Air Cards

[Gina D.]

Sort of, I have had a Blackberry for awhile, it's kinda the same, on a little screen.

It has irked me that I pay for a land line at home simply to get my DSL service. Like many, my "Phone" is my cell.. I can't remember the last time I used my land line at home.

Why should I? The cell long distance is free, I have little use for "yaking" on the phone anyway.. most of the time, my cell is used for business and quick calls. All else (Emails, Instant messaging etc) seems to be my communication device.

Land line + DSL to get on internet at home = 79 a month. And that stays put within my house.

Blackberry as cell and internet device, 95 a month, but it goes mobile, however, the screen is small. I am not complaining, it has served me well, but frankly, I don't need my emails delivered instantly. Nothing is so important it can't wait.

So, I check with Verizon today to see if I can swap my Blackberry internet service without penalty to an Air Card.. the reasonably new wireless braodband access cards for your laptop. It runs on thier National and broadband service.. via wireless.

"Sure, no problem, you only have to buy the card". OK, how much? "99 with a 50 dollar rebate". And I can still use my Blackberry as a phone? "Yep, and you can also connect to the net with the BB still, we just charge by the Kb" And how much is that? ".015 per kb, 15 buck per MB" (OK, I tell myself, THATS not cheap, but if in a pinch, I haven't lost it)

I buy the air card, bring it home, ez pz set up and connection.. WHAM.. I am on at 724kbs. My dsl is 768Kbs. Boo Hoo, whoopie. I lost a little. BUT..

Now I can dump the landline and DSL, save 80 bones a month, and take my laptop anywhere I can get a data signal from Verizon and be online! Like on the road.

No more hoping for a campground or RV Park with a whimpy crowded wifi connection. No more PAYING 10 bucks a day for a good one in some private parks.

I need to scour the fine print, but this is an unlimited connection, just like my BB was, which was on 24/7. I have heard they sometimes say unlimited, but really mean you get a bundle of transfer, then they charge you by the kb. But, I have also not heard of anyone going over myself.. just from reading on the net I have heard folks that download music and movies grumping.

I am going to try this for a week and see how well it does, then off with the wires and the bills!!! Yay!

Anyone else doing this? What is your experience if you have relied on it as your soul Internet Connection?

[Dan Quinn]

yes keep us informed i would like to dump the home phone the only reason is for the net but i have always been afraid of the $$$ for useing cell for the net..

[Gina D.]

In looking thru the lawyer print...

You are not supped to run webcams, download movies games or music. I don't do any of those but webcams, and they do not run 24/7, so they no doubt won't have a clue unless I stay connected for hours. (I used to have several cam pages for my dogs.. I had 4 running all day, a live stream, not just updaters. I quit doing that ages ago.. anyone wanna buy some expensive webcams? ) The fine print also stated it is not intended as a substitute for phone service.. hmnn.. thats generic, and no doubt unique to Verizon. They stand to lose a LOT on hard wires by introducing this service. Or perhaps they mean Voip.. thats not allowed either.

I have run several speed tests, my UPLOAD speed is at 524kbs where my DSL is locked at 128.. and I rarely get that. (Also, for the cams, I USED to have a 1024/768.. but dropped those higher speeds a couple years ago)

Keep in mind I am on the fringe of a cell area.. if it stays this nice.. score!

I also see you don't get a static IP addy. Oh well.

[Bigfoot Mike]

I have been using the Verizon Data card in my Dell note book for about two years. I have a little older technology and can’t get the speeds you are reporting, but I get online in most places. Oregon was where we had the most problems.

We were using it two years ago when we went to the Oregon Rally.

Lori uses it to get online when we are on the freeway traveling. We look up RV parks, Trader Joes, all sorts of stuff while traveling.

Yes, We have unlimited access for the monthly fee. I use it to get online when dealing with my customers at restaurants, etc.

[Roger H]

Anyone else doing this? What is your experience if you have relied on it as your soul Internet Connection?

My soul isn't connected to the internet yet. Just about everything else is tho!

Ok... now for a serious question... if you have more than one computer, how would you network your broadband connection with an AirCard? Oh... and the static IP? I think that's an extra $20/mo with most DSL providers. Generally I think the lease on your IP is about 72 hours before it renews...

Roger

[Jeremy Witt]

What about getting cable internet and dumping a land line phone completely? Since you don't use the landline you wouldn't need it.

Get rid of the blackberry since you are saying you don't need instant email.

Cable internet = Roughly $50 / month + cell phone only bill = Savings?

Just a thought. We don't use cell phones. We have a couple of the pay as you go Tracfones for emergencies. Otherwise we use our land line. And frankly, I kind of like not being "available" all the time. When our kids get into the teenage years, that will change.

[Darwin Maring]

Jeremy,

Do yourself a favor and put in a 2nd line for the kids when the time comes otherwise you will be answering the phone all times of the day and night with the question on the other end, "Is ??? There". I use to say yes then hang up and when they finally talked to my daughter would say, your dad was rude to me last night at 11PM when I called.

I put in the 2nd line, got them an answering machine and we (Parents) never answered that phone. Now when that phone quit ringing and myne rang and I got the same question on the other end "Is ??? There" I would answer, I have caller ID and I'm calling your parents at 3 am in the morning to let them know they are raising an Idiot. That stopped those calls to my line.

[Gina D.]

What about getting cable internet

1. I have Direct TV
2. Cable isn't very Mobile. Air card AND Direct TV is.
3 Re: BB. I still use it as a PDA and cell phone. The keyboard on it makes it very easy to use. So, I wasn't interested in getting rid of it. +, thats an awfully expenseive paper weight.

Ah, Roger.. you remind me now of why I enjoy being single...I live alone.. every teeny tiny bit of bandwidth is MINE MINE and only MINE!.. so I don't worry about that.

You can still network with it, just use your laptop as the mothership. All else is the same. The dogs don't get too upset if they can't get online when I am not here.

You are also allowed to use the card on any machine your want. I can install it on my work laptop too.. they don't care.

[Jeremy Witt]

Jeremy,

Do yourself a favor and put in a 2nd line for the kids when the time comes otherwise you will be answering the phone all times of the day and night with the question on the other end, "Is XXX There". I use to say yes then hang up and when they finally talked to my daughter would say, your dad was rude to me last night at 11PM when I called.

I put in the 2nd line, got them an answering machine and we (Parents) never answered that phone. Now when that phone quit ringing and myne rang and I got the same question on the other end "Is XXX There" I would answer, I have caller ID and I'm calling your parents at 3 am in the morning to let them know they are raising an Idiot. That stopped those calls to my line.

AAAAH Yes, I can't wait for those days!

[MKohlman]

Anyone else doing this? What is your experience if you have relied on it as your soul Internet Connection?

I've been one of the leads on a project to deploy a corporate Exchange Server and equip our Sales and Executive staff with Windows Mobile Devices (TREO 700w's, Samsung i730 -i830's) as well as Aircards. Hence I generally get to play with all the toys. (currently a Samsung i830, which can display this web site reasonably well, BTW)

The Aircards work very well as long as you have the coverage. What I have found is that it is nearly as easy to use the Samsing i830 as a USB Modem with my laptop and get the best of both worlds. Our biggest beef with Verizon right now is that currently they are "double dipping", as far as I'm concerned, because if we wish to equip someone with an Aircard (we are evaluating some Dells with the Aircard integrated into the laptop) and a PDA/Phone you've got to pay full price for data access on both.

From a service general & quality standpoint we have been very happy with the roll-out so far.

- Michael

[Brian B-P]

The Verizon service - like most wireless companies now - is 1x data, also known as 3G (for third-generation), and it comes in a higher-speed variation which is called 1x EV-DO. 1x data service (from various companies) is only available in limited areas (although it's quite widespread now) and EV-DO is newer and thus even more limited: for instance, in Alberta most cities/towns and highways have 1X, but only the two major cities have EV-DO (and not at my house). In some provinces, even areas with digital coverage are not 1X, and I have been in rural areas of both provinces and states where there was no cell phone service - even analog - let alone digital data. None of this matters if you have service where you need it.

I worked with someone who had an early deployment of 1x EV-DO and used it exclusively to do support work from home - he was pleased with the service.

As Gina mentioned, an AirCard (or other 1x network device that plugs into your computer) can be moved from computer to computer; in fact, some of them must be initially configured in a Windows machine, even if you are only going to use them in a Macintosh later. To simultaneously share with typical home equipment, the only obvious way to me would be to forward network traffic through the machine with the card to others via your (wired or wireless) network connection. All major operating systems support IP forwarding, but this is not routine configuration stuff. If your wireless access point supports PC Card network interfaces, the AirCard could perhaps be plugged into it, but that's not typical home equipment.

By the way, AirCard is a specific brand name, and I believe that Verizon now offers Kyocera devices instead for 1x EV-DO service.

I don't see how charging for two completely independent devices is "double dipping", but I notice that one supplier here has a plan which charges for data volume, but then allows that data to be shared (like shared cell phone minutes) among a set of wireless devices for which the fixed monthly fee is very small.

[Ron N]

Back in the "olden days", it used to be a LAN (local area network) line. I don't know what a "land line" is but I'm guessing that it's the same thing. I'm starting to get pretty frustrated about television too. There's something, something "SVU", something "CSI", "IUD" (er, is that something else?), now "1xEV-Do". HELP!!! I'm going to read my AARP magazine and see if they have some sort of guide to all the technology.

[Byron Kinnaman]

Back in the "olden days", it used to be a LAN (local area network) line. I don't know what a "land line" is but I'm guessing that it's the same thing.

Nope. Two different

[Gina D.]

Land Line = the wire coming into your house and plugging into your phone that you pay ma bell every month for.

Brian, Verizons service IS 1x EVDO in markets provisioned to do EVDO. As is my Blackberry 7250..

Has been for quite awhile. LA metro is one of the first areas to have it.

"Aircard" is a model name, yes, but "Aircard" is used now like "Kleenex". It's all a broadband wirless service card, or a snot rag.

My card is a Curitel

[Roger H]

Ron,

Back in the old days when there were only radio waves as an alternative, the telephone became the "land line" among folks who used both. It's origin is definately in the age of analog and far pre-dates digital!

Roger

[Pete Dumbleton]

Enen an all-digital fiber optic cable is considered a land line.

[Brian B-P]

...Verizons service IS 1x EVDO in markets provisioned to do EVDO.

Looking back, I see that I wasn't clear, and I have now edited my earlier post. 1X EV-DO is 1X, and I didn't mean to suggest that Verizon's service wasn't the higher speed. I was just saying that Verizon is one of the companies that uses the 1X system, not one of the alternative technologies. Of course, as a Verizon user if you come to my house you will be lucky to get 1X at any speed, and you will not get EV-DO.

Verizon provides a coverage map for basic 1X service (which they call NationalAccess or just Wireless Internet Service) and a list of specific cites for 1X EV-DO (which they call BroadbandAccess). Twenty-one states have no EV-DO service at all, but I'm not criticizing Verizon: they do have a large network (they say the a largest). It's really expensive and time-consuming to install all of the supporting equipment.

[Nita F.]

I understand the desire to be mobile but allow me to give you a good reason to at least keep a basic land line in your home. We live 60 miles north of New Orleans and stayed home during Hurricane Katrina. Luckily we had no structural damage but had lots of trees down on the road and yard. We had no cell service for at least 2 weeks and sporadic service for the next month. And our internet provider was also out of service for 3 weeks.
Also, we were without electricity for 1 week, much luckier than a lot of others. We purchased a generator and were able to run it long enough to be able to cool our home for our elderly family members, keep the freezer frozen, and run some lights and a small tv to see what was happening. The hardest thing was driving into Baton Rouge to wait an hour in line to purchase gasoline for the generator and vehicles. There you could use your cell phone if the battery was charged.

Now the one thing that continued to work perfectly was our land line non-cordless telephone. We were able to stay in touch with other family members in the area, and those outside could check on us. Between family, friends, and co-workers who evacuated our phone stayed busy.

I pray none of you ever have to deal with this type of situation but there are weather problems of other sorts everywhere. Just think about this before you get rid of your land line.

Nita

[Gina D.]

Hi Nita,

You got all my sympathies. Altho not comparable to the devistation of Katrina, I do live in an area that is prone to natural disaters. I have evaced from my home twice since 2003 due to wildfire and flood as a result of damage from wildfire. I do not believe the land will heal in my lifetime.

I (And 4 other members here) live right smack in the middle of the area that burned in So. Cal in october of 2003 where 1000 homes were lost. 1 of them by a member here.

Up here, the infrastructure is SO old, that even on a good day, the electricity is iffy. Who knows what makes it go out, it just does. (It's a standard joke here, and I am coveted by my neighbors who all pile into my trailer in my driveway to watch tv and movies powered by my house battery or gen set ) We do not have widespread underground utilities here, so the hanging wires for electric and phone are often the first things effected when the wind blows.

The cell towers seem to survive tho, so actually, when these horrid things happen, the cell is about the only thing of modern time that functions.

Now my neighbors can check thier email too Maybe I should charge?

[Ron N]

I see that I have failed in my humble attempt to add some humor to this thread. I'm going back to my room now...