BlissWorld

I know that Verizon is a lot faster and covers a lot more area than Sprint. However, I have read on internet forums that Verizon will cut you off after you reach a specific number of download volume. Is that true? Actually, in the T&C from Verizon, it actually speficies that users cannot use it to download large files, streams movie and whatnot, which is REDICULOUS.

I know that Spring is also pretty fast but is it really at broadband speed (fast than DSL??)? I am thinking about switching from Cable internet ($$$$) to one of those 2 wireless carriers. I figure, hey, if it's at broadband speed, why not just pay a little bit more and get wireless broadband everywhere I go.

Any suggestions?

nerd

There's some previous discussion in a thread in this forum, somewhere. I know that Verizon got a large head start on Sprint, but that Sprint quickly caught up on deploying their coverage.

To answer your question, yes it is broadband speed. I just ran a test and am getting 675kbps as we speak.

runnerwallah

In my experience with Sprint wireless broadband, the speeds are fast but the latency is significantly higher. That can be annoying for some. I myself prefer low latency, which is why I didn't do that.

TAHKUCT

I have been using Sprint. They have Rev a coverage in major markets already which gives you higher upload speed. On verizon which is only have Rev 0 officially the top upload speed is only 144 kbs. Sprint is also much cheaper. You can get it as cheap as $50.00 per month with 2 year contract for unlimited (true unlimited. Verizon cost you $80.00 for unlimited, but they will cut your service if you go over 5GB of data in a month.

If you are interested in Sprint PM me and I can tell you how to get $50 price plus a free card. Plus depending on a company you work, you can get additional monthly discounts.

More info is also available at http://www.evdoforums.com/

Somewhere Over the Atlantic

Verizon's EVDO is no faster than Sprint's. Like the previous posted mentioned, go to Evdoforums.com to read about empirical experiences for yourself.

Something else to consider are Verizon's TOS (terms of service). Not only are you constrained by amount of data downloaded, but also what type of content, even if your d/l amount is < 5 g. For example, streaming is prohibited--a showstopper, if you like listening to online radio stations.

I've used Sprint's service for several years, and have been very pleased with the extent and quality of their coverage, all things considered. Yes, the latency is higher than a wired connection, but the ability to take your connection essentially anywhere more than compensates.

wolfowitz36

My e-mail is [email protected]. Im about to get sprint wireless broadband rather than verizon from what i have researched. Can you hook me up with that free card and 50$ please. PLease email soon cuase if not i gonna just go to the store within the coming days.

TAHKUCT

Welcome to FT

Just a suggestion, unless you want to be spammed to remove your email address from your post. My original post was made on 1/07 that is more then a 7 month ago, at that time Sprint had a promotion for SERO plan that anybody could sign up. $49.99 SERO plan is still available as long as you are referred by a Sprint Employee and no longer available to a general public. Here is a link: www.sprint.com/sero

As stated in previous posts more info available at evdoforums .com and sprintusers.com

Apexdv

My company (a streaming media company) currently uses Verizon for our data cards after switching some time back from Sprint due to coverage issues (based in SFO and ATL with travel in all 50 states).

My average usage for my card (the bean counters in the home office tell me) is approx 15-18 GB pr month of download v/s the usual 8-10 GB which is the company-wide average. No, I'm not watching that sort of streaming media!

We've never been hit with FAP (Fair Access Policy) as it is called in the satellite data world and there are approx. 30 of us. Of course, it may be that we are on a business account, too. Dunno. I do know we were cut for a while with Sprint due to heavy usage (approx. 10 mos ago or so for about 2 days).

The average speed of the Verizon service has been overall, significantly faster, often double and triple of what Sprint was offering at the time we switched. However, it is also completely dependent on coverage and depending on your area you could end up in one of the dreaded "Extended Access" areas with a 2-8 kbps download speed - seriously! (parts of FL and NC are horrible even in the metro areas - ATL is fantastic)

This may not answer your question but I thought I would give you my 2 cents worth as I am a heavy user of Verizon and a past heavy user of Sprint.

Cheers.

PS - I am connected via Verizon right now at a really great speed in MEM. Below is an excerpt from the usage log from the past few days displaying quantities, etc:

Duration Bytes Received Bytes Sent Total Bytes
1923 9784406 549415 10333821
1953 9785961 550827 10336788
4717 45323464 5304361 50627825
1530 14183430 831655 15015085
1576 14246088 837386 15083474
1767 12126975 1644137 13771112
2092 7544960 1543619 9088579
389 1076124 494502 1570626
4731 12423356 2926272 15349628
4881 12868773 3003740 15872513
132 552546 110172 662718
182 686076 270729 956805
73 106598 70082 176680
173 697112 277451 974563
66 113078 73564 186642
247 369410 222066 591476
1618 2366066 841585 3207651
1612 2409499 859337 3268836
765 2228963 451456 2680419
390 1839114 234687 2073801
382 2053932 246024 2299956
1477 5464820 1298180 6763000

thegingerman

I have a verizon account. I've been happy with the coverage, and have never run into data limits, even though I use a lot of data.

Rom Sac

It's fairly clear that the SERO plan is effectively available to the public at this point. If you hunt around a little you can find out how to access it. You might also try HowardForums.

dpb

My first experience with wireless inernet on Amtrak's NEC last Friday was excellent. I used Verizon Wireless USB720 modem with an Arc Freedom passive booster antenna, and with the modem plugged into both USB ports on an old Mac PowerBook G4.

I travelled from WAS to NYP during mid-afternoon and never lost the connection, even in tunnels and stations and even in the cell-phone dead zones on either side of PHL. This is much better connectivity than I had expected and I'm looking forward to being able to use internet resources efficiently on the c. 90 roundtrips/year that I make.

hsh101

Does anyone have any experience with Cingular's wireless broadband? I'm looking to get my company to set me up with wireless broadband, but I think their carrier of choice is Cingular. I'm wondering if I should try hard to steer them to another carrier instead, or just go with Cingular.

phillychuck

You might want to check out www.evdoforums.com for lots of discussion on the topic.

Just got a merlin sprint card for my macintosh macbook pro, and very happy. Now, if someone can tell me if/how I might be able to use it when I get to Japan this Friday, I'll be thrilled (I know, this is not possible ).

TAHKUCT

To your surprise it might be possible roaming on KDDI:

http://cdg.org/worldwide/index.asp I am not sure if it is exactly the same 800 Mhz as we have it here.

auh2o

Any updates on Verizon vs Sprint? My company is rolling out Verizon or Sprint aircards out to about 10,000 folks. I get to pick which company I go with.