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Is Verizon Up to Speed?

Posted by Hemos on from the getting-their-roll-out-on dept.

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?"

5 of 140 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Why 3G? by interiot · · Score: 3, Interesting
    In Japan, video phones are available. Other similar applications that are possible are streaming video (eg. TV) and streaming audio (eg. radio). And since the better 3G phones have a camera on them, you can capture images (eg. digital camera), video (eg. sorta digital videorecorder), and audio (eg. digital tape recorder) as well. These captured multimedia files can easily be emailed to your friends. And all this fits in your pocket.

    Now ask when the USians are going to get this cool stuff. And then ask how much it costs. :)

  2. Re:Sexy but expensive by anthony_dipierro · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Those are the business rates. Personal rates just use your standard minutes, which usually includes thousands of free night and weekend minutes.

  3. On a related note this can lead to hazards by maggard · · Score: 3, Interesting
    New Scientist Magazine is reporting that cellphones, particularly large numbers of them as would be found in a packed commuter train of busily networked folks, could be hazardous.
    Passengers on packed trains could unwittingly be exposed to electromagnetic fields far higher than those recommended under international guidelines. The problem? Hordes of commuters all using their mobile phones at the same time.

    ...

    Mmm - just what I want - to be stuck on BART with hordes of other techies all busily toasting each other's DNA.

    --
    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.
  4. I tried it... by bobcat7677 · · Score: 4, Interesting

    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.

  5. Re:Try 2.5 G network... by vought · · Score: 3, Interesting

    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.