woodallmd
TN, USA
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I have Comcast cable Internet at home. I would like to have an aircard (I travel in a motorhome). Sounds like Verizon is probably the best for an aircard. My cell phones are with AT &T (I have an iPhone).
My question is this - should I give up my Comcast cable internet and just use the Verizon aircard for home use? My typical computer use is Forums like this, e-mail, uploading photos to my blog, etc. I do spend several hours a day on the computer. I do not play any video games. I live in an area that has good Verizon access.
Thanks.
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Mikeyxx
Hamilton, Ontario
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If you like the speed and you have a good data plan, there is no reason to pay for both. However, if you have a significant other or family member that will use the internet while you are gone and thus bringing the internet with you, it won't go over well.
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lemonjim1
Oquawka, Il 61469
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We have Verizon aircard and it has worked everywhere we have travelled. Unfortunately it does not work at our home base. Small town in IL on Mississippi River. Jim
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joe b.
Florida
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I use Comcast cable Internet at home and an AT&T aircard, 875U, on the road. When I am in a 3G (fast) service area the aircard is close to the speed of my cable connection but when I am on EDGE (slow) cell service it can be a pain at times. We enjoy camping in the rural areas so we end up with the slower cell service most of the time. At the present time I am in a campground in western Colorado and using the WiFi provided by the campground as it is faster than my aircard. No one system seems to work the best for us, everywhere, so I carry a variety of ways to connect to the Internet. I considered going with Verizon for the aircard but the area we camp most every year doesn't receive a workable signal but AT&T does with my Wilson amp and external antenna. Plus I too have an iPhone from AT&T and prefer just getting the one bill (large) for all my cell service.
But I don't plan on switching from my Comcast cable at home as it is quick even when running multiple computers on our home wireless network. When we get home from this trip I will call AT&T and put my aircard plan on "vacation" since I purchased my aircard off of ebay and don't have a contract with AT&T, just month to month like any other phone service.
* This post was
edited 06/20/08 06:57am by joe b. *
joe b.
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EVDOalex
Dallas, TX
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first thing to do would be check to see if verizon's broadband evdo is available AT your home address. if it isn't, you won't like the 1xrtt as a comcast replacement.
here is link to Verizon's Coverage Map
Keep in mind that it defaults to voice coverage. to see broadband data, you need to turn on the option for " Broadband & V CAST" and then refresh map.
the other thing to understand is that verizon's service has overage charges that can make things expensive. before you cut comcast, try to figure out if your 'normal usage' at home, is over 5GB per month. if it is, that would be bad on verizon EVDO plan.
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KeninAZ
SE AZ
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Verizon has good coverage but I think you will find out that it's more expensive than your cable DSL.
I would dump my DSL here and go ahead with the Verizon service as we are going full time anyway but that's $60 a month vs. $22 a month so until we hit the road it does not make sense money wise.
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joshjack
Alabama
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KeninAZ wrote:Verizon has good coverage but I think you will find out that it's more expensive than your cable DSL.
I would dump my DSL here and go ahead with the Verizon service as we are going full time anyway but that's $60 a month vs. $22 a month so until we hit the road it does not make sense money wise.
Not to be nitpicky, but cable and DSL are separate products from very different companies delivered over different mediums.
You should get some aircard service going first and check reception at home before canceling Comcast. My Comcast gets 12-20Mbps down and the best 3G stuff I've seen is 1-2Mbps. If you really don't do any routine video/audio downloads that may not matter at all but I would imagine photo uploads will slow down too.
I'm also curious why you want to use Verizon. Seems like coverage is comparable on AT&T and since you already use AT&T... I would also like to point out that you can make your iPhone a WiFi hotspot if you Jailbreak it.
J
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Bill&Linda
New Cumberland, PA
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WE are using a Verizon USB720 aircard with an antenna and router I bought from the 3G store to run our internet connection at home and then the aircard and laptop on the road. We find that the card is a little slower at home than Comcast was-about what Comcast had become during high usage times. Right now I am posting from a state park camground where our Verizon cellphones have no signal but with the aircard and the antenna I have internet service  . We feel the loss of a bit of speed at home is worth the ability to use/pay for one service and have internet coverage anywhere we are. What you will get at home depends on where you live-we are fortunate to live in a good broadband area. YMMV
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hershey
Albuquerque,(fulltime) NM, USA
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My experience with Verizon is the same as Bill&Linda's. Right now we are in a pretty remote part of Utah and have broadband. Its seldom that I have to hook up a remote antenna to the USB720 to get a connection. We fulltime and I would never gamble on another service provider. $60.00 is alot of money, but it beats lugging a laptop back and forth from RV park offices to connect or unreliable Wi-Fi signals.
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EVDOalex
Dallas, TX
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joshjack wrote:I'm also curious why you want to use Verizon. Seems like coverage is comparable on AT&T and since you already use AT&T. thats a bit misleading to say. sure, AT&T is as much "everywhere" as verizon is... for voice.
but AT&T's high speed HSDPA/HSUPA coverage is nowhere near that of verizon's EVDO Rev-A coverage.
if someone only cared about being able to connect to the internet at any speed, then its true that there is little difference between carriers. but this thread was comparing cable to cellular, so it seems clear that speed was important.
if thats the case, then the UNavailability of AT&T makes it the loser in cellular broadband wars. its not useful if its not where you need it... right?
joshjack wrote:I would also like to point out that you can make your iPhone a WiFi hotspot if you Jailbreak it really now. can you give me a URL to some site with that specific info?
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