ATT/CINGULAR BROADBAND VS VERIZON/SPRINT EV-DO

[OpaRon]

Has anyone compared the GSM system of ATT/Cingular with Verizon/Sprint's CDMA system in terms of speed, availability, etc?

From what I can gather from the internet the CDMA technology is older and more limited on the upside, but is far more prevalent in the US - and will be so for the next few years. Therefore the Verizon/Sprint hardware might be best for now, but the future will belong to the GSM technology.

Since my ideas are purely theoretical, I'd like to hear from those of you who are actually using a system. Here's what I'd like to do for wireless internet; get a Kyocera KR1 router and a Sprint USB wireless card. (I have 2 MACs -preferred- and a PC when I HAVE to have one.)

I think I can set up that system for about $200 plus $60/month for unlimited data service. Does that sound reasonable?

Any more ideas? Thanks from a novice.

[OpaRon]

Has anyone compared the GSM system of ATT/Cingular with Verizon/Sprint's CDMA system in terms of speed, availability, etc?

From what I can gather from the internet the CDMA technology is older and more limited on the upside, but is far more prevalent in the US - and will be so for the next few years. Therefore the Verizon/Sprint hardware might be best for now, but the future will belong to the GSM technology.

Since my ideas are purely theoretical, I'd like to hear from those of you who are actually using a system. Here's what I'd like to do for wireless internet; get a Kyocera KR1 router and a Sprint USB wireless card. (I have 2 MACs -preferred- and a PC when I HAVE to have one.)

I think I can set up that system for about $200 plus $60/month for unlimited data service. Does that sound reasonable?

Any more ideas? Thanks from a novice.

[Bill Davis]

We are currently using a Cingular air card, our cell phone provider was Cingular. I have it tied to a Wilson Trucker antenna on the roof. I am in Brookings OR, on the waterfront. Signal is -59 dbm, considered great by Cingular. We pay $59.00 per month. Have not tried for signal in the boonies, but the roof antenna makes a significant difference. Works with a Compaq PC.

[OpaRon]

Thanks, Bill. We tried the Cingular Edge card a year or so ago, and it didn't work too well for us in our current location (Gaston, OR - rural Yamhill County.) We are right on the edge of their service area. Our Cingular cell phones work great, but the data service was way too slow. We are looking for the best data service when we start traveling next October. I'm just trying to get input from real users like you.

[Barbaraok]

We've been using a Verizon Express Card with our MacPro laptop for almost a year. I am really happy with the service, and amazed at how many places have broadband coverage. Even when we don't have broadband, the National Access is very good.

I think you are on the right track with router.

[Wallaby Dan]

We have had Alltel for two years now and only one place I couldn't get connected to. Alltel is sharing towers with Sprint and Version. With all three sharing and no roaming charges, Kinda hard to beat!

[OpaRon]

Thanks to Barbaraok and CAPT Dan for more confirmation. BTW, I loved the O'Keefe blog! And I'd never heard of Geocashing. Maybe we'll bump into you at Quartzsite next year. We were there for a couple of weeks in late January and early February. We try to find Life On Wheels (LOW) folks to camp near. Oh, yes - we are currently in the Portland, OR area, so we must be near you.

[Bill Davis]

Lots of Geocaches in the Quartzsite area, we do it every year. Check out www.geocaching.com for more info.

[KD4AO Bob]

I have been using the Sprint Sierra AC595U for about 2 months, including on a 4225 trip to Colorado. It works very well and I am happy with it. I plan to discontinue my DSL service soon.
My only problem is finding an email service, I have used earthlink for a long time and have gotten very used to the pop3 service. Thanks to Embarg taking over the old Sprint land line service and their plan to end the relation with Earthlink, changes have to be made. I would like to hear what email service others are using. Bob

[Dave O]

Hi Bob
I have used Earthlink for 6-7 years now and love it. Verizon data card for access. I am a direct Earthlink customer ($17,95 a month) with all the bells and whistles.

I have no plans to change especially because of the spaminator service. I get no spam on my puter and can check anything they have blocked on their server.

Dave O

[Bill Adams]

KD4AO,
You can get a G-Mail account and set it up to work with an Pop3 mail software such as Outlook and Outlook Express. It's free and has very good spam filters.
Some of the others such as Yahoo can also be setup for POP mail for a small annual fee and you can purchase e-mail services for a small annual fee for private providers as well.
You could get ME@KD4AO.com for very little money.

[Wallaby Dan]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Bill Davis:
Lots of Geocaches in the Quartzsite area, we do it every year. Check out www.geocaching.com for more info. </div></BLOCKQUOTE> I have had the best luck with Google mail. I have used both hotmail and yahoo and I will never use them again. Google has better spam filters. Have a good one, Capt.dan

[Bill Adams]

Hey Dan! Let's take a second look!
Is that the quote you really intended to use?
Geocaching? Google e-mail?

[Wallaby Dan]

AHH, Senior moment,Sorry Now I have to figure out who I was quoting