Paraphrasing Elmer Fudd: "Be vewy, vewy careful - it's "broadband cellular user" hunting season." The cellular salesdroids are cut from the same cloth as used car salesdroids; they'll say damn near anything to make the sale.
I get announcements EVERY day from Verizon Wireless extolling that yet another service area is now upgraded to Broadband. What that's telling me, reading vewy, vewy carefully... 100% of Verizon Wireless' 1xEV-DO Network is Rev. A... which is NOT the same as 100% of Verizon Wireless' network being 1xEV-DO. Verizon Wireless Broadband plans are NOT "100% unlimited access"; again, reading very carefully, if you dive into the Terms Of Service, buried in there is (finally... they got pounded severely for not disclosing this, and finally did publish it) a disclaimer that if you do more than 5 GB of transfer per month (I'm not sure how this is measured), then they throttle you, chastise you, and if you do it too often, they'll release you as a customer. HSPA / HSDPA / HSUPA is not proprietary to AT&T. It's the official evolution path to what most of the world would call "slow broadband" - speeds within the typical speed range of DSL. (That's a distinct improvement from the typical speed range of dialup / ISDN.) T-Mobile will undoubtedly be using the same technology, albeit tweaked a bit because they're using 1.7 / 2.1 GHz spectrum instead of the more usual 1.9 GHz spectrum. Aircard, if memory serves, is a brand name of Sierra Wireless. EVDO card would be a generic term. Express Bus, PCMCIA/PC Card, and USB are different ways of connecting the "wireless modem" to the computer. I recommend USB because it can be used interchangably on all different types of computers - the former two can't work on a desktop unit without a lot of pain retrofitting an adapter. Also... if you're thinking about using a USB "wireless modem", it draws significant power, so if you're going to use it with a USB hub, it must be a powered USB hub. As for coverage maps, they're the new fourth type of lie, after lies, damn lies, and statistics. All that a coverage map tells you is where the cells are and their best wild-ass-guess that you can probably connect within a mile or so of any given site, and then they paint the aggregate coverage on a map. Is HSxPA widely deployed in the US? Do you REALLY care? I'd guess not. The only thing you'll really care about is if it's deployed where YOU intend to use it. If so, great, you'll be happy. If not, you won't be happy. So ask pointed questions, especially of those in your circle who you know is using it and liking it. Don't believe the salesdroids. HSxPA will be like 1xEV-DO Rev. A on Verizon Wireless and Sprint Nextel - biggest cities first, then secondary cities, then expanding out. There was an announcement today from AT&T with some doublespeak that basically boiled down to that they'll expand their broadband service to cover the 350 biggest US cities by the end of the year, AND (separate statement - weasel wording) that by the end of the year, all of their broadband service will be HSxPA. Yes, real-world speeds are roughly equivalent between HSxPA and 1xEV-DO Rev. A. It's not much use comparing theoretical speeds - those depend on channel loading, distance, quality of signal, phase of the moon, color of your socks, etc. HSxPA is theoretically faster and has room to grow, but there's already development happening for 1xEV-DO Rev. B. To me, it boils down to Sprint doesn't seem to act evil when it comes to doing the typical things we all want to do with our Internet connection. Verizon Wireless and AT&T are very... "uptight" if you try to do too much with their broadband services. T-Mobile isn't in the broadband game yet; ditto Clearwire unless they've deployed in your city AND it's Mobile WiMAX (two cities experimentally deployed to date, so they're not a factor at the moment). Thanks, Steve On Feb 7, 2008 4:05 PM, Don Tran <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Okay, > > I had to do some quick self-edjumacating on EVDO & 1XRTT. > and found this excellent Article link below: > > it basically, says: > > 1xRTT is the default once you get outside of EVDO coverage area. (speed > 144kpbs up/down, > Average is more like 80kbps) > > Then there is Rev. 0 (speed 400 - 700 kbps) > and after that Rev. A. (speed 500-1000 kbps) > > > EVDO is a U.S. thing, Europe uses GSM. > > > Verizon is now 100% Rev. A > Verizon was first, Sprint quickly catching up. > > According to the article BOTH are $59.99 with unlimited access. > > The article also has a EVDOMaps.com link but it doesn't come up. > > > And I guess terminology wise, the aircard, EVDO card, modem card lingo are > used interchangebly > (e.g. express, pcmcia, and USB) > > And I'm not sure all about the AT&T HSxPA. is that their own proprietary > thing> > > http://www.evdoinfo.com/content/view/37/61/ > > Thanks > > > > > On 2/7/08, Frank Keeney <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > > > > > I do understand this. > > > > But is HSDPA widely deployed in the US (vs. Sprint/Verizon EVDO)? Are it's > > speeds comparable to EVDO rev A? > > > > Frank -- Steve Stroh Editor / Analyst, Stroh Publications LLC 425-939-0076 | [EMAIL PROTECTED] | www.stevestroh.com --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "SOCALWUG" group. 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