EVDO phone + EVDO USB modem simultaneously with one account?

toughguy99 · EVDO Fledgling Joined: 20 Dec 2007 Posts: 13

Hi,

I just purchased EVDO service with a USB modem for the laptop, but now I realize maybe I can ditch my cell phone service in favor of just EVDO service.

Can I use two EVDO devices (1 phone, 1 USB modem) with one EVDO account, or must I consider tethering if I want to do that?

thanks,
toughguy

toughguy99 · EVDO Fledgling Joined: 20 Dec 2007 Posts: 13

Sorry to reply to my own post, but I wanted to make sure I was clear.

Can I drop my GSM cellphone plan and use my EVDO service for both phone and data service with the data service going through a USB device to my laptop? I don't need to use both devices simultaneously.

Thanks for any advice,
toughguy.

ChrisM · Posted: Fri Jan 11, 2008 3:40 am Post subject:

As far as I know, you only have a couple options, but really only one which is at all viable:

1) Dump the dedicated data device, and get an EVDO phone. Tether your phone to your laptop via USB or Bluetooth when you want data.

It's my understanding that only EVDO rev A allows you to simultaneously use your phone for voice + data. Other people claim this limitation doesn't exist with EVDO rev 0. I think that while these people "think" it should work, they simply don't use their devices enough to notice that their calls are going to voicemail when they are actively using their data connection. The limitation stems from using the same radio for voice and data, and while some newer phones have two different radios, the software (windows mobile, etc) may need updating to utilize both radios simultaneously.

2) Use a VOIP solution with your EVDO data account. This could theorectically work, with a device such as the Vonage V-Phone (usb Voip device). This could only work effectively with EVDO Rev A service via a dedicated data device such as Sprint's Mobile Broadband, and I've tried it, and honestly the Quality of Service of EVDO really isn't up to the task. You would have to pay for a Vonage account, but they are cheap, and some people use this already. You can switch your home vonage account to a mobile V-Phone device at will via Vonage's web interface.

In the end, if you're considering dumping a wired data service such as Time Warner RoadRunner or Verizon FiOS in favor of Sprint EVDO, I wouldn't try it. I tried it, and found that Sprint simply can't compete with the quality of wired access.

That said, if you truly need a mobile solution, EVDO rev A is probably the lowest latency mobile solution available at this time. The only thing that is potentially superior is WiMax, which is only just becoming available in some markets.

It's also worth noting that GSM service is global and EVDO is US only. GSM has HSDPA data that competes directly with EVDO. In my opinion, if you never wanna use your phone outside the US, EVDO rev a has slightly lower latency than HSDPA. It's also worth noting that using your GSM phone to roam outside the US will cost you an arm and a leg, but it will work.

Alex · Site Admin Joined: 19 Sep 2006 Posts: 1893

toughguy99 · EVDO Fledgling Joined: 20 Dec 2007 Posts: 13

Thanks for the help, guys, but my most basic question is still unanswered.

Can I have two EVDO devices tied to the same account? I do not need to use them simultaneously.

deparson · EVDO Junkie Joined: 30 Aug 2006 Posts: 248

No, you can not. Your plan is tied to one specific ESN (like a serial number on an CDMA device).

You can 'swap ESNs' which takes 5-30min to do but you would need to carry a voice and data plan* all the time to make that work. You would be better off with a low cost voice only plan and keeping your data only plan, IMO.

I am not 100% sure that it works to swap ESNs from a phone to a data card. I am sure others here will have that information.

*The data plan would need to support PAM; phone as modem.

dima · EVDO User Joined: 20 Mar 2008 Posts: 82

As far as I know, neither Verizon or Sprint allows two devices on one account. That is to say, you can't have 2 ESN's tied to one phone number. VZW rep told me (rightly or wrongly) FCC rules prohibit this. You CAN have 2 phone numbers on one account, (one for phone, one for data card) but each is a separate line of service with full service charges on each line.

Real bummer. Supposedly WiMax /LTE implementations are supposed to eliminate this restriction (hopefully at a cost savings to the consumer).