# Testing Verizon's new Broadband wireless card



## DonLandis (Dec 17, 2003)

It's been over 2 years since I got the T-Mobile GPRS card for my laptop and while T-Mobile has made slight improvements in their coverage in locations I travel often, they have not made any improvements in the performance. The GPRS card is OK to surf the internet and quite adequate for e-mail downloads but not good for any uploading or downloading of media files. This is an area I have been working with more and more while traveling.

I decided to try out the Verizon's PCMCIA card and their network. The system works on a two tier level which is broadband in select metropolitan areas, all the areas I travel with the exception of Norfolk VA. In the other verizon area it reverts back to a dialup (slower than the GPRS) which is stated at 14,400 baud. This barely does e-mail at a snail's pace. 

This evening I installed the card in my laptop and immediately began to get burst speeds of 1.2Mbs. Average speed of 600kbs. But it does do some strange rip van winkle because when you click on a URL, it seems to take awhile before it wakes up and starts to download. I'll be calling their tech support on that to see if I need to configure something or if that is normal behavior. 

AS for cost, it's expensive compared to the T-Mobile service. Verizon has a two tier pricing. If you have a cell phone service it's $59.95 per month and if not (me) it's $79.95. T-mobile was $29.95 per month but I see they just raised their price on it for new customers to $39.95. Considering they have not improved it, that sucks!

The Verizon card also doubles as a wifi card so when you are in a wifi zone it will allow you to use that for connect as well. 


I plan to add a Verizon cell phone in the near future as I feel my T-Mobile service just hasn't been stellar even though the cost is good and I like my ipaq PDA with it's features. I may keep the ipaq with T-Mobile service and have the Verizon service for my wife and me as our main provider next year. My wife needs a cell phone to also get her e-mail and I just need better connectivity in upstate NY where T-Mobile really is bad. Lack of T-Mobile connection this past trip caused me a half day delay. In that area, Verizon seems to be the only service that works.

So, if my new Verizon card works well for a week, I will keep it and retire the T-Mobile GPRS card.


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## AllieVi (Apr 10, 2002)

My brother began using the Verizon service about a year ago here in southern CA. This market and Washington, DC, were the first to offer the high-speed cell phone-based service that's being rolled out across the country.

I was really surprised at the performance of the system and he's been extremely pleased. As a Realtor, he spends a lot of time out of his office - he takes his notebook computer to open houses and client meetings. He's able to do research and provide information in real time while with a client no matter where they are.

It's an option worth considering for someone who lives in a major metropolitan area, has only one computer (a notebook) and needs portable high speed access.


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## DonLandis (Dec 17, 2003)

_"it does do some strange rip van winkle because when you click on a URL, it seems to take awhile before it wakes up and starts to download. I'll be calling their tech support on that to see if I need to configure something or if that is normal behavior. "_

The fix for this is to shut down the Venturi data compression and it runs much faster on wake up now. Not sure of the overall data speed, however. Venturi may work better with large file downloads. It was suggested by tech support to keep it handy and experiment with it in some cases as it may be better for large file downloads.


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## AllieVi (Apr 10, 2002)

DonLandis said:


> ... Not sure of the overall data speed, however. ...


You can check your overall up- and download speeds at several sites. Here's one:

http://www.dslreports.com/stest

You may need to download a Java plug in that's provided at the site.

Just follow the instructions. The test takes a while. Let it run until you see the final results displayed.

Just did mine and got 5 Mb/s down, 1.785 Mb/s up.


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## n8dagr8 (Aug 14, 2004)

Is Verizon CDMA or TDMA (GSM - phone service)? I want to say CDMA but I don't remember. If it were GSM, you could take the 6315 w/ you.

scratch that... google is my friend - CDMA


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## DonLandis (Dec 17, 2003)

n8 yes, CDMA. 

I was hoping that the new TREO 700 would be my PDA for Verizon but considering it is winMobile 5which is a good thing, but only 64Mb of internal memory which is very bad, I hope they upgrade to 128 Mb as MS recommends before it is released. IF not I plan to continue to keep T-Mobile on the ipaq 6315. My thinking is that if I travel with a cell phone for Verizon and have my wife moved over to Verizon, then keep the Ipaq with T-Mobile, I'll have all bases covered. I had some serious need to remain connected for media internet checks on my websites as well as full cell phone coverage. What I went through last week in NY with sporadic T-Mobile service nearly cost me a whole years cell phone budget. In that part of the country, Verizon rules!


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