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Is Verizon Up to Speed?
Dejected @Work writes "IBM developerWorks just ran this article on Verizon's partial 3G network set up in some areas of the US, most of the North East. The article goes into some good technical background about these fatter pipes called Express Network. Has anyone tried this out?"
Good for Verizon they at least gotto market with their 3G systems. I work in Telecom and most of our clients are European Telcom majors and they have spent so much on licenses they are now too cash poor to implement the system itself. And of course in this market they cant raise the money from stock
**Life is too short to be serious**
It says up to 144 Kbps but with this disclaimer and no further explanation I wonder how fast it really is: 'The Express Network is capable of data speeds bursting up to 144 Kbps. You will experience slower data speeds dependent on network and equipment capabilities and other variables of wireless service.'
Sounds promising...
FoundNews.com - get paid to blog.,
Now ask when the USians are going to get this cool stuff. And then ask how much it costs. :)
Those are the business rates. Personal rates just use your standard minutes, which usually includes thousands of free night and weekend minutes.
I don't read ACs: If a post isn't worth so much as a nom de plume to its author then I wont bother either.
I had an opportunity to try out a Laptop that was connected via verizon's new network. The little PC card they supply as an interface option is stinking sexy but that's a separate issue... I would compare the speed to single ISDN. The verizon rep I talked to said the average sustained throughput was 45-65K with the occasional burst to 144K. The brief surfing session I had confirmed that the connection wasn't spectacular. I would say 45-65k is accurate based on my thumb in the air gadge. It does have tangible benifits though. Almost zero wait time to connect, totally wireless and slightly faster then 56k dialup. If travelling was part of my business I would be all over it. Beware of roaming to non-built out areas though: It will work but only at 14.4k.
Sprint will have a nationwide roll-out of 3G the beginning of this summer, FYI. First provider that will have it with that coverage. Verizon is second closest to rolling it out in more than just test markets.
I do work at Sprint so I'm not just pulling numbers out of the air.
The only true 3G in the United States is Ricochet...which I used at a true 80-250kbps. However, clueless executives and a little company called Aerie Networks have done a remarkably good job of killing that off, and we'll probably never see it again.
Too bad. The mesh design of Ricochet was a boon to rescue and police efforts in New York, since many microcell nodes can go down without debilitating the network. With 3G, lose a couple of cell towers and everyone's suddenly got curiously-shaped handheld vibrators instead of phones. The bitrate of 3G sucks if you happen to be doing anything except sitting less than a half-mile from the tower, too.
I'll be impressed when Verizon and the other cellcos decide to offer real mobile broadband at flat-rate pricing: all you can eat (datawise, that is) whenever you want for $50.00 a month in a given service area, like Ricochet did just before running out of cash and going tits-up. Instead, they'll nickel-and-dime people who need more than 14.4k in the field.
Yes, I was a user. It rocked 95% of the time. It even worked on Caltrain from all the way from San Jose to Burlingame towards the end.
mLife from AT&T Wireless, and the new offering from Verizon Wireless are very close to each other for 'real world performance'. About the speed of a V.90 56K modem in good signal areas, and dipping around the 28.8/33.6 region in lower signal areas. Everyone is using the modem standards to measure performance, but it isn't the best. Remember the equipment is tethered to whatever you're using (laptop, pocketpc, palm device). This 'tethered' connection is more like an Ethernet connection. So bandwidth is limited, but latency should be faster. I don't know if this is making sense! For nay-sayers who think Verizon Wireless is spot on with BREW, and other new features with their '3G' network just remember that all the other providers (excluding Nextel, and smaller 'rural' carriers like Alltel, Western Wireless, US Cellular etc.) have the same rollouts planned. In fact by the time Verizon Wireless comes to market with BREW enabled equipment the other major providers will have the same sort of offerings to compete, or will be close to rolling out equipment to compete with Verizon.
What everyone needs to know is all the wireless providers are strapped for cash. I personally think that the real fun stuff will be with either Verizon, or AT&T Wireless. I'm leaning towards the AT&T side because of their relationship with NTT DoCoMo, and rumors of cHTML(rendered html for small devices, no more WAP bullshit) enabled equipment before the end of the year. Also they were the first provider to get a 2.5G network deployed (Seattle, July 2001 I think). Also they're not trying to play up their 2.5G GSM/GPRS network saying it is 3G. Sure. It'll be 3G when they're finished with it in 2003/2004 when the final upgrades rollout. Not until then will AT&T or any other provider really have a 3G network. We will have test markets, and small pockets of fun high-bandwidth stuff. Not anytime soon though. Don't let the marketing fluff cloud your judgement.