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koam
Pink Pecker
Premium Member
join:2000-08-16
East Puddle
·Shoreham Telephone

koam

Premium Member

[Mobile] NetZero 4G Mobile Broadband (Hotspot device) Free 1yea

Just saw a TV commercial for NetZero 4G Mobile Broadband as ISP. Not sure which FORUM this goes into... Hey Mods?

Anyway they say they have 4G for as little as $10 a month with 1 year free trial.

It looks like it's a wireless hotspot device... that lets you share the connection, with security, to computers, etc.

Very interesting? Where on DSLREPORTS is this being discussed?
iansltx
join:2007-02-19
Austin, TX

iansltx

Member

Re: [Mobile] NetZero 4G Mobile Broadband (Hotspot device) Free

Probably the Clearwire forum.

Why?

Because NetZero's 4G is just resold Clear WiMAX. The service is passable (comparable to AT&T HSPA+) where you can get a good signal. However Clearwire's network, due to the frequency it runs on, is without question the most fragile wireless network in the country...stop inside a building and watch your signal plummet, unless you're quite close to a tower.

Also, Clearwire isn't investing any more cash in building out their WiMAX network...they're saving up for augmenting Sprint's LTE capacity next year. So coverage issues will persist and maybe get worse over time, until the network gets decommissioned in 2015 or so.

But hey, where it works, it works pretty well. I'm sitting practically under a Clear tower right now, and get 6+ mbps down and 1.5 Mbps up at the moment. My apartment is 1000 or so feet from the tower, so speeds are similar there, even indoors. Don't know how far the signal stays good though quite yet...just bought the hotspot to do testing.

Speaking of which, if you'd rather have time-limited data-unlimited access, Clearwire's own service is a better choice...they sell passes from two hours ($5) up through one day ($10) and one week ($20 to one month ($50). But there's no free option like Netzero...then again, you can get a day pass compatible hotspot for $50 at best Buy, where NetZero's hotspot is $100.