Any current Millenicom customers??

[Walt VanRheen]

I am about ready to place my order for Millenicom Mobile Wireless Broadband Internet Service. Are their any current Millenicom on here? How is the service WHILE CHASING in the plains. I really am only interested for service in chase areas which hopefully is not in metro area. Now that the honeymoon is over, I would like some feedback.

 

[Gordon Spencer]

A good place to go for feedback on broadband carriers is the user forums at www.DSLreports.com. There is a millenicom user forum in there.It is pretty active som I am sure you will get some good feedback there

I am about ready to place my order for Millenicom Mobile Wireless Broadband Internet Service. Are their any current Millenicom on here? How is the service WHILE CHASING in the plains. I really am only interested for service in chase areas which hopefully is not in metro area. Now that the honeymoon is over, I would like some feedback.

 

[Bill Tabor]

I used them last season with good success. However I went to reactivate my Sierra Wireless (Sprint Network) 595U card and they tell me that is no longer available to use on their network. You can't add your own card anymore like I did either. Now you have to just purchase the subscription and they send you a card (more or less free) that you use. When you wish to cancel the account you mail it back to them. Appears now their new card runs on Verizon. The service rep told me it works on ALL networks! If that is true then it is a big deal - though assume they don't mean AT&T.

I guess I'll go ahead and sign up but it will take 3 to 4 days to receive my modem, and I'll have to find an external antenna adapter for it.

 

[Derek Weston]

Thanks for reminding me of this service...

Biggest thing I wonder about is whether or not I have to pay the 50 dollar setup fee every time I deactivate my account.

(and perhaps I missed that reading)

I might just use this for chasing this season.

 

[Bill Tabor]

I just installed mine and tested it using the Pantech UM175 USB modem. Initial results I am getting without the antenna connected and in a fairly low signal area Rev A (2 bars) is 1.18 Mbps or 1180 Kbps. I see some folks on the net getting over 2 Mbps.

One thing really cool about the Pantech UM175 is it comes with a Y cable for USB with one port used for additional power to the antenna. So, in essence it acts as a power booster. I haven't bought an extra power booster so the additional power to add to my antenna for chasing is certainly welcome.

Odd thing however is I have to configure a Dial Up Networking connection to use this as far as I know. It also comes with some Mobile Broadband software as well and perhaps I can configure Venturi as well. I am concerned that the DUN sets a maximum on modem speed. My device seems to max out based on what I set it too and the top setting is around 1.0 Mbps. Anyone know what's up with that and if I need to configure somehow without DUN? I plan on calling tech support tomorrow about it. I don't recall doing it this way when I was using the Sprint based Sierra Wireless 595U card. Suggestions are appreciated.

 

[Bill Tabor]

PS: Everyone out there in Google land is reporting Millenicom has NO cap. That's right. Supposedly they don't cut you off or penalize you if you go over the 5gb limit of most other providers. It also appears that Millenicom used to support Sprint, but now they have switched to Verizon.

 

[Derek Weston]

PS: Everyone out there in Google land is reporting Millenicom has NO cap. That's right. Supposedly they don't cut you off or penalize you if you go over the 5gb limit of most other providers. It also appears that Millenicom used to support Sprint, but now they have switched to Verizon.

You mean you cannot get Sprint networks?

 

[Jeff Snyder]

You mean you cannot get Sprint networks?

Well, that can't be entirely right. I just signed up with Millenicom, and I received the older Franklin card that has been used on the Sprint network. I've read some items (via Google) that state that Millenicom may be transitioning away from Sprint and towards Verizon. However, I've also read that the service will use any available EVDO signal (which seems a bit questionable, so I doubt it). I ran a speed test in a relatively weak-signal area just outside OKC, and the speed wasn't anywhere near what Bill has been getting. Still, though, for being on the fringe (signal-strength-wise), I'm plenty happy with speeds that put my previous Cingular 2125 phone (EDGE and GPRS only) to shame! If I can get my new Blackjack II set up to tether correctly, I'd like to compare Sprint and AT&T 3G data at my location.

I've read too that the Pantech card needs a DUN setup... However, someone mentioned something about software that you need to download in order to get it to work w/o DUN. Bill, I'm sure you've done more Googling on this than I have since I didn't get the Pantech card, though.

For me though, it seems that Millenicom is exactly what I need... I can use it during the chase season (March 15-June 30), and not to have pay for it the remainder of the year. Oh yeah, and I don't need to pay for the data card. That alone saves me over having to sign up for a 1- or 2-year contract and pay for the service for months during which I won't use it much (e.g. outside of chase season). I still have my AT&T phone that I can tether with minimally should I need to chase (or just have laptop access via cell) outside of the normal season. So, the lack of a contract and the lack of equipment prices makes the $50 activation fee well worth it for me. Then again, perhaps I should actually use it for a season first before I get too happy.

 

[Andrew Butler]

Thanks for reminding me of this service...

Biggest thing I wonder about is whether or not I have to pay the 50 dollar setup fee every time I deactivate my account.

When you want to reactivate, yes. They do have an option to just buy the aircard for $99 and not have to worry about returning everything when you deactivate the account. I'm thinking seriously about that option, but worried that if for whatever reason they drop a card and start using a new one that I'll be out $99 and have to buy a new one...

I have been looking at Millenicom for a month. Seems like the right fit for me. This $50 startup fee is a bit annoying, but I'm liking everything else. Really good reports from the forums on speeds and so far, NO CAP.

 

[Bill Tabor]

Yep it's a sweet deal Jeff. I'm still playing around with it. I use DUN but upped my modem speeds to max. I also used their Mobile Broadband app which I found out is really pretty much just VzAaccess from Verizon. I played with that too.

Apparently Sprint is still being used in some areas - particularly for customers that can't get Verizon. It may be they check and see who has the best service in your area and send you the card that fits you best. I don't know if there is a card that works on both networks and I'm not up on what the roaming agreements are right now, or even if Verizon has full use of Alltel towers yet.

I'll continue to play and hopefully I can get it up to 2 Mbps soon. I hear the tower I connect to has to have T1 to get that speed.

 

[Bill Tabor]

When you want to reactivate, yes. They do have an option to just buy the aircard for $99 and not have to worry about returning everything when you deactivate the account. I'm thinking seriously about that option, but worried that if for whatever reason they drop a card and start using a new one that I'll be out $99 and have to buy a new one...

I have been looking at Millenicom for a month. Seems like the right fit for me. This $50 startup fee is a bit annoying, but I'm liking everything else. Really good reports from the forums on speeds and so far, NO CAP.

Yes I had the Sierra Wireless 595U that I owned and they wouldn't let me use it on for Sprint on Millenicom. So I'll take a hit now when I sell it. The Pantech modems are very cheap. Many of these USB modems are. Likely the $45 Millenicom setup fee really pays for the modem even though they don't give it to you for that.

 

[Andrew Butler]

Yes I had the Sierra Wireless 595U that I owned and they wouldn't let me use it on for Sprint on Millenicom. So I'll take a hit now when I sell it. The Pantech modems are very cheap. Many of these USB modems are. Likely the $45 Millenicom setup fee really pays for the modem even though they don't give it to you for that.

NOTE TO SELF (and all others that are disorganized and lose stuff like me):

Better not break or lose anything to avoid the $200 (!) cancellation fee if you cancel and are unable to return working aircard/equipment...

 

[Bill Tabor]

Just talked to Millenicom support and got some updates. The guy was very helpful (Stacey) which is surprising because I see a lot of notes on the web saying Millenicom's support sucks.

Big News:
1) He said Verizon was supposed to go live with Alltel towers starting April 1st. This didn't totally go without a hitch but they will be continually repairing problems and phasing in.
2) He said that Verizon will use Alltel towers and if roaming will use Sprint towers to connect to the Verizon network.

Other Info of Interest:
1) He said they aren't specifically a Verizon shop. He said they provide Sprint based cards for those in the areas where they are appropriate or users require them.
2) About DUN (Dial Up Networking). I can use DUN or the Wireless Broadband software to access the connection. The Wireless Broadband software is essentially VzAccess Manager from Verizon and basically is a fancy GUI for DUN.
3) The DUN limitation (of the modem) to 115Kbps is a windows display limitation. The modem connects at a faster speed dependent upon the tower, and strength of signal and isn't limited by DUN.
4) DUN has an auto-reconnect option, but he wasn't aware of one in the Wireless Broadband software.

I might add that in my speed testing when I added the Y cable it significantly increased my speed by the power boost almost by 2x. PS: My tests were inside and without an antenna attached.