ISDN 128k vs National Access

barticus73 · EVDO Fledgling Joined: 11 Jul 2007 Posts: 15

I currently have ISDN 128k service and was wondering how the national access through Verizon compares to standard 128k isdn service(pings, speed, bandwidth, etc). Currently I can only get ISDN or satellite at my house. My family plays online games such as World of Warcraft, MMORPG's and such so I guess Satellite is out. I pay $110/month for the ISDN line and ISP service so I am always looking for alternatives. Per Sprint's EVDO map, I am about 2-3 miles outside the Rev A area and Verizon puts me smack in the middle of the national access region (Not broadband).

What do you guy's think?

jon8105 · EVDO Heavy User Joined: 05 Dec 2006 Posts: 148

Sinec you are that close to getting Rev A, I would try it out. It could be possible, with the right set-up, to get EVDO instead of 1xRTT(National Access). Plus, the maps aren't always up-to-date.

Also, what type of latency are you seeing with your ISDN? When I connect just to National Access I get about 130Kbps down and 50Kbps up, with a high latency, like around 700ms I think.

Good luck

Torrey · Site Admin Joined: 09 May 2007 Posts: 256 Location: USA

With the proper equipment, you should be able to get EVDO Rev-A if the coverage maps indicate that you are only 2-3 miles from Rev-A coverage. Send us an email to sales@3gstore.com with your home address so we can take a look at the area to get a better idea of whether you will be able to receive the EVDO signal.

barticus73 · EVDO Fledgling Joined: 11 Jul 2007 Posts: 15

Email sent.

peterv95 · EVDO Fledgling Joined: 15 Jun 2007 Posts: 18

Can you see the sprint tower?

clear sight and a good antenna you will have great EVDO speed Laughing

and there is a 30 day test anyway, when it does not work => return it

Stay away from sat, your family will hate you when you go that route. I have Hughesnet and the service goes down the drain fast. Lucky for me i get Verizon EVDO since a month and love it

the_rapture · Posted: Fri Jul 18, 2008 10:27 am Post subject:

I was thinking about the ISDN and I'm in my 30 day trial of my VZW. What was your ISDN like? Ping? Always on? I've had Satellite (WB) and it was getting so bad that I was ready to spend out $300 for a T1 but couldn't get a firm pricing from Embarq and it seems like the T1 is $272 but then they charge port access fees as well, so it comes in around $600 a month so that was out of the question. I'm looking at setting up two VZW cards. Thanks
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Denny

Fox McCloud · EVDO Junkie Joined: 02 Dec 2006 Posts: 605

ISDN vs 1xRTT?

ISDN will probably win out every time, except for in terms of pricing and mobility, of course.

ISDN has way lower latency (from what I've heard, usually sub-100ms) and more consistent speeds.

1xRTT has the potential to top ISDN speed-wise, but only by 16 kilobits (2 extra kilobytes per second).

now EVDO Revision A vs ISDN? Well, assuming you have a good signal, and you're the only one on the tower...most likely you'll get over 1 megabit down, which totally blows away ISDN...and the price will definitely be cheaper....the only thing that ISDN will still beat it at (in most cases) is latency...since EVDO's latency can jump around a bit (100-200ms).

if you're only option is 1xRTT vs ISDN....and you don't mind paying the higher price, I'd stick with ISDN...but if you have EVDO available (with no prospect of DSL or cable coming your way), then definitely go with EVDO; especially if it's Revision A.

just beware of the 5GB cap Verizon has....almost forgot about that--with ISDN, I know it's still truly unlimited.

the_rapture · Posted: Fri Jul 18, 2008 6:57 pm Post subject:

Thank you for the info! I have Verizon EVDO and since the price for two cards are about the same for ISDN I will probably just go with them and try to stay within the cage... I mean cap and find a free WiFi for the ISO downloads of Linux etc...

Thank you!
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Denny

MarkJC · Posted: Fri Jul 18, 2008 11:08 pm Post subject:

I've had 128kb ISDN for a couple of years and interestingly pay almost the exact price you do for it. I've tested a few wireless options in the past without much luck - i'm currrently waiting to receive a card from Verizon to try out again since it appears they have expanded their coverage area to include me.

As for 1xRTT vs 128k, I would stick with ISDN hands down. ISDN has some of the best latency out there, much better than 1xRTT I believe and still better than EVDO. Such fast latency can make a slow connection feel like a much faster one and vice versa. ISDN is also really reliable. If yours is like mine, my ISDN has -never- dropped unless there was a lightning strike that hit just right nearby. I don't think 1xRTT is quite that reliable. If the cost of ISDN isn't hurting you too badly I would stick with it unless it comes to choosing between ISDN and EVDO...

Fox McCloud · EVDO Junkie Joined: 02 Dec 2006 Posts: 605

Out of curiosity, mark, what kind of latency would/do you get when you ping www.google.com? [with ISDN]

MarkJC · Posted: Fri Jul 18, 2008 11:43 pm Post subject:

Fox,

I'm getting about 60ms-65ms pings to google.

lvlorpheus · Posted: Sat Jul 19, 2008 8:04 am Post subject:

I would have to say the most important thing to take into consideration is weather or not your ISDN has a cap or not. It sounds like you use your internet for the whole family (what a concept). A family can hit 5 GB real fast, and at .25 cents a MB over 5 GB, things could get very costly very fast. Just guessing, I would think you would be better off sticking with the ISDN until mobile provider come up with reasonable caps.

I have EV-DO from Alltel, and I go over 5 GB every month. Alltel is still unlimited though. I would say if you could get service from Alltel now at least EV-DO Rev. 0 speeds go for it and hope you have some better choice when your contract is up. If you can not get Alltel I would stay with the ISDN seeing how all the other cell providers have a 5 GB cap, and I am pretty sure your family will regrete being limited to 5 GB or paying crazy overages.

If you are in Jefferson City, MO, it looks like you can get Service from Alltel, but it is 1xrtt (I would want to test that to be sure. It very well may be Rev. 0 maybe Rev. A). It also looks like you can get service from verizon that is EV-DO Rev. A. If it were me I would have to toy with the idea of getting service from Alltel and having my contract lock me into unlimited for two years, and hope at the end of this year when Verizon takes over Alltel, you are able to connect at (Rev. A Unlimited for the duration of the contract).

gassnerj · EVDO Newbie Joined: 26 Jul 2008 Posts: 2

Play WoW and other games.

Started with ISDN, equipment is getting scarce and couldn't get a plan that didn't charge by the minute so I switched to EVDO. Had to give up FPS games due to the floating latency but still able to play WoW. Doesn't work well when you add in voice chat traffic but finally EVDO A came to town and upgraded with good results.

I don't download movies or music so I never go over the 5GB limit and still stay connected 24x7.

waynefoutz · EVDO Junkie Joined: 31 Mar 2008 Posts: 189

Oldbull · EVDO Fledgling Joined: 05 Oct 2005 Posts: 25

Stick with ISDN if you enjoy your gaming. I only wish ping were really stable with EVDO, even REV A. I guess if you have the perfect connection you can stay in the 200ish ping range. My experience from operating out of 2 homes in different parts of the US would be considered acceptable but nothing near what I would consider good. With a low 70's signal I usually maintain 250 to 400 ping in WoW ( totally playable ) and in the not so good location of mid 80's signal it's usually 400 to 800 ( barely bearable ). Try the free trial period but hang on to the ISDN until you are sure.