivity, which is tremendously frustrating. I live 11 miles from the edge of the 2nd largest city in Michigan, and this is my only option to dump dialup. People much further out in the boonies, where I work, even have cable and/or wireless available. There is a local wireless provider, whose tower I can see from the street in front of my property, and they say they can't hit my house with the signal and have shelved plans to upgrade. I live within the typical DSL parameters, but AT&T splits the line to my street too many times for DSL bandwidth, and the tech I talked to said that was unlikely to change. So I get a 28.8 dialup (on a good day). With the extra expense of satellite, I would likely lose it during storms, which is what happens with my DirecTV signal. And this is west Michigan, where we have clouds and lots of rain/snow. Am I missing (not seeing) some other option?
I need to network 2 HP Pavilion notebooks for 2 adult users, not gamers, but would like to access you-tube, iTunes, some photo stuff, typical surfing, updating, etc. Both need to access work networks but not for large file transfers. One of the Verizon issues that seems to be out there is difficulty monitoring usage on routers, and company account monitoring available is of questionable accuracy.
We currently have ATT land line, Verizon cell, and DirecTV services. Should I do the Alltel trial period, if it's still available? Is it even worthwhile considering that option at this point? If I have to do sat, Hughes fap looks like a better bet, but the reviews of that are lousy. I saw that one poster suggested Verizon with cheap dialup as a backup for usage issues.
Any help would be greatly appreciated. I had to dial in 5x to get up to 28.8 today. My thoughts about that are not appropriate for public discourse!  |
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beck
Premium,MVM
join:2002-01-29
On The Road
 ·Qwest.net
 ·Verizon BroadbandA..
| Re: [General] Which service, Alltel/Verizon, HughesNet, WildBlue
Well, you can at least do the trial on Alltel or Verizon. Be sure you're getting EVDO Rev A, or find out when it will be available there. Otherwise your connection will be better than dialup (mostly), but not low level DSL.
Try it before you lock into a 2 year agreement and aren't happy. Because $70 for slow speeds isn't any better than dialup. Trust me that you will then be MORE upset because of the money you pay and the cap. I would think that the cap would be a problem for 2 people sharing too. 5 gig is nothing.
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Some people are like slinkies - not really good for much.
But they bring a smile to your face when pushed down the stairs. |
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rekees
join:2007-03-23
| reply to lujay44
I recently switched from HughesNet to Verizon BroadbandAccess (aka EVDO). If you can get Verizon go for it. It runs circles around HughesNet. Verizon has a coverage map. Check it out and see if your area is covered. If it is then Verizon has a 30 day money back guarantee.
The modem I got from Verizon is the USB727. It has a USB connection so had to buy a Cradlepoint MBR1000 router ($199 at Amazon) in order to connect my 3 computer home network. There are less expensive routers available but you get what you pay for. Love the MBR1000 it has all the bells and whistles for both a wired and wireless network.
Regarding the Verizon 5GB monthly limit that's a problem if you plan on watching many videos like YouTube or downloading movies. However it's actually 25 days of HughesNet's 200MB per day limit (home plan). So it's more than you might think.
The biggest problem with HughesNet is that they have more customers than they can handle so often (like almost daily) they will limit download speed. In my case it was sometimes 90%. Why pay $60 a month for dialup speeds!? I called them to complain and ask for an adjustment to my bill and all they would say is that they do not guarantee their advertised speeds and refused a billing adjustment. I was not a happy camper so when Verizon BroadbandAccess became available here in July I switched. This morning the HughesNet dish and modem were hauled away to the county dump. 
I know nothing about Alltel so can't comment on that service.
Lots of bad reviews, horror stories out there re Wildblue. |
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lujay44
join:2008-08-12
Cedar Springs, MI
| reply to lujay44
Thanks. You both have good points I have decided to give Alltel a try, with the hopes that Verizon has to honor the contract. That is assuming I get a good signal during the trial period. It would buy time for other options to become available in my area. Now I have to decide between the Huawei EC228 and UTStarcom UM 150 usb cards. I'm finding more positive comments on the UM 150 that the EC228. It also seems that the antenna and SD card slot make the UM 150 a more attractive option.
The rep said that EVDO has been in my part of Kent County, MI for awhile, and that we are slated to get Rev A very soon. It all sounds better that 28.8!! |
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dMarks
Melting Faces For Fun
join:2007-02-09
Leslie, MI
·Millenicom
 ·HughesNet Satellit..
| reply to lujay44
I don't know where in Cedar Springs you live, but the Sprint Coverage map says you are covered for Mobile Broadband (NOTE: If Sprint used Alltel towers to augment their Coverage Map, then it may be outdated now). You may need an antenna to get service (I'm in a fringe area myself and use an antenna) but it would be worth looking into.
If you go through Millenicom to get Sprint MBB, you have unlimited data with no contract. However, their service is BYOD only (Bring Your Own Device) so you already have to have a Sprint modem to use it. You can get one off EBay for a decent price. My dad just got a Sierra Compass 597U for $82.00 off EBay has set up service with Millenicom. You just have to be careful about not getting one that is flagged bad on the previous owner.
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Windows XP Pro SP2|AMD Athlon 64 FX-57|2GB Dual Channel RAM|2x GeForce 7950 GT 512MB|250GB HDD |
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lujay44
join:2008-08-12
Cedar Springs, MI
| Thanks! I'll check it out. For some reason, I thought I wasn't in their coverage area. I'm actually exactly in between the Cedar Springs marker and M57 on the map, just off the north-south road shown. I'd rather avoid having to deal with the merger issues, if I can help it. |
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dMarks
Melting Faces For Fun
join:2007-02-09
Leslie, MI
·Millenicom
·HughesNet Satellit..
| Like I said, if they used Alltel as part of their coverage maps it might not be accurate now, but it's always good to check. Also you may need an antenna to get reliable service (I used a bent license plate and then a coffee can as a makeshift antenna before I bought an antenna). Sprint service (EVDO) according to the map ends about 1/4 mile away from where I live in Leslie and without an antenna I cannot pick up a signal except 1xRTT.
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Windows XP Pro SP2|AMD Athlon 64 FX-57|2GB Dual Channel RAM|2x GeForce 7950 GT 512MB|250GB HDD |
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lujay44
join:2008-08-12
Cedar Springs, MI
2 edits | reply to dMarks
Wow! I feel like Alice having fallen down the rabbit hole. This gets curiouser and curiouser! To back up, I did lots of reaearch in the EVDO forums, prior to posting the first time. (I am a data junkie.) They would not, however, put up my question, and you can't pm the moderators until you have 10 posts. Harrumph! Tech snobs... They do have excellent info, though. Anyway, I moved to this forum because you all are much friendlier. 
I went back to EVDO fourms when I dMarks' post and found a Sprint store close by. The flurry of stuff on Sprint's rumored change to their TOS, which may include a 5G cap, got my attention. The business that sponsors the forums, 3Gstore.com, went looking for accurate info from Sprint. This is the result: »evdoinfo.blogspot.com/2008/08/sp···rap.html
The upshot is that all the providers will likely have a 5G cap eventually. I'd just like to know what my average usage will be before getting here, if possible. So I'm back to Alltel.
And to think I almost got satellite...
Just call me Alice |
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dMarks
Melting Faces For Fun
join:2007-02-09
Leslie, MI
·Millenicom
·HughesNet Satellit..
| »www.millenicom.com
They provide Sprint EVDO. No Contract, and at this time, no caps either. If they do eventually have to put a cap on the service, there will be no hassle canceling since you have no contractual obligations.
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Windows XP Pro SP2|AMD Athlon 64 FX-57|2GB Dual Channel RAM|2x GeForce 7950 GT 512MB|250GB HDD |
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lujay44
join:2008-08-12
Cedar Springs, MI
| The Sprint web site says it is unlimited. But the 3G guy finally got info from them that non-business accounts created after 7/13/08 will be subject to the 5G limit. He labeled it FUBAR, and 3G is also prusuing becoming an
Alltel dealer. All of this makes me leery...
Is Sprint that much better that it's worth the risk?
Alice |
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dMarks
Melting Faces For Fun
join:2007-02-09
Leslie, MI
·Millenicom
·HughesNet Satellit..
| Millenicom has a contract with Sprint in which they are allowed to provide unlimited data service. There was a lot of talk on the Millenicom boards here on DSLReports which it was rumored Millenicom would be forced to cap the service. Millenicom has responded, stating that the service they provide, through Sprint, is still, and will remain unlimited even though Sprint is capping people who go directly to Sprint for service. I do not know how this works, although my guess is that the contract between Millenicom and Sprint probably has something to do with it.
I cannot say if Millenicom will continue to be unlimited after their current contract with Sprint expires, but unlike getting service directly through Sprint / Alltel / Verizon / ATT / etc... You are not under any contract. You can cancel at any time without an ETF if you find things not going right.
That's about all I can provide you for information. If you still want to go with Alltel, then that is your choice.
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Windows XP Pro SP2|AMD Athlon 64 FX-57|2GB Dual Channel RAM|2x GeForce 7950 GT 512MB|250GB HDD |
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lujay44
join:2008-08-12
Cedar Springs, MI
| There are question marks either way. Until you elaborated on Millenicom I didn't realize they were exempt from the cap. So it comes down to contract or not. I'll talk it over with the other person affected. I appreciate your help! The idea of something faster and being online at the same time makes me almost giddy. I'm spoiled by a T1 line at work. |
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dMarks
Melting Faces For Fun
join:2007-02-09
Leslie, MI
·Millenicom
·HughesNet Satellit..
| Glad I could be of assistance. I'm certainly not a Sprint fanboi (Sprint Customer Service sucks so much, they should be called Hoover) but Millenicom has been a wonderful experience for me so far, compared to what I've had before.
The only negative I've had so far with Millenicom is that since they aren't Sprint, when you do have a problem it may take longer to get resolved as they don't have any data on tower problems.
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Windows XP Pro SP2|AMD Athlon 64 FX-57|2GB Dual Channel RAM|2x GeForce 7950 GT 512MB|250GB HDD |
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stenman
join:2007-03-07
Salinas, CA
·Verizon Wireless B..
| reply to lujay44
If you have a Verizon account you should avoid signing up for a Sprint EV-DO service plan. I did that last fall and it took 6 months and literally days on the phone with them to get a credit from Sprint. Their system is setup to delete the EV-DO "upgrade" for existing users and credit it to their standard account. If you do not have an account already with Sprint getting a credit is about as easy as getting an honest answer out of Dick Cheney. |
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alltel
@windstream.net
| reply to lujay44
1. Millenicom-no cap
2. Alltel-no cap
3. Sprint-5gb soft cap
4. Verizon-5gb per month .49 cent for every mb over 5gb
Satellite internet is not even worth dicussing
There's is how they stack and when I went shopping that would be how I did my trials from 1 through 4
just figured I would help out thanks |
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Mattie_B
join:2008-05-16
1 edit | said by alltel :
1. Millenicom-no cap
2. Alltel-no cap
3. Sprint-5gb soft cap
4. Verizon-5gb per month .49 cent for every mb over 5gb
Satellite internet is not even worth dicussing
There's is how they stack and when I went shopping that would be how I did my trials from 1 through 4
just figured I would help out thanks
1. Millenicom? When I go to there site why does it list the search tool under sprint services?
2. Alltel has been bought out by Verizon.
3. Sprint is 5GB or 200MB roaming.
4. Verizon is 5GB .25 cents per meg after.
I'm glad I got my service through Verizon when it was just a soft cap to possible throttling after 5gb. No way could I live with overages. |
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Alltel
@windstream.net | reply to lujay44
Yeah, Alltel was bought out by Verizon but their service is still not capped and when verizon first released the cap the overage charge was .49 cent a mb over 5gb |
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catexas
join:2008-10-09
Anna, TX
·Verizon Wireless B..
| reply to lujay44
I live in a rural area.
I have a Verizon EVDO Rev-A, 3G, and a Pantech UM175 BroadbandAccess Modem. I had Wildblue before and it just got
where it was so slow, that after a year I cancelled with them. I am very well pleased with my UM175 modem. I had a USB727 in the beginning and it was real slow all of the time. |
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stenman
join:2007-03-07
Salinas, CA
·Verizon Wireless B..
| reply to lujay44
If you need daily access and cannot afford to lose connectivity for long periods of time the only solutions are HughesNet and WildBlue. I say that as I have had Verizon EVDO "service' since August and have had to keep my HughesNet account active. After 2 days with great access and speed with Verizon my connection started to fail completely. Tech support opened up a series of trouble tickets and would close each one down after 10 days even when nothing had been done. I was told each time that the Verizon "performance team" had to troubleshoot the tower to which I connect and that it would take 3-5 days. After more than a month the Verizon performance team has still not checked out the tower. I have -72db signal strength and can get access in a heartbeat even with a weaker signal by driving around town so I know the problem is not at my end.
That is the problem with EVDO out in rural areas, you are often dependent on a single tower and if goes down or has problems it is not a priority for Verizon to fix the problem. Mobile cellular users are going to lose a connection but then reacquire one when they are near the next tower.
With HughesnNet there is a 24 hours FAP limit and if you exceed that limit your speeds are slowed down to sub-dial up levels. If you have connectivity problems that generate a lot of retransmissions of packets you can easily exceed the FAP even with light usage. It has happened twice to me in the past 60 days.
With WildBlue there is a 30 day FAP limit so an individual download of a 250MB file will not shut you down the way it does with HughesNet. HughesNet also changed my FAP level and decreased it by 20% in the middle of my plan period so my only option was to pay more for a new plan with a higher FAP level. So you really don't know what you are getting when you sign up for a 18 month commitment with HughesNet.
What is clear with HughesNet is that their business model entails massive advertising to sign up more new accounts than they can service, knowing full well that these new users are locked in for 18 months or longer. As long as they add more suckers each month than the number of customers that leave each month, Hughes is winning the game even if they are shafting their customers.
I have been a HughesNet subscriber for more than 5 years and even was a beta user for the HN9000 service that promised better service but has proven to be no better than my old service with the DW7000. Speed tests do not reflect the actual quality of service as their is a single DNS operation performed and then the "turbo" mode kicks in to keep packets flowing. In actual use for general web browsing the performance is no better than 56K dialup. It is only when you are downloading large files that there is an advantage to satellite service and then only if you don't exceed the FAP limit. |
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lpenix
join:2008-09-04
Marshall, NC
| reply to lujay44
i have been with verizon wireless for over a year now, and i have lost my conection once because of a tower problem, other than that nothing, great speed, and has been very very reliable to me. i had hughes, and oh my god, the slow downs, their speed is a joke, verizon can run circles around them and the fap is just, i cant explain it but just to say laughable to say the least. Their comercials are very misleading, they give you what they say, but not all the time, mabey 2% of the time. and it just keeps getting more expensive, and slower as time goes by. if it is your only choice, it is better than dialup, but full of headaches. |
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