iansltx
join:2007-02-19
Fredericksburg, TX
 ·Qwest.net
 ·Comcast
 ·magicjack.com
 ·BeeCreek Communica..
·Sprint Mobile Broa..
| reply to formeat
Re: Any experience with Cricket Wireless Broadband?
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
·Qwest.net
·Comcast
·magicjack.com
·BeeCreek Communica..
·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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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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