| It's a question that dates back to when dinosaurs | | | | what's possible and then we'll get to the straight |
| roamed the planet... | | | | talk about what actually is. |
| Okay, so maybe not that far. | | | | FerrariIn the United States, there are 2 main |
| Nevertheless, it's a question that pops up a lot. | | | | ways to get mobile broadband: |
| Mobile broadband is becoming increasing popular | | | | 1. Evolution Data Optimized (EV-DO) provided by |
| for a number of reasons. Perhaps the biggest | | | | Verizon, Sprint & Alltel |
| reason is cost and convenience. For not much | | | | 2. High Speed Packet Access (HSPA) provided by |
| more than the cost of Cable or DSL, just about | | | | AT&T & *T-Mobile |
| anyone could have a broadband card that sticks | | | | Without getting too much into techno-talk, they |
| into their laptop. And just like that, they get | | | | both get you on the internet at 3G speeds. While |
| broadband speeds anywhere in the country they | | | | the average speeds are the same, the maximum |
| travel. It's excellent especially if you're out working | | | | speeds you can get depend on the underlying |
| more than you are at your house. It just makes | | | | network technology. |
| sense. | | | | EVDO (Sprint, Alltel & Verizon) |
| There's not much that can be said about | | | | Average Download Speed | 600 - 1400 Kbps |
| convenience. What more can you say than being | | | | Average Upload Speed | 500 - 800 Kbps |
| able to connect anytime and anyplace. Wondering | | | | Maximum Download Speed | 3.1 Mbps |
| if a WiFi hotspot costs money or if its even their | | | | Maximum Upload Speed | 1.8 Mbps |
| becomes a thing of the past. Power went out? | | | | HSPA (AT&T & T-Mobile) |
| No problem. How about we MapQuest the nearest | | | | Average Download Speed | 600 - 1400 Kbps |
| restaurant in this new city? The possibilities are | | | | Average Upload Speed | 500 - 800 Kbps |
| endless. Oh, and you can check email too. | | | | Maximum Download Speed | 1.7 Mbps |
| But you already knew that. | | | | Maximum Upload Speed | 1.2 Mbps |
| You're here to find out who's the best amongst | | | | From just the looks of it, you'd get the |
| the plethora of available options. You might have | | | | impression that Sprint and Verizon just pummel |
| heard of satellite broadband, mobile broadband and | | | | up on AT&T & T-Mobile when it comes |
| even WiMAX. I'll help you set the record straight | | | | to maximum speed. The interesting thing here is |
| with some easy but detailed guidelines on how to | | | | that HSPA technology has the capability to be |
| pick the best mobile broadband provider. | | | | upgraded to achieve speeds as 7.2 Mbps. While it's |
| Should I go Prepaid or Contract? | | | | not here yet, AT&T is working on it. In the |
| It all depends. | | | | meantime, these are the advertised numbers. |
| Essentially, there are two kinds of prepaid mobile | | | | Real World Speeds |
| broadband plans: | | | | Things always sound so nice in theory: |
| 1. Plans designed for long-term use | | | | * Gigli - Starring Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck |
| 2. Plans designed for intermittent short-term use | | | | * $700 Billion Dollar Wallstreet Bailout |
| It's important to mention the notable differences | | | | * Rush Hour 3 - Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker |
| between prepaid mobile broadband and | | | | * The Land Before Time 14 - Animated Movie |
| 'contracted' mobile broadband. While we compare | | | | (14? Honestly? How about 2. Just end it) |
| prepaid to contract mobile broadband, bear in | | | | Like these things that sounded good to |
| mind that we're comparing the plans designed for | | | | somebody somewhere on paper, so do the |
| long-term use (by Cricket). | | | | advertised numbers for mobile broadband. What |
| Why? To cut a long story short, Cricket is the | | | | kinds of speeds can you really expect though? |
| best in terms of long-term prepaid mobile | | | | While I wrote an entire article dedicated just to |
| broadband at the moment. For the full story on | | | | making sense of the real world numbers, I'll save |
| that, check out the 2009 Prepaid Mobile | | | | you some time and give you the raw results. |
| Broadband Comparison. To keep the length of this | | | | Sprint is clearly the winner overall and provides |
| lesson down, we summarize the differences | | | | serious competition in every location. If put |
| below: | | | | together the fact that they're the fastest, largest |
| Prepaid vs. Contract Mobile Broadband | | | | mobile broadband network, you've got a double |
| Prepaid | | | | whammy. |
| - No contract | | | | I've personally tested it over 1001 miles of |
| - No credit check | | | | highway at 70 miles per hour (New Orleans to |
| - No Early Termination Fee | | | | Jacksonville and Tampa to Atlanta). I had my |
| - Limited Broadband Card Selection | | | | connection get dropped once...for 15 minutes total. |
| - Pay anywhere from $50 - $200 for equipment | | | | That's solid. In addition to my personal testing, the |
| + setup | | | | guys over at the tech blog Gizmodo did a |
| - Plans can be cheaper ($40 - $60) | | | | "Definitive Coast To Coast 3G Data Test" in |
| - Variety of plans - Short-term & Long-term | | | | Austin, Boston, Chicago, New York City, Portland, |
| plans | | | | Raleigh-Durham, San Francisco and the Bay Area. |
| - Mixture of average and fast speeds. Coverage | | | | What was their result? Sprint had the highest |
| can be limited | | | | national average download speed (1.4 Mbps) while |
| Contract | | | | AT&T (640 kbps) had the highest average |
| - 2 year contracts normal | | | | upload speed. As they put it, the test proves |
| - Credit check | | | | "that Sprint is a serious contender in almost any |
| - Early Termination Fee up to $200 | | | | location-and should be taken seriously as a 3G and |
| - Wide Range of Broadband Cards | | | | 4G data service provider" |
| - Deeply discounted cards (free & | | | | If speed's your thing, go for Sprint. |
| sometimes make $100) | | | | Coverage |
| - Plans usually ($60) | | | | If speed is number one on your list of things to |
| - Long Term plans | | | | check out, coverage is surely not far behind. As a |
| - Faster Speeds, Better Reliability and Expansive | | | | matter of fact, talking about speed without |
| Coverage | | | | coverage would be like taking the cheese off a |
| If you're looking to cut costs, then prepaid may | | | | pizza. It's just not the same.Laptop on Grass |
| be the way to go. However, they may or may | | | | So how do you answer the #1 aching question on |
| not have coverage where you need it. For a | | | | everyone's mind? What's the coverage like? |
| more stable, faster and reliable connection, | | | | While Sprint still has the largest mobile broadband |
| contracted mobile broadband will have your back | | | | network, Verizon tried to claim the title a couple |
| for a higher cost. | | | | months back. Their ads and statements about |
| What To Look For In A Provider | | | | being the biggest quietly vanished from existence. |
| While tempting, its normally not a good idea to go | | | | AT&T knows their place as #3 and keeps |
| with a provider just based on how much they | | | | quiet about it. However, there's only one way to |
| cost. While price is important, no one wants a car | | | | solve this coverage debacle... |
| that breaks down the day after they buy it. | | | | You gotta check. Sure I've driven all over |
| In no particular order, there are about 5 major | | | | Timbuktu with my broadband card, but what's |
| things to look for in a provider: | | | | good for me may not be good for you. |
| * Cost | | | | "But how do I check Marc?" |
| * Speed | | | | Sprint, Verizon, Alltel, AT&T and T-Mobile all |
| * Coverage | | | | have coverage maps that you can check out for |
| * Reliability | | | | mobile broadband coverage. Get ready to copy |
| * Customer Service | | | | and paste your street address into each one of |
| Cost | | | | 'em. Keep reading till the end and I'll show you |
| Most mobile broadband providers have settled | | | | where to find them. |
| around $60 for 5 Gigabytes per month. While this | | | | Reliability |
| is changing as Sprint and Clearwire roll out WiMAX, | | | | Verizon advertises itself as the nation's 'most |
| it's still the norm. The only exception to this | | | | reliable network'. After much bubble, bubble, toil |
| unwritten rule is Alltel (and a few prepaid mobile | | | | and trouble, I found this most startling gem. |
| broadband carriers). | | | | It's true. |
| T-Mobile's Wireless Internet is unlimited and runs | | | | Not doing too bad reliability-wise (dropped |
| about $50 per month. The catch is that their 3G | | | | connections and such) are all the other carriers. It |
| network is still expanding. While this is slowly | | | | makes me wonder, if they can get data |
| changing with the FCC clearing their first | | | | connections so well, what's up with those dropped |
| broadband card, it's not something to lose sleep | | | | cell phone calls anyway? |
| over. | | | | Sprint is also quite excellent in this department for |
| AT&T, Sprint, Verizon and most recently | | | | mobile broadband. AT&T, unfortunately have |
| T-Mobile, all cap their mobile broadband plans at 5 | | | | had numerous I-Phone users complain about the |
| Gigabytes per month. Naturally, the next question | | | | consistency of their advertised 3G network. |
| one might ask is how much can 5 GB get me? | | | | Definitely one to watch out for. Alltel and T-Mobile |
| Great question. We cover that in the next lesson. | | | | on the other hand, have few complaints. |
| In addition to implementing caps, they've also got | | | | Customer Service |
| overage charges. While none of them are good, | | | | T-Mobile beat out the competition in 1st quarter |
| some will perform a bloody massacre on your | | | | of 2009. Verizon definitely holds it own this time |
| bank account if you're not careful. | | | | around (losing to T-Mobile by only one point). |
| For instance a poor kid went to Canada and didn't | | | | Unfortunately, Sprint and AT&T are still |
| get the memo. AT&T charged his family | | | | dragging up the rear. |
| $19,370. Now you might wonder, did they ever | | | | So What Have We Learned? |
| resolve it? I don't know. I do know this however: | | | | * Sprint = $60 | 5 GB cap | $0.05 cent per MB |
| Do not go over the cap. | | | | ($51.20/GB) overage charge. |
| Long story short: | | | | * T-Mobile = $50 | 5 GB | $0.20 cents per MB |
| Sprint = $60 | 5 GB cap | $0.05 cents per MB | | | | ($204.80/GB) overage charge. |
| ($51.20/GB) overage charge. | | | | * Verizon = $60 | 5 GB cap |$0.25 cent per MB |
| T-Mobile = $50 | 5 GB | $0.20 cents per MB | | | | ($256/GB) overage charge. |
| ($204.80/GB) overage charge. They also offer a | | | | * AT&T = $60 | 5 GB cap | $0.49 cents per |
| 200 MB plan that has the same overage charge. | | | | MB ($503.31/GB) overage charge. |
| Verizon = $60 | 5 GB cap | $0.05 cents per MB | | | | * Overage charges can be a beast that will rival |
| ($51.20/GB) overage charge on 5GB plans. For | | | | your mortgage if you're not careful. |
| 250 MB plans, it's $102.40/GB ($0.10 cents/MB). | | | | * Sprint had the highest national average |
| AT&T = $60 | 5 GB cap | $0.49 cents per | | | | download speed (1.4 Mbps) while AT&T (640 |
| MB ($503.31/GB) overage charge on 5 GB plans. | | | | kbps) had the highest average upload speed. |
| For 200 MB plans, it's $10 per 100MB you go | | | | * Sprint currently boasts the 'largest mobile |
| over.. | | | | broadband network'. Not far behind is Verizon |
| *These overage charges are domestic. You don't | | | | followed by AT&T. |
| even want to think about international overages. | | | | * Verizon is the most reliable network. Sprint isn't |
| Remember the poor kid that went to Canada. | | | | doing too bad either. |
| How, you ask, did he rack up $19,370? | | | | * Verizon holds the #1 spot for customer service |
| At $19.97 per MB in overage fees, that's | | | | followed by Alltel and then T-Mobile. |
| $20447.20 for 1 GB of overage fees abroad. | | | | * Prepaid mobile broadband can work as an |
| Note that their international plan includes only 200 | | | | alternative to contract mobile broadband if you |
| MB (the size of a 45 minute show from iTunes). | | | | have coverage where you need it. |
| 1 GB = 1024 MB | 1 MB = 1024 KB | | | | So Who Do I Pick? |
| Before we hop on to speed and other things to | | | | If a 5 Gigabyte cap is tolerable for you, Sprint is |
| look out for, you might be asking, what about the | | | | the go-to-carrier. They've got the most going for |
| price of WiMAX and Satellite broadband? | | | | them right now. Speed, coverage, cost and |
| Unfortunately, WiMAX is only available in less than | | | | reliability are on their side. Their overage charges |
| 4 cities right now and will be that way for pretty | | | | aren't as ridiculous as T-Mobile's and from personal |
| much all of 2009. Not a great option if you do any | | | | experience, customer service for broadband |
| traveling. Unless you're an early adopter that | | | | cards is not all that bad. The bill has never |
| would like to test out a new network, I don't | | | | fluctuated more than $2. |
| really recommend it. I'm not knocking it, I just | | | | Verizon is okay if you must, but do not go over |
| don't recommend it. It's like testing out the latest | | | | the 5 GB cap. There will be hell to pay...literally. |
| version of Windows while its still in beta. Not for | | | | AT&T's lower maximum speed, ridiculous |
| the light of heart. | | | | overage charges and less 3G coverage leaves |
| While Satellite Broadband has its positives, I | | | | much to be desired for a reliable mobile |
| wouldn't recommend it unless 3G mobile | | | | broadband carrier. Potential is there but this just |
| broadband was not available. Considering that it is | | | | isn't the time. |
| widely available, I focus there. If you feel you | | | | T-Mobile, as usual, is the budget carrier of choice. |
| might be serviced by the smaller markets of | | | | At $50 a month, it's great if you're in a covered |
| either WiMAX or Satellite Broadband, here's where | | | | area. That'll be an extra $120 a year in savings or |
| you can check it out. | | | | $240 over the course of the contract. As it |
| Speed | | | | currently stands, this is the only advantage they |
| Now we're getting somewhere! | | | | have over other carriers. When you consider their |
| It wouldn't be a stretch to say that mobile | | | | limited 3G coverage, they aren't quite ready for |
| broadband speed is one of the biggest factors | | | | primetime. Instead of paying $60 for limited 3G |
| you want to think about. Will it be fast enough? | | | | coverage, you might as well pay $40 with Cricket |
| What is the latency like? Let's start this off with | | | | and not have a contract. |