The Cheapest Aircard/Internet Service is...

[Van DeWald]

If I read this right, if you bring your own PC card to Alltell or ATT, there aren't any contract obligations, and the price is still $60/month, correct?

Unfortunately, I've got a new laptop with the Express slot, not sure if you can find those cards on the cheap or not. I've got a Cingular Sierra Aircard 860 that I used once last summer with my phone SIM chip (on the media connect plan) and that worked OK here in Nebraska, but now that card won't fit in my new laptop which doesn't have a PC card slot. Anyone need Cingular Sierra Aircard 860? LOL

Still looking at a Sprint card here, but not excited about the 2 year contract. I'm like a lot of you, probably wouldn't use the aircard outside of the chasing season.

 

[Ryan McGinnis]

If you don't mind switching your cellular phone service to Alltel, Alltel is *by far* the cheapest. You can tether your phone to your laptop for $20 extra a month for unlimited high speed internet. You can turn the feature on and off at will, meaning that you can call in and turn it on for a chase week, then turn it off when you're done for a total cost of $5. Even if you turn it off, you can still use the high speed internet tethering option, it just comes out of your phone's regular plan minutes. So if you surf the net for an hour, it uses 60 plan minutes. If you get a package with free nights and weekends, then the nights and the weekends are free for tethering, too. Alltel EVDO will roam on most Sprint EVDO and Verizon EVDO towers, too.

There's nothing even close to that level of cheapness provided by any of the other carriers.

 

[Jason Boggs]

OK Jason you're using Sprint, so set me straight here. I thought Alltel was a combination of both Sprint and their own towers ....so wouldn't that be much better? If the wireless coverage maps mean anything, it appears Alltel has much more coverage. I currently use AT&T, good coverage but slower speed. I'm always looking and trying to keep up with the changes since my contract expired last spring.

Gene, actually I'm not real sure. I just got some good advice from others such as David Drummond and Jay McCoy to go with the Sprint card. I am at my parents house south of Pampa, TX and I'm getting internet service with the sprint card. I tell you what, if I can get service here, I can just about guarantee that I can get in anywhere.

I think Sprint has a contract with a couple of other phone companies, but I'm not sure.

 

[David Drummond]

Gene, actually I'm not real sure. I just got some good advice from others such as David Drummond and Jay McCoy to go with the Sprint card. I am at my parents house south of Pampa, TX and I'm getting internet service with the sprint card. I tell you what, if I can get service here, I can just about guarantee that I can get in anywhere.

I think Sprint has a contract with a couple of other phone companies, but I'm not sure.

Sprint data cards roam free on Alltel towers were they are and Sprint is not.

 

[COgden]

If I read this right, if you bring your own PC card to Alltell or ATT, there aren't any contract obligations, and the price is still $60/month, correct?

Does anyone know anything about this??? Sounds to good to be true!!

 

[J Kinkaid]

Does anyone know anything about this??? Sounds to good to be true!!

It's 100% true and there are no catches

 

[COgden]

After a little research:

1) Buy a device from ebay or wherever.
2) Set it up with ATT as a Sim Only Plan for a $25 activation fee and sim card
3) Allows for prepaid services and some postpaid services with no contract.
4) Sometime in June terminate service untill next year.

Sound right?? Thats the way I read it, but that info is coming from other forums not ATT.

 

[Gene Moore]

Does anyone know anything about this??? Sounds to good to be true!!

What I read you can't get the tethering or PC card plan without first having a regular phone plan....$39.93 for most companies. Thus the total price is approx $100. Does anyone have a data only plan?

I am likely leaving AT&T unless we can work something out. When they took over Cingular I lost my tethering data plan completely and they did not tell me. Yet, they still charged me for it!!!! I was automatically shifted to Media Net, which has only very small downloads directly to a cell phone...news, weather, sports, ring tones etc.

A week ago I tested out the software for the season bringing up radar, I was charged an extra fee for that. Had I gone chasing and built a big download total I would have been hammered....not very nice.

I'm looking hard at Alltel right now, still seems they are better than Sprint for coverage and coverage not speed comes first with me. I have a new job and won't be chasing very much this year, so I may just use WI-FI and Threatnet, I don't need constant data all day long.

Gene

 

[J Kinkaid]

What I read you can't get the tethering or PC card plan without first having a regular phone plan....$39.93 for most companies. Thus the total price is approx $100. Does anyone have a data only plan?

I am likely leaving AT&T unless we can work something out. When they took over Cingular I lost my tethering data plan completely and they did not tell me. Yet, they still charged me for it!!!! I was automatically shifted to Media Net, which has only very small downloads directly to a cell phone...news, weather, sports, ring tones etc.

A week ago I tested out the software for the season bringing up radar, I was charged an extra fee for that. Had I gone chasing and built a big download total I would have been hammered....not very nice.

I'm looking hard at Alltel right now, still seems they are better than Sprint for coverage and coverage not speed comes first with me. I have a new job and won't be chasing very much this year, so I may just use WI-FI and Threatnet, I don't need constant data all day long.

Gene

1) The only way that you could have been charged extra is if you had pay per use on your account and that feature should not be on your account.

2) You can still teather with $20 media max on your laptop with out any problems

 

[Mark Blue]

I can only vouch for Sprint since I am a current customer, but if you are a federal government employee you can get an additional 15% off of your monthly bill after you contact them and they verify that you are actually telling the truth. Every little bit counts when you have to sign a 2 year contract.

http://www.nextel.com/en/solutions/federal_govt.shtml

 

[J Kinkaid]

You can get 25% discount with Sprint if you work for UPS or FEDEX and they don't verify anything


also ATT offers discounts even better than Sprint If you want more info you can ask me in this thread on shoot me a pm

 

[John Wetter]

I'm looking hard at Alltel right now, still seems they are better than Sprint for coverage and coverage not speed comes first with me. I have a new job and won't be chasing very much this year, so I may just use WI-FI and Threatnet, I don't need constant data all day long.

Alltel and Sprint are effectively the same coverage as they have roaming agreements with each other.

-John

 

[J Kinkaid]

Alltel and Sprint are effectively the same coverage as they have roaming agreements with each other.

-John

If you are an Alltel customer you may have problems with this if you are using a non smartphone since Alltell does not allow EVDO roaming on Sprint at this time . There is a way around this but you will have to install a PRL from the 4000 range.

 

[John Wetter]

If you are an Alltel customer you may have problems with this if you are using a non smartphone since Alltell does not allow EVDO roaming on Sprint at this time . There is a way around this but you will have to install a PRL from the 4000 range.

That's incorrect. The Sprint/Alltel roaming agreement includes all data including EVDO and EVDO Rev. A. The agreement was extended for 10 years in May of 2006. The Verizon agreement does not include EVDO coverage in either direction.

From wikipedia:

On May 9, 2006, Alltel and Sprint Nextel agreed on a new nationwide roaming partnership.[6] [7] Unlike Alltel's voice and 1xRTT roaming agreement with Verizon Wireless, the new reciprocal roaming agreement is for both voice and 1xEV-DO data roaming coverage. This agreement gives Alltel customers access to Sprint's voice, 1xRTT, and 1xEV-DO networks and gives Sprint customers access to Alltel's denser rural 1xEV-DO voice and data coverage. This agreement is the first of its kind between wireless carriers in the United States because of the inter-carrier 1xEV-DO roaming.

 

[J Kinkaid]

That's incorrect. The Sprint/Alltel roaming agreement includes all data including EVDO and EVDO Rev. A. The agreement was extended for 10 years in May of 2006. The Verizon agreement does not include EVDO coverage in either direction.

From wikipedia:

Wikipedia is wrong and you are wrong at this time . Trust me as I found out this past week when I was in Bham, AL , Nashville, TN ,Knoxville,TN and Atlanta ,GA and was limited to 1Rtt data because Alltells current PRL does not allow EVDO roaming with non smart phones

Post #2

http://howardforums.com/showthread.php?t=1339430

Again post #10

http://howardforums.com/showthread.php?t=1340577