[Crashby]

I'm going to be on the road (locally) a lot this month trying to pull off two simultaneous full time jobs. Soooo, I'm thinking about getting Verizon Wireless Broadband... its about 60 bones per month, and is supposed to be fairly quick and reliable... 300-400Kbps.I think Sprint has a similar service (or is about to offer it).

Anyone else using wireless broadband?

BTW - here is a kewl link to test your bandwidth speed:

http://specials.zdnet.co.uk/misc/band-test/speedtest500.html

 

[binary visions]

From what I understand, it operates on Wi-Fi when it is in range of a Verizon Wi-Fi signal, and on the cellular network the rest of the time.

I don't know about the Wi-Fi speed, but when it dumps onto the cellular network, it's pretty slow. I used one for a few weeks last year. Very much like dial-up, only less reliable (speed will vary depending on where you are in your house, for instance). It's okay in a pinch, but if you end up with a cellular connection all the time, you'll probably be pretty frustrated.

 

[jimmydean]

A guy at work at my last job had one and thought it worked well enough. It was a cingular sim card in a pcmcia wifi card. I never used it, but he had no complaints about it.

 

[splat]

One of our directors had it , and hated it , said it was too spotty on the coverage.

 

[Crashby]

Verizon claims an AVERAGE of 300-400Kbps... thats fairly fast... and I really only need it for corporate vpn email access. I just need to continue the illusion that I am always "at my desk" even if I am traveling to 10 different properties throughout the day.

 

[Crashby]

One of our directors had it , and hated it , said it was too spotty on the coverage.

Luckily, I'm going to be immediately around the downtown area in Rochester... that should ensure fairly consistent coverage vs. burbs...

Where was the director using it? (rural/ city, etc.).

 

[Thrillkil]

There's been a technology in development called WiMax for a while. This is a means to make a wireless broadband network with a 15 mile radius, which can take the place of having to plug your modem into the cable line.

 

[binary visions]

Verizon claims an AVERAGE of 300-400Kbps... thats fairly fast...

That average only applies when you are connected to the Verizon Wi-Fi network (or whatever they're calling it... BroadbandAccess or something).

When you drop out of that network (which is fairly limited), the cellular coverage kicks in, which is ~60mbps IIRC.

 

[binary visions]

Here's the text from the FAQ on their website, actually (I just looked it up):

Where is Verizon Wireless BroadbandAccess and NationalAccess available?
Verizon Wireless NationalAccess is available in thousands of cities and towns across the U.S.. Verizon Wireless BroadbandAccess is the largest high-speed wireless network in the U.S. and is currently available in more than 180 major metropolitan markets and 68 Priimary airports. (Learn More)

Outside the Verizon Wireless BroadbandAccess coverage area, BroadbandAccess users will still have access to their data over Verizon Wireless NationalAccess service.

What is the difference between Verizon Wireless BroadbandAccess and NationalAccess?
Together, Verizon Wireless BroadbandAccess and NationalAccess offer a national mobile wireless data solution, providing your employees the coverage and speed they need.

BroadbandAccess is Verizon Wireless' premier data service, offering your company one of the fastest, fully mobile wireless Internet data solutions available today. This ultra-high-speed wireless service available in various cities throughout the U.S. only from Verizon Wireless, provides users with typical speeds of 400-700 kbps, capable of bursts up to 2 Mbps**.

NationalAccess is the name for Verizon Wireless' national wireless Internet service. This 3rd Generation data service, also referred to as 1XRTT or 1X, enables users to access the Internet, email and attachments, as well as business applications at speeds bursting up to 144 kbps. Users should expect average speeds of 60 to 80 kbps.

**Speed claim based on network tests with 5MB FTP data files, without compression. Actual speeds and coverage may vary.