Posted on 10/21/2011 8:17:49 PM PDT by ThunderSleeps
Looking for a WiFi hotspot. In my area I have it narrowed down to either one from Sprint or one from Verizon. Both are the same cost (initial and monthly). The delta is the Sprint one is 3G only in my area - nearest 4G is maybe 90 miles away in a much bigger city. Verizon offers 4G maybe at my house (edge of coverage), but much more 4G in places I'm likely to be with it. Other delta is data per month. Sprint is unlimited, Verizon (at this price) is 5 GB/month.
Anyone have any experience with either company/hotspots? Any opinions on faster-5GB vs slower-unlimited tradeoff?
Asking here 'cause I've come to trust my fellow freepers to give each other the real story.
Verizon has far greater coverage. Also, Sprint’s rates only apply when you are on their network and their network is so small, you will be in for some billing surprises even if you think you have unlimited service.
I have mobile hotspot device and it works great pretty much wherever I go.
I’m very happy with my Sprint Card. Been all over the country with it, including Hawaii, and have always had a solid connection.
Just looked at the data plans out of curiosity and they are a rip off. You are better off going with your local cable company for $25 a month and buying a router. You can get free wifi in pretty much any commercial area these days anyway. Why people pay $90 per month for a hotpot is beyond me... unless your company pays it. I don’t even pay that with my smartphone and unlimited data.
Give some serious consideration to WHY you need it, and whether you really need unlimited data. 5 GB per month is 170 megabytes/day, including weekends. That's a lot of data if you are using it for email and web. Unless you are downloading movies, it should be plenty. Put off the big downloads to when you are connected via land-line.
Verizon's 4G LTE hotspot is really nice, when you have LTE service. I've seen as much as 12 megabit/sec downstream, but 4-5 is more common. It's a bit expensive, but my company pays for it.
If you already have a smartphone, consider enabling its tethering feature. At AT&T, it's $25/month for 2 GB/month (but no tethering enabled), and $45/month for 4 GB/month (with tethering enabled). You don't have to pay for two separate data plans, or buy another device, or keep another device charged.
I prefer Splint for its unlimited data.
However, if I were more mobile I’d take Verizon for coverage.
They have the best and fullest coverage
Sprint dropped their unlimited 4g Plan
http://m.cnet.com/Article.rbml?nid=20123848&cid=null&bcid=&bid=-266
My understanding is that the 3G “unlimited” plan has a 10gb per month max limit
Hah! I have the unlimited plan already, do I’m grandfathered.
Just a thought. You should repost this during a week day, I am curious about the subject, and it seems you only got a few replies. If you do, please let me know. Thanks.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.