Verizon Wireless (speed)

[trvlrs2]

I'm new on this forum....first post.
We have a desktop at home
Laptop for on the road
To save some money I was thinking about dropping the DSL for desktop and going with a verizon wireless USB and use it for both. May concern is the up/download speeds compared to DSL. Verizon sales tells me the card is faster unless I am in a roaming area which I am.
I called Verizon twice about doing this. One person told me I can't use it on desktop. The other told me I can....go figure??
Has anyone done this? Thanks.......Bill

[trvlrs2]

I'm new on this forum....first post.
We have a desktop at home
Laptop for on the road
To save some money I was thinking about dropping the DSL for desktop and going with a verizon wireless USB and use it for both. May concern is the up/download speeds compared to DSL. Verizon sales tells me the card is faster unless I am in a roaming area which I am.
I called Verizon twice about doing this. One person told me I can't use it on desktop. The other told me I can....go figure??
Has anyone done this? Thanks.......Bill

[AlexSian]

If you are in a roaming area, you are not likely to get high speed EVDO and will probably end up with slower 1xrtt.

At best, 1xrtt is about 3-5 times the speed of dialup, so unless your DSL is realllly bad, your DSL speeds will be way faster than 1xrtt.

As for your ability to use USB on desktop... the only way you might have a problem is if you use linux. Mac and Windows users should have no problem.

I've had many customers who were told by verizon staff that they would be in this or that coverage. If you'd like my opinion on coverage at your location, feel free to email or PM your full street address with zipcode. I'll send you a screenshot and explanation.

[Rick 2005 Dolphin 5376]

I have Verizon Broadband in our coach. We travel extensively and find the speeds decent. In areas where the signal is one to two bars we get 400-800kkb downloads and 100-160 up. In high signal areas, we've seen 1.2 - 1.4 downloads and 2-300 up. Rev A is a far cry better than the previous version. If you want mobility, stick with a card. If you want internet only while stationary go with a big motosat dish.

[trvlrs2]

EVDOINFO; I shouldn't have a problem with desktop using windows xp. I have two to three bars on verizon cell here, but I'm using Carolina Wests tower for roaming. My main concern is the speed in roaming area here. Is the card faster than dialup?

Rick; I haven't been around putors long enough to relate (example; 400-800kkb) to dial-up speed campaired to DSL speed. Is there away I can check the numbers on my DSL? If I can get close to it then I'll get the wireless (maybe wait until the new B comes out) and use it for both. We are RVing about 4 months a year and the DSL service here is not good....It's down almost as much as it's working.... As it stands now we use the phone usb on laptop when traveling, but it will not work on roaming....
I don't want to have to pay for both DSL and Wireless Card a month for as much as we use the putor. Thanks Bill

[Rick 2005 Dolphin 5376]

I use this website. www.speakeasy.net/speedtest.
I'd look at a few DSL provider website to get a feel for the speeds they advertise and then try a 30 day money back deal from Verizon to see if you like what you see. No harm to try if you can cancel your contract, right?

[trvlrs2]

Thanks Rick; I checked my DSL speed on that site. Now I have an idea how to relate the numbers(speed) to the realtime speeds.
What I'll do is check with Verizon and see if they have 30 day trial on the USB720. If it works ok on Desktop then I'll be set with One monthly payment and the other will cover most of our winter stay in Florida..... Thanks for pointing me in a direction on this issue...
With the wireless card we can then eliminate the landline completely.
Bill

[Rick 2005 Dolphin 5376]

You're welcome. None of this stuff is perfect but I make the best out of it and use it for what it's worth. Julia and I depend on "on the go" internet for our business. Sometimes it's great. Sometimes it's not. Please post your results with Verizon so that others may learn from your experience.

[trvlrs2]

Thanks again Rick; And I will post the results on this endeavor....

Bill

[slabman]

Bill, I have a Verizon card and run it through a Top Global wireless router. I use it i the house with a desktop and two laptops, simultaneously. The desktop is wired directly through an old router and the laptops are wireless. When I hit the road, it take it with me and it sets up easily. I live in an area with Rev-A capability, so I find it quicker than my cable internet, so I dropped cable and use this exclusively. Get in tough with the EVDO guy...they know what they are doing. Do NOT buy directly from Verizon...too pricey and the cust. support is lacking.

[trvlrs2]

Slabman; I'll do just that. We are going to be heading out in a week so I'll not be getting anything ordered until we get back the end of Oct. I'll use the verizon phone with laptop on the road...It is slow but gets the job done while RVing. Thanks,
Bill