Verizon Wireless Broadband?

[BigPoppa]

Anyone use this to play poker?

If so, are you happy with it?


...and are there any competing nationwide services I should look at at?

[zoobird]

Greatest thing ever.

I got it about a week ago. During my one hour bus commute each way every day I can just finish a set of turbo sngs. It even seems to work when I'm under the Hudson River in the Lincoln Tunnel.

[MicroBob]

cingular and sprint both have competing services I believe.


I have the Verizon broadband access for 1 full year now and love it.

Not quite hi-speed in the major markets. But still pretty fast.
Outside of major markets (on the highway, anywhere you get a cell-phone signal pretty much) it is typically 2x speed of dial-up.

But this is if you are way outside the major markets.
For example, on the map it looks like the entire 1-hour drive from Cincinnati to Dayton (and swinging over to Oxford) would ALL be broadband-access coverage even though you're not really in a city at all.


Anyway, it works great for me. Switched my cell-phone coverage to Verizon too...so broadband-access only costs $59/mth for me (not sure if they still give same discount).

Consider if you travel a lot that many hotels (and airports) are now charging $10/day for hi-speed internet.
So just 4 or 5 days in a hotel or airport and you are already breaking even because of the Verizon access.


Even the non-broadband speed is decent.

Memphis wasn't in the broadband market yet when I first got Verizon and it worked for me pretty well.
Just visited my family in small-town Destin, Fla. and the 2x dial-up speed was still working great for me down there.


highly highly recommended.

[BigPoppa]

MicroBob,

So it works outside the miniscule listed coverage area for Broadband?

Just at slower speeds?

[MicroBob]

The Broadband-access coverage area is for major-markets mostly (haven't looked at the map lately...but it seems to be growing all the time).

When you get outside of that area you are USUALLY in National-Access mode (slower than Broadband-Access mode).

National-Access works on the major highways and pretty much most places where you can at least get a cell-phone signal (maybe it needs to be a digital cell-phone signal as opposed to the old analog cell-phone signal).

Usually about 2x speed of regular dial-up (100kb or so).

Broadband access usually gets up to 500kb speed or faster.


Short-answer - yes, most places you are outside the Broadband Access coverage area you are getting the 2x dial-up speed (unless you are travelling in the Nevada desert or something I guess).


1. I found their phone-support to be extremely friendly and professional in answering all my noob Q's.

2. Last year when I signed-up I think there was a 15-day free-trial period where I could get a refund if I wasn't satisfied.
So you do get some time to feel it out.

[BigPoppa]

Cool, thanks

[kcheel]

[ QUOTE ]
MicroBob,

So it works outside the miniscule listed coverage area for Broadband?

Just at slower speeds?

[/ QUOTE ]

I wouldn't really call it miniscule. Here are currently covered markets. Keep in mind that this is usually all the surrounding areas, not just the city thats listed. For example, for NC it lists Raleigh/Durham but that also includes Cary/Apex/Chapel Hill/Burlington/etc.

http://www.verizonwireless.com/b2c/m...veragearea.jsp

Will cover 2/3 of the entire US population by January. As Microbob has stated, the service is great. I am a little biased though, I am a VZW agent.

[MicroBob]

hi verizon rep:

d10 indicated that he did talk to an agent and that agent told him he wouldn't be able to get any service because the closest to him was Atlanta.
He needs to be informed that he still gets the NationalAccess plan in a lot of places when outside the BroadbandAccess package.

I get the impression that it was the Verizon agent who gave d10 the impression that it was a miniscule coverage area for broadband.

I liked the different agents I worked with there.
Very courteous and professional. But there are some problems there with consistency (I guess unexpected).

I learned about this quite a lot because I spent hours and hours on the phone with various reps and tech people trying to figure out why it wasn't working for me at first turned out to be a defective card). I must have worked/talked with 10 different people there.


Also - Memphis didn't even have broadbandaccess at the time and the agent told me of no plans to get it in the near future. He mentioned that Nashville has it.
That's pretty silly as Nashville is 3+ hours away.

Memphis got it a couple months later and I was thrilled.
But it just started picking up broadband in Memphis. No announcement that it was coming or anything.

If the cust-serv rep had guaranteed that Memphis was getting it soon then I would have signed-up right-away.
As it was, since he sounded like there weren't any plans for Memphis (at least that was the impression I got) I almost turned it down deciding it might not be worth it.


Between my experience where they didn't even tell me broadband was coming to Memphis soon...and d10's experience where they pretty much told him, "Unless you are in Atlanta, it's not worth it" (and completely failed to tell him that national-access exists) I think some of the reps there could do a better job 'selling' their product a little bit.


These are just some constructive omments.
Overall, I thought the professionalism of the Verizon reps was outstanding and the knowledge was pretty good. After my hours and hours trying to figure out my card's problem I eventually felt I was one of you guys.

[AA Suited]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
MicroBob,

So it works outside the miniscule listed coverage area for Broadband?

Just at slower speeds?

[/ QUOTE ]

I wouldn't really call it miniscule. Here are currently covered markets. Keep in mind that this is usually all the surrounding areas, not just the city thats listed. For example, for NC it lists Raleigh/Durham but that also includes Cary/Apex/Chapel Hill/Burlington/etc.

http://www.verizonwireless.com/b2c/m...veragearea.jsp

Will cover 2/3 of the entire US population by January. As Microbob has stated, the service is great. I am a little biased though, I am a VZW agent.

[/ QUOTE ]

discounts for 2+2 crew? [img]/images/graemlins/cool.gif[/img]

[AA Suited]

"$59.99 monthly access w/ 2-yr customer agreement and qualifying voice plan.

*Other data services (Quick 2 Net) at $0.25 per minute. Roaming in Canada at $.002/KB on the National Access Rate and Coverage Area. Unlimited BroadBandAccess $59.99 plan is not available with prepay calling plans."

Wireless Cards:
Kyocera KPC650
Price: $59.99 with 1yr agreement
Price: $29.99 with 2yr agreement

Verizon Wireless PC 5740
Price: $19.99 with 1yr agreement
Price: $0.00 with 2yr agreement

Verizon Wireless V620
Price: $39.99 with 1yr agreement
Price: $9.99 with 2yr agreement

Link


You need a voice plan?! [img]/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img]

<font color="red"> Anyone know if Tmobile offers something similiar? </font> (ie: Not Tmobile Hotspot)

edit:
Unlimited NationalAccess and BroadbandAccess $79.99

BroadbandAccess= Verizon Wireless Internet

What's NationalAccess?