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| In need of advice Mellinicom vs. Wireless n' wifi Hi, folks. I'm a newbie to the forum, and sure hope I'm posting this in the correct place.
We have been receiving internet through Clearwave (via Alltel, then via Midwest Wireless and currently via Verizon). We pay $35 per mo for the wonderful statistics of ping 467 / DL speed 0.13 MBPS / UL speed 0.09 MBPS According to my gaming son, these are at the high-end of our service!
I feel that the current programs offered by Verizon are extremely limiting and cost-prohibitive. I have 3 teenagers (One will be home-schooled, lots of online activity) and I am on the internet for several hours a day myself.
Based on our current use, I know we would exceed our limits monthly, resulting in nasty surprises come billing time. And I really have no desire to act as the Internet Usage Cop -- in addition to my other parenting duties!
Additionally, pricing is an issue. $70 / mo is about the max I am willing to pay.
However, VZW is the ONLY network that works in my home. T-Mobile & Sprint users have to stand on my front porch to get service on cellphones.
HughesNet, Bluesky, Exede are all offering the exact same program as VZW -- expensive, contract-required, and limited data. We are in a rural area in S. Minnesota, no chance of anything other than satellite or -gasp!- dial-up here. Clear, Karma, and every other newbie internet provider are not available in our area, either.
Mellinicom doesn't offer the unlimited (soft cap 50GB per mo) on the Verizon network, only Sprint.
1) Does a booster make any difference, if I took a chance on the unlimited Sprint network? Any other hardware recommendations?
2) Will WnW suspend service, like I've read that M will do for overages?
3) Is there a BYOD that I could purchase (ebay, etc.) that would allow me to use the unlimited plan through Mellinicom on the VZW network? (I'm guessing no, but it doesn't hurt to ask!)
4) If anyone is aware of alternative companies, please share them.
5) Looking at the hardware available on WnW, I assume that one is able to purchase based on the network needed. Is this a correct assumption?
Thanks for any feedback or advice. I have until 8/28 to get our internet upgraded, so I need to make some decisions pretty quickly. | | |
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| Why don't you call Millenicom and ask your questions? That's the best way to get accurate answers as to their services. | |
| I have spoken with Mellinicom's reps via chat, and I am awaiting reply to an inquiry emailed to WnW. If you speak to Apple support, they aren't going to tell you how to jailbreak your device, right? I was just hoping that someone out there could provide more information. Thanks. | |
| I would hope that on one on here would give out information (jailbreak) that would violate Millenicom's TOS on their wireless plans.
Now if you are interested in the terms of their plans so if they offer what you need, then you are at the right place. | |
| reply to Reeney26
1. Yes, boosters and amplifiers can make a huge difference. Problem is that all current boosters and amplifiers are no longer in compliance with FCC rules that were passed last Feb. 20th and take full effect on March 1, 2014. It's a long story, but suffice it to say unless something amazing comes out before then, all boosters and amps will need the OK by the carriers to continue or face fines.
2. No idea what wirelessnwifi's tolerance of high overages are. I bet they'll let you buy more than one plan though.
3. The Unlimited and BYOD Plans with Millenicom are Sprint, they do not have an unlimited solution for Verizon.
4. I've heard www.bmi.net has an unlimited plan.
5. The "hardware" for wirelessnwifi is the Sierra 250U and it is a correct assumption that they'll let you purchase it. | |
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| *** - Our acceptable use for unlimited data is 30 Gigs in a one month period. Usage over that amount will trigger an investigation.
said by kolbitar:4. I've heard www.bmi.net has an unlimited plan.
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| reply to Reeney26
First of all, I feel for you. While I am single, no children, there are some similarities between your situation and mine. I'll try to answer your questions as best I can, and I hope my answers are of help. Let me say up front that I'm currently with WnW, and I will recommend you explore that option, though you need to take a few steps first.
said by Reeney26:T-Mobile & Sprint users have to stand on my front porch to get service on cellphones...Does a booster make any difference, if I took a chance on the unlimited Sprint network? Any other hardware recommendations? I have no experience with boosters but, if others in this thread are correct, that may not be an option for you anyway.
However there may be an alternative. In my case, I'm in a Manhattan high-rise, and I get rather poor reception inside my home. However I use a Tri-Fi (one of the devices available to you as a WnW subscriber). The Tri-Fi is a hotspot; more than one computer can connect to it since it accepts wireless connections. So I simply stick it in a window and I get acceptable performance.
What I suggest you do is go to Sprint and go for either their three-day trial period (very cheap) or their fourteen-day trial period (not as cheap but still reasonable), get yourself something small and waterproof in which to put the Hotspot, and stick the Hotspot on the porch. Every night, when your Internet usage goes to bed, take it inside and recharge it. See what kind of performance you get; you may find it's perfectly fine.
said by Reeney26:Will WnW suspend service, like I've read that M will do for overages? I have two data points, my own experience and information I have from others. Information from others indicates that the service is not unlimited, that there is an unofficial 100 gig limit.
My personal experience is somewhat more ambivalent. When I directly confronted and questioned WnW on this rumor, I was repeatedly told by them that that simply is not true, that there is no limit whatsoever. However, subsequently, I downloaded 112 gigs my first month, and promptly received a tongue-clucking message asking whether this was to be my typical usage, and expressing concern that their fleet might be endangered by this level of usage. To WnW's credit, they did NOT terminate my service, nor did they make any claim that I was violating their TOS. But they were clearly not happy. I've asked around and most who've pondered this situation have concluded that while there is no limit, they DO keep an eye on average usage of all their customers put together, and are betting it won't get above a certain amount. If it threatens to do so, they use persuasion and hints to get people back in line. In my case, it had the desired effect. My data total in this last month was roughly half what it had been in June, 64 gigs (actually there were unusual circumstances in June that had led to that 112 figure, which is considerably above what I normally download).
said by Reeney26:Is there a BYOD that I could purchase (ebay, etc.) that would allow me to use the unlimited plan through Mellinicom on the VZW network? (I'm guessing no, but it doesn't hurt to ask!) I seriously doubt it. What you're seeing in terms of "unlimited" availability on Sprint at Millenicom and WnW has to do with the fact that Sprint used to offer unlimited, still offers it on phones, and doesn't have a problem with unlimited usage on an isolated scattered basis. That has not been the case with Verizon for years, with the exception of a few old grandfathered plans.
said by Reeney26:If anyone is aware of alternative companies, please share them. I'm afraid I'm not aware of any, and I've researched this extensively on an ongoing basis. Millenicom and WnW are about it. BMI is a new one on me, but with a 30 gig limit, it's a bit of a piker and really doesn't belong in this category.
Speaking of which, it continues to be an absolute, complete, thorough, profound and total mystery to me that this forum has a Millenicom discussion page but not a WnW page. The two offer very similar services and there is far more logic to having discussion pages for both of them, or discussion pages for neither, than to have a discussion page for one but not the other. There is supposed to be a mechanism on this web site to make suggestions like that for the attention and consideration of the owners and moderators, and I did indeed post such a suggestion at »[request] Wireless 'N' WiFi Forum way back on June 17th. To the best of my knowledge, not one of this site's owners or moderators appear to have even noticed the posting, though there have been a few replies from other regular users. (There was one unfavorable reaction from someone who was unfamiliar with, and confused, about the service both WnW and Millenicom provide, but generally the response was mildly favorable.) It may be that the owners and moderators of this site now use a different method to monitor and evaluate such suggestions, but so far I haven't found it.
said by Reeney26:Looking at the hardware available on WnW, I assume that one is able to purchase based on the network needed. Is this a correct assumption? Well, keep in mind that WnW only does Sprint, not VzW. To the best of my knowledge, they offer two Sprint 4G devices, the 250U and the Tri-Fi; the former does only 3G and WiMax; the latter does LTE as well, the only hotspot I know that does (only the 1900 band for LTE; that's all that's available at the moment, but Sprint will be rolling LTE out on two other frequencies as well in the near future, 800 and 2500). They do not offer a BYOD program (like Millenicom), and the devices one gets from them are provided by WnW, for which there are up front charges. But WnW offers the highest not-quite-unlimited package out there, and they're really the only game in town if one expects to download/upload more than 50 gigs.
Actually not completely true: Clear also offers truly unlimited, and at a lower cost. Their problem, however, is that they only offer the WiMax network, which is like Swiss cheese. If you're one of those rare persons with good WiMax and who NEVER needs to travel with good Internet, then Clear is an okay deal, if you're willing to put up with the occasional throttling they inflict on some of their customers.
But if you're an ordinary mortal who needs to travel on occasion, and wants Internet availability on a reasonably reliable basis away from home, or someone who simply doesn't have good WiMax at home, then WnW is about it.
In your case, I think that about covers it. However, for those who can afford to wait for a year or two, Clear may become a more live option at some point. They are working on their own LTE. No one appears to know for sure whether they will be offering it unlimited, as they do with WiMax. If they do, and if the Clear LTE network is not the piece of high-grade Swiss cheese their WiMax has proven to be, and if they do not implement the very oppressive throttling policies they have practiced in some areas with their WiMax, then the Clear LTE might be a very good deal. That's a lot of ifs, of course. | |
| reply to Reeney26
When you input Le Sueur, MN into the Sprint coverage map, it shows that you are right in the middle of the 4G LTE coverage area for data. Therefore, a service using the Sprint network should work for you, unless your house is in a really poor reception area. A good external antenna can help immensely.
I use Wireless N Wifi and have been very pleased so far. You can get the Sierra Wireless Tri-Fi 803S from them which will work on all Sprint services. The upfront cost is a bit steep, but their service seems to be the least limited of the "unlimited" wireless data services. | |
| reply to Reeney26
I'm using Wireless N wifi Sprint service. I switched from Millenicom when Sprint started offering 4G in my area. I would have stayed with Millenicom if they had offered a higher data cap. I figured for an extra ten dollars a month it made sense to have the extra 50gb of data.
I am very pleased with the service now that I have it set up right. I had some early issues with disconnects but I believe it was the modem firmware (u770).
I watch a couple of hours of netflix every night and use the service for data intensive work related tasks and have no worries about overages. 100 gb should be the STANDARD cap, not the exception. I was on the Verizon Millenicom plan and propably could have gotten Verizon 4G here but it wasn't even a consideration. Why would I buy the 20GB cap at a premium price? The Verizon 3G service sucked when I had it and I didn't expect the 4G service to be any better.
Millenicom is a great company. Verizon sucks. 
So far Sprint seems pretty good. | |
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