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jgombos
EVDO User
Joined: 04 May 2006
Posts: 27
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 Posted: Mon Dec 17, 2007 3:08 pm Post subject: Newb looking for residential ISP service - w/out a contract |
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I can see from the threads that my choices are Sprint, VZ, and Alltel (neglecting coverage maps for now).
Of those choices (which I'm assuming require an annual contract), are there any backdoor ways to get EVDO service w/out a contract? (I realize there are all kinds of tricks to get out of contracts you're already committed to, but I'm interested in ways to get signed up w/out a contract.)
Also, I notice Sprint and VZ are not up front about the cost of EVDO (never checked alltel). If someone could tell me what kind of expenses to expect, I would appreciate it. Sales folks are always hiding some expenses. (eg. is unlimited Sprint EVDO really only $60/month?) |
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Alex
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Joined: 19 Sep 2006
Posts: 1943
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| Posted: Mon Dec 17, 2007 3:35 pm Post subject: |
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seems odd you would say sprint/verizon are not up front about costs.
our order forms are pretty clear.
sprint is $59.99/mo on 2yr plan
https://3gstore.com/sprint/cards.php
verizon is $59.99/mo on 2yr plan
https://3gstore.com/verizon/cards.php
there is no option to get sprint or verizon EVDO service without a contract, nor is there a month-to-month option.
sprint's service is unlimited, but all carriers have warnings against activities that are not 'approved'. |
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deparson
EVDO Junkie
Joined: 30 Aug 2006
Posts: 248
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| Posted: Mon Dec 17, 2007 3:58 pm Post subject: |
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| I BELIEVE that you can get month to month data on t-mobile. |
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jgombos
EVDO User
Joined: 04 May 2006
Posts: 27
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| Posted: Mon Dec 17, 2007 5:03 pm Post subject: |
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Well I didn't even notice the "local" store here (3gstore).. I was making a general comment about what I encountered a couple years ago when trying to ask a sprint sales person about prices. They had different prices for current voice customers and new customers, and I think there was an activation fee at the time. I have a general distrust for pre-sales info from any cellular provider (they all scam consumers one way or another).. so that's why I asked here.
| Alex wrote: |
sprint's service is unlimited, but all carriers have warnings against activities that are not 'approved'. |
Yeah, I remember reading a thread a while back about folks getting terminated out of the blue for heavy bandwidth use, w/ no warning. It's good to hear that there are warnings now. I'll be looking for a provider that allows VPN use, and doesn't have an unreasonable bandwidth limit.
Last edited by jgombos on Mon Dec 17, 2007 5:06 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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jgombos
EVDO User
Joined: 04 May 2006
Posts: 27
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| Posted: Mon Dec 17, 2007 5:06 pm Post subject: |
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| deparson wrote: | | I BELIEVE that you can get month to month data on t-mobile. |
Thanks for the tip! I didn't realize TMobile was in this market aside from cafe hotspots. They appear to be the cheapest too ($50/mo.).
The routers on this site only support Sprint and VZ. I'd like to find one that supports Tmobile, Sprint, VZ, and Alltel, so I have the freedom to change providers.
[Correction] There are a couple routers that support UMTS (TopGlobal MB6x00), and TMobile's hardware supports GPRS/EDGE (apparently this makes it UMTS).
Last edited by jgombos on Mon Dec 17, 2007 6:21 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Alex
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| Posted: Mon Dec 17, 2007 6:09 pm Post subject: |
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| jgombos wrote: | | TMobile's hardware supports GPRS/EDGE. |
neither GPRS nor EDGE should ever be considered 'broadband'.
if you want speed, and have the choice to get EVDO for $10/mo more, you should jump at the chance.
but hey... thats just my opinion. |
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jgombos
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Joined: 04 May 2006
Posts: 27
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| Posted: Mon Dec 17, 2007 6:26 pm Post subject: |
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| Alex wrote: | | jgombos wrote: | | TMobile's hardware supports GPRS/EDGE. |
neither GPRS nor EDGE should ever be considered 'broadband'.
if you want speed, and have the choice to get EVDO for $10/mo more, you should jump at the chance.
but hey... thats just my opinion. |
Good point. 180kbps is probably acceptable for me, but it's certainly enticing to spend $10 more to get broadband. I might have to look into taking over someone else's Sprint or AT&T contract, so at least I don't get locked into a 1 yr contract.
I seem to be favoring AT&T more than Sprint at the moment, because HSDPA is a world standard, while Sprint is localized and proprietary. (Plus Sprint tried to burn me once before on one of their scams) |
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deparson
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Joined: 30 Aug 2006
Posts: 248
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| Posted: Mon Dec 17, 2007 6:39 pm Post subject: |
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Just to be clear I pointed out tmobile as I think they are the only ones to offer month to month service like the OP is asking for.
I used their GPRS and later their EDGE service for years and after 30 min with EVDO Rev 0 I could have never gone back. Rev A is even better of course. For a short time there was only 1XRTT service at my house and I found it to be a bit faster than EGDE.
If you want good performance I have to strongly recommend EVDO over EDGE. I think you will find that any extra cost is well worth it.
| jgombos wrote: | | Alex wrote: | | jgombos wrote: | | TMobile's hardware supports GPRS/EDGE. |
neither GPRS nor EDGE should ever be considered 'broadband'.
if you want speed, and have the choice to get EVDO for $10/mo more, you should jump at the chance.
but hey... thats just my opinion. |
Good point. 180kbps is probably acceptable for me, but it's certainly enticing to spend $10 more to get broadband. I might have to look into taking over someone else's Sprint or AT&T contract, so at least I don't get locked into a 1 yr contract.
I seem to be favoring AT&T more than Sprint at the moment, because HSDPA is a world standard, while Sprint is localized and proprietary. (Plus Sprint tried to burn me once before on one of their scams) |
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Mackieman
EVDO Junkie
Joined: 31 Oct 2005
Posts: 453
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| Posted: Mon Dec 17, 2007 6:46 pm Post subject: |
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| jgombos wrote: | Good point. 180kbps is probably acceptable for me, but it's certainly enticing to spend $10 more to get broadband. I might have to look into taking over someone else's Sprint or AT&T contract, so at least I don't get locked into a 1 yr contract.
I seem to be favoring AT&T more than Sprint at the moment, because HSDPA is a world standard, while Sprint is localized and proprietary. (Plus Sprint tried to burn me once before on one of their scams) |
I think, "localized and proprietary" is stretching it a bit. Sprint uses CDMA which is a global standard that has networks rolled out all over the world. EVDO is far more ubiquitous with Sprint, Verizon, Alltel, Bell Mobility Canada, Telus, and the host of smaller regional carriers than HSDPA has ever hoped to be at this point (in North America).
EDGE/GPRS rollout in North America is, at best, a really nice version of CDMA's 1X. Remember that EDGE is advertised as speeds up to 180kbps; you will not see that speed regularly unless you're camped near a tower that a bunch of people aren't using. Further, consider the fact that 180kbps is 22KBps, which is only three times as fast as the best 56k dialup connection. At this speed, anything more than very light browsing and e-mail will be slow. Your comments about no unreasonable bandwidth limits and VPN usage alone make EDGE a really bad idea. VPN will eat up what little headroom you have on an already limited connection.
Talk to Alex and the guys at 3GStore; dealing with them instead of directly with Verizon or Sprint will net you far better customer service and support. Moreover, I believe both Verizon and Sprint have a 30-day cancellation policy if you get the gear and decide that it will not work for your application.
Also, taking over existing contracts and the like is really not something that carriers allow as far as I know. Contracts suck, yeah, but it is the state of the industry right now. |
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