AT&T Sierra Wireless AirCard 881

[Paul Redmond]

pardon me for beating the proverbial dead horse. I am planning on upgrading to a broadband air card. I have looked ant altell and their evdo card and at AT$T with their edge card. If I understand correctly, AT$T seems to have a more widespread coverage map in TX and OK. If I also understand correctly the Sierra Wireless AirCard 881 is part of that edge plant. I am curious about any feedback on this.

Part of my reason for asking is that AT&T is not very imformative unless your are a big business owner with an account and a password. Otherwise you get shunted through an endless loop of pages trying to sell you sleek sexy little teenybopper mommy gen xyz I want one a dose NOW &))(*&)(*^&)(*^)*&^ blankety blank cell phones. Needles to say I know less than little about available plans.

I have ruled out EVDO at this point because it's future seems limited, with G3 showing more and more promise.

I am going to try talking to an actual human being about them tomorrow, time and work permitting.


So any feedback on AT&T Sierra Wireless AirCard 881?

 

[Gordon Spencer]

Make sure coverage is HSDPA and not EDGE , EDGE Sucks!! There is far more Alltel EVDO coverage nationwide ( especially with Sprint Roaming agreement) than ATT HSDPA , I am not familiar with Texas so maybe for you area of concern it does fit .

pardon me for beating the proverbial dead horse. I am planning on upgrading to a broadband air card. I have looked ant altell and their evdo card and at AT$T with their edge card. If I understand correctly, AT$T seems to have a more widespread coverage map in TX and OK. If I also understand correctly the Sierra Wireless AirCard 881 is part of that edge plant. I am curious about any feedback on this.

Part of my reason for asking is that AT&T is not very imformative unless your are a big business owner with an account and a password. Otherwise you get shunted through an endless loop of pages trying to sell you sleek sexy little teenybopper mommy gen xyz I want one a dose NOW &))(*&)(*^&)(*^)*&^ blankety blank cell phones. Needles to say I know less than little about available plans.

I have ruled out EVDO at this point because it's future seems limited, with G3 showing more and more promise.

I am going to try talking to an actual human being about them tomorrow, time and work permitting.


So any feedback on AT&T Sierra Wireless AirCard 881?

 

[Steve Miller]

My feedback is to get your new card on ebay or from an individual so you can avoid getting in a contract with these crooks.
Also, I would consider going with the USBConnect 881 device. There is no loss in speed, you can throw the device on a USB extension and onto your dash for better reception and, most important, when it comes time to upgrade your laptop you won't have to worry about the fact that it does not have a PC card slot. By the way, USB to PC card cables are crazy expensive.
3G is nice, I've seen it on a speed test using the USBConnect 881 and it came in at around 1300kbps down and about 300kbps up.
My sprint card from the same location pulled down 1100kbps and 380kbps up.
AT&T's 3G coverage is growing every month so it could very well be a sprint-killer in short time.

 

[Gene Moore]

AT&T has become the system to hate with most storm chasers. Their card is much faster than phone (modem) tether with EDGE. Regardless, if you chase more south AT&T is better with dense cellular coverage in TX and OK. The other offerings do better further north. Verizon is better in Kansas and any combination with Altell is best in Kansas, especially the western half of the state. Nebraska is a toss up, who really has good coverage in infamous Cherry County and everyone covers I-80. Verizon is still the best in Iowa also. If you chase the northern plains I think Verizon is the one you'll like.

As for cards, Steve points out something I've also mentioned, some newer notebooks are showing up without PCMCIA type II slots. PC cards have been around for over 15 years and it's a (slowly) dying system. Thus I find it odd some phone companies are building their fastest service around this old technology.

 

[Scott Weberpal]

Sprint and Alltel have fabulous roaming agreements with eachother as well as other CDMA/EVDO carriers. I'm not so sure the 3G has a better future than EVDO as REV B or WiMax will likely be rolled out in the next few years. CDMA/EVDO, because the large majority of US carries use it, will likely remain on top of GSM/3G for some time to come. At very least, EVDO will be MUCH more widespread than 3G for the next 2 years (which would be the length of your contract). If you look at the alltel data coverage map,

http://content.alltel.com/business/enhanced/mobilelink_coverage.jsp?state=nat

almost the ENTIRE state of KS is covered by EVDO as well as a large majority of NE, SD, ND, AR, and W. TX. Compare that to ATT 3G, and there's no question that Alltel blows away ATT. Given Sprint and alltel have nearly 100% reciprocity on their roaming agreement, you'll do fine with either.

 

[Scott Guidry]

EVDO is the only way to go IMO. Like others have said here, there is more EVDO coverage across the country than other technologies. Plus, if you drop down, even 1xRTT isn't "that" bad. It's still faster than most dial up connections. Expect 4G to be coming by 2010.

 

[J Kinkaid]

Anyone have link to street level coverage maps from Alltel or know where I can see them cause I really don't trust there maps on there website. Still not sure I would switch from ATT since 3G is the future and not EVDO .

 

[Gordon Spencer]

EVDO is 3G . And EVDO rev. A blows HSDPA away. The coverage nationwide for EVDO is 4 times that of HSDPA.

Anyone have link to street level coverage maps from Alltel or know where I can see them cause I really don't trust there maps on there website. Still not sure I would switch from ATT since 3G is the future and not EVDO .

 

[J Kinkaid]

EVDO is 3G . And EVDO rev. A blows HSDPA away. The coverage nationwide for EVDO is 4 times that of HSDPA.

Just cause CDMA/EVDO has the coverage now doesn't mean that it's the future of high speed mobile internet. HSDPA is faster and has less latency when compared to EVDO rev A. Why does the rest of the world use GSM more than CDMA ? I don't want compressed voice on the same channels so I will stick with Att and there great coverage.

 

[Gordon Spencer]

Stick with whatever makes you feel warm and fuzzy inside . Right now in North America EVDO is far superior to HSDPA that is the only point I am making. if you feel HSDPA serves your needs better . Great. I could care less . I have no vested interest in which format anyone uses . And by the way the rest of the world uses CDMA as well not just GSM. Man it is funny how fanatical some ATT users get . Reminds me of MAC users when you mention PC , LOL

Just cause CDMA/EVDO has the coverage now doesn't mean that it's the future of high speed mobile internet. HSDPA is faster and has less latency when compared to EVDO rev A. Why does the rest of the world use GSM and not CDMA ? I don't want compressed voice on the same channels so I will stick with Att and there great coverage.

 

[Kurt Hulst]

Regardless of the of 3g/EVDO. The carriers ATT and Verizon CAP there unlimited data plans at 5Gig per month. So they dont like heavy use. All tell Sprint and Mellinicom (sprint reseller) do not cap there unlimited data usage.

 

[Dennis Sherrod]

Viewing ATT site, the usage is listed at 5 as you say, but the additional charge for more is listed as $0.000.(No Additional Charge) I contacted customer service about this and was told that there is no limit as the contracts show there is no charge for additional usage. This is what I was told, but I have not actually seen the contract, but that is what shows on the website.
Strange wording they use though.

 

[J Kinkaid]

If you are on an old ATT data plan you still have unlimited internet but if you change or drop it you will have the 5 gig soft limit on your account . I have yet to hear of any one getting booted from going over 5gig and I average 7 gigs a month with slingbox use and streaming.

 

[Paul Redmond]

I am having similar information problems trying to see into plans and available cards at alltel. Sprint however seems ready to ship a sierra wireless 595u card with a usb cable for nothing with the promise of a 2 year plan. To be honest, for saving the expense of a $300 card now, I dont mind going with a two year plan. I am even ready to switch my cell phone over as well. I am weighing all my options right now and will try to make a decision by the end of this week. I am waiting to hear back from alltel and AT&T. I am an existing AT&T customer, so I hope the bottomless option holds, otherwise I just may go with sprint.

 

[J Kinkaid]

Paul if you do decide to go with Sprint go with the Sero plan

500 anytime mins
nights after 7pm and weekends
Unlimited Internet that you can teether with for
$30 a month / or less if you get a company discount