Still thinking about Alltel EVDO but am very nervous....

Guest

OK, I have been told that EVDO from Alltel is available to me. I am skeptical because my Verizon phone gets terrible reception in the home. I know, what does that have to do with Alltel....well....Alltel is the roaming partner here for Verizon.

Anyway, I am told the 680 Kyocera is the card to buy, so thats what I will do when I get up the nerve. I also know that I have 15 days to call it quits if I can't get it to work. If I fail and can't get a good signal, what will Alltel keep of the money I pay them??? I am told I will have to buy the card, $59.99 per month service, 2 year contract, and a $25 activation fee. What of these funds will they keep if I come back and say it doesn't work?

I also know that I will save $100 if I buy the router from 3G and I will certainly do that, but do they support the KR1 router's they sell if I am using it on an Alltel account? I would love to simply buy it all from them, but I doubt I can do that since they don't sell the equipment.

Folks, any help you can give this old bird would certainly be appreciated.

FLTRider

speedman · EVDO Fledgling Joined: 24 Aug 2007 Posts: 20

Back in March before EVDO was available I returned my card and only had to pay the 25 dollars activation fee.

speedman

i3ond · EVDO Fledgling Joined: 22 Sep 2007 Posts: 21

Well, let me tell you some tips and some ideas and how i would do it. Before I would get intrested i would call up alltel (1-800-alltel1) then when they ask for new plans and service i would ignore that. I would wait until they asked for technical help. (frankly these people are smarter and know what they are doing.) Then it will say something like technical help for your internet. (i'm not sure if they had one of those multipal choice like "press one if your calling about your voice mail press 2 for all others. Obviously you would press 2. but eventually you will get to the technical help section. ) or you could do the lazy mans way and just press 0 80 times tell they forward you to a person and then you ask to be connected to the technical help for the internet. ok going on when you are connected to the Green beret of the techies make sure you can hear and understand them. otherwise i hang up and do it over again until you get someone who is clear and understandable. Ok, now your on the phone with these techies and they ask for your alltel number, just say i have so questions and i don't have a alltel account. (Unless you do...) Then ask them about coverage in your area. Some of the newish people would look at some lame map with a bunch of color codes and crap. Thats fine and what not, but you more of want to know the location of the towers and if the towers are evdo or 1x which would make a big difference. Also ask them for the location of the tower and then you can look up the the distance from your home to the tower. Also figure in any hills would block your signal. Also check your area on evdo maps. Also i use the website "antenna search" (first option on google). check for local cellphone towers in your area they normally have information about the towers like who owns them.

The 15 days is like a grace period with contracts, you cancel within that period you only pay for the service use and the $25 for your new line, also u may need to send the card/phone back and pay shipping.

Best way to avoid that would be to buy the card on ebay. You will still have to pay the $25 fee and the $60 a month. But this way if you decided to keep it you have no contract . Also you own the card. Plus the card u want is only $85 with shipping. But i would rather spend $60 on UTStarcom PC5750 thats just another $25 in my pocket. Of course if you cancel then u got a useless card. So put it back on ebay.

Also, not to be a jerk or anything to the 3g store. it is possible to get the router for maybe $40 cheaper elsewhere. But i'm sure the 3gstore customer staff would make up for the price if you needed help. Cause it don't pay to save when you can't figure out how to use the dang thing or if something goes wrong. also 3gstore only sells sprint and verzion i think. I'm not even sure if the k1 router works with the two pc cards i mentioned.

clownz · EVDO Fledgling Joined: 23 Sep 2007 Posts: 21

Heres my experience....

I did a test run with Verizon and the USB720, had download speeds up to 1.2 Mps, took it back and went with Alltel because I liked the unlimited bandwidth...

I got the Kyocera KPC680 Express Card, and now the download speeds barely reach 300kps, I am truly disappointed. :\

I am using the KPC680 in the PCMCIA slot with the adapter and maybe this could have something to do with the laggish speeds, because Alltel and Verizon use the same EVDO network... unless Verizon caps Alltel's on their network?

i3ond · EVDO Fledgling Joined: 22 Sep 2007 Posts: 21

My idea is your USB720 connected a verizon evdo rev a. Then when you switched to alltel your pc card connected to a alltel evdo rev o or some other evdo network which would explain the 300kbs. Really , i don't know what you could do. maybe if u could figure out what tower you use and get a direction anttena maybe then you could choose the same tower you had before.

just an idea.

clownz · EVDO Fledgling Joined: 23 Sep 2007 Posts: 21

i3ond · EVDO Fledgling Joined: 22 Sep 2007 Posts: 21

Guest · Posted: Mon Sep 24, 2007 11:39 pm Post subject: I think I have a plan.......

In doing my rearch initially, I found that I am about 3.5 flat miles away from their EVDO tower in town. According to their internet geek at the local store, he says I am on the edge of their best color for connection, and well within a very good signal area. But again, inside my home, and right outside, I get crappy signal with my Verizon phone. Thats what really makes me nervous since my Verizon phone roams on Alltel supposedly.

As far as saving the extra $40 goes, I would already be saving $100 if I buy the router from 3G, and from what I am reading, their support is worth the $40 I could save buying elsewhere. I do want Alltel to be beholden to me for local support (or empathy) so I have no issues buying the card from them. What I think I will do is buy the card, sign the contract, and plug the card into my laptop. If all goes well, and it works fine, I will order the router from the folks at 3G.

That way, I know I have a good, clear signal before I buy something from 3G I would have to return if I bought it all up front.

I guess the whole no phone signal in the house is what makes me think this is not going to work, but I won't know until I bite the bullet and buy the card.

Is this logical?

FLTRider

suasion · Posted: Tue Sep 25, 2007 5:33 am Post subject: Re: I think I have a plan.......

karlyn · Posted: Tue Sep 25, 2007 5:44 am Post subject: Re: I think I have a plan.......

Guest · Posted: Thu Sep 27, 2007 8:06 am Post subject: Taking the plunge

OK, I am taking the plunge. I will buy the KPC680 card from Alltel on Friday, and play with it over the weekend. If it works, I will order the router and card adapter from the folks at 3G.

I will certainly keep you people posted on my progress. Thanks to ALL for their help and guidance!

FLTRider