[NEWBIE] Which service and card would you recommend?

gank0r · EVDO Newbie Joined: 11 Aug 2005 Posts: 2

I'm new to this forum. I'm sure this topic has been covered many times, but I did not see anything that directly answered my question.

I am in the Boston area and I'm looking to get EV-DO service for my Toshiba Laptop (Windows XP). What card and service would you recommend?

I looked at Verizon and they seem to have a great "Unlimited" deal, but someone told me it's soft capped at 100MB? I've been reading posts on this forum and it seems that other people have gone way past this cap without any problems from VZW.

I'm only looking to download 20MB-30MB a day and an occasional MP3 here and there. Do you think Verizon would cancel my account if I did this?

Sprint is a possible alternative, but I don't think they're fully equipped yet.

Also, do I need any service in addition to the VZW $80/m plan? I currently have T-Mobile for a cell phone provider and would like to keep it this way. Am I required to have a cell phone through Verizon in order to use this service? Do you get charged per minute for using it?

I plan on using this service in a three story building near Boston. I'm on the top floor. Is the reception good/poor?

Sorry if these questions seem dumb, I'm still new.

Thanks for reading and thanks to Mike for creating this useful resource for us! This site/forum has been very informative!

Michael · Posted: Thu Aug 11, 2005 3:33 pm Post subject:

Welcome to EVDOforums!

I would first make sure your laptop is NOT listed on this compatibility page:

Sierra Wireless PC5220 / AC580 Compatibility Issues

I have heard from others that they think there is this capped version, but I have not seen any proof of it. Now, if Verizon EVDO becomes wildly successful (it is on its way), and it is shown that 5% of the people are using 80% of the bandwidth - who knows what the future holds for those people. I am guessing, down the road, Verizon has a choice of increasing capacity (for specific towers), OR getting rid of abusers. I don't think what you are describing counts as an abuser.

You are right, Sprint doesn't have the coverage that Verizon does.

You only need the $79.99 plan, nothing else, you do NOT need a Verizon cell phone to get unlimited BroadbandAccess, there are no per minute charge, no roaming charges.

Actually, the higher up in a building the better!
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