| Which is better, Wild Blue or AT&T via tethering I live in a mountainous area and currently on dial up  with limited home internet options (ie no DSL or cable any where near here). I'm looking for advice on what would be a better choice for home internet, Wild Blue satellite or via a cell phone hotspot with AT&T (the only cell service available). I'm getting 3G on my cell phone with "ok" signal strength.
Thanks for any advice. |
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 grohgregDunno. Ask The Chief
join:2001-07-05
Dawson Springs, KY | Can't speak for AT&T, but I tried Verizon's equivalent. I too have a great cell phone connection, I can even see the tower light from my window at night. But when I tried their 3G internet service, it absolutely sucked. Not compared to dial-up mind you, that's compared to my HughesNet connection. The idea was to replace the satellite internet connection with a 3G connection. I went back to my HughesNet connection in a flash (this is not a Hughes endorsement, it's just an example of satellite versus 3G).
Given that experience, I suggest you thoroughly investigate their policy on no-cost cancellation of the service obligation if the service doesn't meet your expectations. Make sure you can get out of your contract within a reasonable trial period - without it costing you an arm and a leg.
//greg//
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HN7000S - 98cm Prodelin/2w "pure" Osiris - ProPlus - G16/1250H - NOC:GTN - NAT 67.142.115.130 - Gateway 66.82.25.10 - DNS 66.82.4.12 and 66.82.4.8 - Firefox 6 - AV/Firewalled by NIS2011 |
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| Thanks for the suggestion and info. On paper, it sure looks like the cell tethering/hotspot (whatever it's called) would beat satellite for speed and the amount of data (AT&T as a 4gb plan for $45 a month), but I've learned with Verizon that what they say (or their map says) doesn't come close to reality. |
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grohgregDunno. Ask The Chief
join:2001-07-05
Dawson Springs, KY | These providers are pushin' the hell outa their 4G service, it's all over cable TV 24/7. But the reality is that - Verizon at least - doesn't have 4G comin' offa one single tower in the entire state of Kentucky. Odds are that you're posting from some other state, but I'm tellin' you this anyway - to reinforce the earlier recommendation that you "try before you buy" in your location.
And 3G "may" beat satellite on the upload, I saw 400-700kb (bursts) when I tested Verizon 3G service (USB modem) locally. Best my HughesNet can do is ~230kb up. But the Verizon downloads were far slower - and much more inconsistent - than satellite. Verizon gave an inconsistent and spotty 900-1400 Kb, sometimes would simply stop dead in its tracks. My HughesNet pretty regularly delivers nearly 2000kb, occasionally dipping toward 1200kb during the peak usage hours.
//greg//
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HN7000S - 98cm Prodelin/2w "pure" Osiris - ProPlus - G16/1250H - NOC:GTN - NAT 67.142.115.130 - Gateway 66.82.25.10 - DNS 66.82.4.12 and 66.82.4.8 - Firefox 6 - AV/Firewalled by NIS2011 |
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| said by grohgreg:you "try before you buy" in your location.
Towers away from major highways and located in low population areas may have no more than a T1 line connected to it.
Around here, that's the reality, via two wireless providers. |
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Reviews:
 ·Verizon Online DSL
| reply to mtn hermit
Go with the att option the ping times will be lower and you should get a d 1.5mb-6.0mb download with the upload somewhere around a meg. if you already have a cell with att download the speedtest app and run a quick speedtest and see what your speeds are like |
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grohgregDunno. Ask The Chief
join:2001-07-05
Dawson Springs, KY | said by Dcdude:you should get a d 1.5mb-6.0mb download with the upload somewhere around a meg.
not with 3G dude
//greg// |
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Reviews:
·Verizon Online DSL
| i get 3-6mbs all day long on my iphone 4s running on 3g
Uploaded with ImageShack.us
»www.speedtest.net/iphone/188049786.png |
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| reply to mtn hermit
Go with the devil you know. If At&t works good for you then there you go. There are as many people who hate satellite as those who love it, and the same goes for 3g. I have never had a problem with my Verizon 3g, but I know others that have. I know people with satellite who love it and others who thinks it's the closest thing to hell you can find. So best advice, if what you got works, keep it. |
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grohgregDunno. Ask The Chief
join:2001-07-05
Dawson Springs, KY | reply to Dcdude
said by Dcdude:i get 3-6mbs all day long on my iphone 4s running on 3g
Ah, the rest of the story. Cell phone test. You just threw an apple into a discussion about oranges.
//greg//
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| Your comment is not valid, cell phones and data cards use the same network (as long as they are on the same carrier) and therefore get the same speed. |
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| said by Dcdude:...get the same speed.
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March 10, 2008
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Data traffic shaping arrives on cellphones
»www.cbc.ca/news/technology/story···ess.html
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Does AT&T Wireless CEO Hint at further Traffic Limiting?
2009-10-08
»Does AT&T Wireless CEO Hint at further Traffic Limiting?
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»WiMax is a joke
The Fastest Mobile Networks 2011
»www.pcmag.com/Fastest-Mobile-Networks-2011 |
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 dbirdmanPremium,MVM
join:2003-07-07
Eureka, CA
kudos:5 | reply to Dcdude
said by Dcdude:Your comment is not valid, cell phones and data cards use the same network (as long as they are on the same carrier) and therefore get the same speed.
Speaking only for Verizon, I have 2 years of experience across the country (and in Alaska) that says you are wrong. I have never seen speeds the same on a Droid vs an Air Card. At the moment I am in Lancaster, CA. Speedtest thinks my IP is in San Francisco for the Droid and Phoenix for the air card. The top image is the Droid (tethered with PDANet), and the bottom is the air card:
Typically in 3G areas the Droid will outperform the air card. Yesterday I had 4G, and the air card was doing 20Mbps down while the Droid only had 15Mbps down. I have limited 4G experience - yesterday was only the second time I've had the air card in a 4G area and until a week ago I only had a 3G Droid, so I don't know if that reversed scenario will hold up.
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Motosat self-pointing dishes: 1.2-meter XF-3 on 127W, .74 meter G74 on 127W, SL-5 HD DirecTV|idirect 3100|Hughes HN7000S|Verizon UMW190 Air Card|1990 Blue Bird Wanderlodge Bus "Blue Thunder"|Author of hnFAP-Alert, PC-OPI and DSSatTool |
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Reviews:
·Verizon Online DSL
| reply to mtn hermit
Where I live in Huffman, TX my internet options are pretty limited, the only land based service available is Verizon DSL and the most the line here would support was a 768Kb/s downlink, I had used them for a while then thought about going with the WB satellite option but didn't like the thought of a 2yr contract in case I didn't like the service, the thought of high pings is what really turned me away, I have ended up tethering with my iPhone 4 on AT&T and have been really happy with the speed and latency, only down side is the 4GB data cap, a typical month for me is about 6-7GB. Now that the new WB bird is pretty much live satellite internet for you may be a viable option since the speeds and latency are projected to be much better.
Attached is a screen grab of what I typically get in the house with the phone, outside is a good bit better due to my house having metal siding which I'm sure has an effect on the cell signal quality. |
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| reply to mtn hermit
I actually went in and spoke with an AT&T rep to see if I could get some facts on tethering with their 'elevate' device.. I can only get 3G too, and it's 'ok' at best. What the guy told me was that, with *good* 3G signal, I was looking at 1-2Mbps down, at best. And with that device, they require the 5GB data plan, which costs $50/mo. Soooo, $50/mo for 5GB at 1-2Mbps...at best.
Compare that to Exede, which offers 12Mbps to the Eastern half of the country and 5Mbps to the rest, and also offers a 7.5GB cap for the same $50.
And both have a 24mo service committment.
No brainer -- satellite is the better deal. Sucks, but it's true. May be different if we were talking 4G/LTE, but still, AT&T hits you for $10/GB regardless.. Exede's largest cap is 25GB and it's "only" $130/mo, which is half the price of AT&T..
People like to talk smack about satellite broadband caps and say "I'd just tether!"...but the reality is mobile data caps are very small, and quite pricey.. Nobody ever talks about THAT though.. :-/ |
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dbirdmanPremium,MVM
join:2003-07-07
Eureka, CA
kudos:5 | said by cmjust0 :People like to talk smack about satellite broadband caps and say "I'd just tether!"...but the reality is mobile data caps are very small, and quite pricey.. Nobody ever talks about THAT though.. :-/
A lot of us are grandfathered on unlimited accounts. Others take advantage of third-party sellers that will give you 20GB per month for the same price.
I use whatever works best where I am at any given time. At the moment that is satellite, but when I'm in a good 3G area there is no question that I move over to my tethered Droid. Of course in 4G (which I only have limited experience with) it blows everything else away.
There actually is 3G in my current location (on BLM land south of Quartzsite, AZ), but with 100K+ temporary desert residents all trying to use it at the same time it is way slower than 1XRTT.
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Motosat self-pointing dishes: 1.2-meter XF-3 on 127W, .74 meter G74 on 127W, SL-5 HD DirecTV|idirect 3100|Hughes HN7000S|Verizon UMW190 Air Card|1990 Blue Bird Wanderlodge Bus "Blue Thunder"|Author of hnFAP-Alert, PC-OPI and DSSatTool |
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Reviews:
 ·Charter
 ·Virgin Mobile Br..
·Millenicom
 ·HughesNet Satell..
 ·ooma
| reply to cmjust0
EXEDE also requires a $149 "activation" fee, and a $9.99 LEASE fee for the equipment.
RECALCULATE ! !
said by cmjust0 :I actually went in and spoke with an AT&T rep to see if I could get some facts on tethering with their 'elevate' device.. I can only get 3G too, and it's 'ok' at best. What the guy told me was that, with *good* 3G signal, I was looking at 1-2Mbps down, at best. And with that device, they require the 5GB data plan, which costs $50/mo. Soooo, $50/mo for 5GB at 1-2Mbps...at best.
Compare that to Exede, which offers 12Mbps to the Eastern half of the country and 5Mbps to the rest, and also offers a 7.5GB cap for the same $50.
And both have a 24mo service committment.
No brainer -- satellite is the better deal. Sucks, but it's true. May be different if we were talking 4G/LTE, but still, AT&T hits you for $10/GB regardless.. Exede's largest cap is 25GB and it's "only" $130/mo, which is half the price of AT&T..
People like to talk smack about satellite broadband caps and say "I'd just tether!"...but the reality is mobile data caps are very small, and quite pricey.. Nobody ever talks about THAT though.. :-/
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| Yes, recalculate: $70.00/month for 7 Gigs
AT&T hikes rates on smartphone plans
NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- The mobile data our smartphones love to suck up is once again going up in price.
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For tablets like Apple's iPad, customers can choose between a $15 per month plan for 250 MB, a $30 a month plan for 3 GB or a $50 a month plan for 5 GB.
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AT&T said it will notify customers as they approach their data limits. It will charge a $20 overage fee for an extra 300 MB for the low-tier plans, and $10 per extra GB on the higher-tiered plans.
»money.cnn.com/2012/01/18/technol···ndex.htm |
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| reply to cmjust0
Well really you can't compare satellite and Mobile price wise. On my phone I carry my internet connection with me where I go. Satellite is a fixed service. It's like comparing your mobile phone to your home phone. I don't have a home phone anymore even though it was cheaper then my mobile.
But I think the $49.99 17gb down 5gb up package from Wildblue they are offering new customers now is actually pretty good. If it worked good. I'd take that over the new Excede packages.
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Reviews:
·WildBlue
| said by saturn2121 :Well really you can't compare satellite and Mobile price wise. On my phone I carry my internet connection with me where I go. Satellite is a fixed service. It's like comparing your mobile phone to your home phone. I don't have a home phone anymore even though it was cheaper then my mobile.
But I think the $49.99 17gb down 5gb up package from Wildblue they are offering new customers now is actually pretty good. If it worked good. I'd take that over the new Excede packages.
For satellite $49.99 for 17GB is not bad at all. Unfortunately that is for new customers only and it only last for a limited time before the price goes back up to $80. Not to mention you will be stuck on the current traffic shaping system Wildblue has in place, which is atrocious.
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