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Review Of Verizon's New Wireless Network
jagger writes "The service gives you the speed of broadband, the ease of WiFi and the coverage of cellular... sort of. The service is currently rolled out in Washington D.C. and San Diego, CA but offers speeds comparable to broadband. Read the full review from Rob Pegoraro of the Washington Post at Yahoo News."
I have to give some credit to Verizon for really putting their competitors to shame. I pay $30 a month for DSL thats 1024/256 Mb/s I get excellent customer service. I had been an earthlink customer prior to this for over 5 years and got tired of there ever creeping up prices. My only concern here is it seems this is basically WiFi via there current cell phone network. if so then again we are going to run into the local bells muscling the market.
I agree, as the article says probably nobody will get it except those who can write it off as a business expense. Unless the price drops precipitously it will quickly become just another service that home users will never get - think Nextel 2-way wireless radio on your cell phone. Nobody gets it except companies who can drop the money and write it off.
"Christ what a design! I could eat a handful of iron filings and PUKE a better emergency pump than that!"
Lets see.. I pay $50 / month for DSL. I also have to pay for a $20 / month "basic phone" line just to get the DSL. By basic, it's just a dial tone, no caller id, no features, even the ringer stays turned off so I dont have to deal with telemarketers. I could care less about it. I get free long distance, 400 anytime minutes, free nights and weekends, and free mobile-to-mobile minutes on my wireless phone. Plus voice mail, caller ID and I can take it anywhere. So why do I need a wired phone? Just so Bellsouth can establish DSL service. Yuck! It stands as an emergency 911 phone in case the wireless phone's battery is dead (if ever..).
That means I already pay $70 / month just to get DSL. I already have Verizon Wireless, so I might qualify for some kind of package deal discount.
The wireless phone I have is already a data-capable G3 phone. Possibly just a flash upgrade will enable the higher rates. So, I am probably out just a USB cable to get online. Anywhere, whenever. Hmmm.
Sounds like a good idea to me.
You know, it seems that where the telco's dropped the ball with fiber-to-the-curb, the wireless providers stand to prosper using RF.
...those who can write it off as a business expense. Unless the price drops precipitously...
The gov't will have to raise taxes to make up for lost revenue.
What?
The article didn't go in depth (or mention at all) about security the wireless service uses. If this is something that is widespread, I only hope that the security is something to be applauded. I would hate for a user in the home to go to their bank and enter their information only for the ever lurking hacker/cracker to gain access to their information.
Does anybody know of the security protocals used for this?
-- johntracy.com, because everybody else is wrong.
"I bet you could get better service by wardriving."
Yeah, it makes a lot more sense to go around looking for hotspots rather than having broadband access whereever you are. I can just see you running around looking for a free cell spot because you don't want to pay cell phone charges.
> At first I didn't realize what was going on (being that I was late for class, and rushing like crazy). But then it dawned on me, that this was a fake AP setup to steal real verizon user-names and passwords. Pretty slick if you ask me.
No kidding! OK, so now that we know, how do we ID the fake APs to avoid 'em? Always enter a bogus login first, or?..
"But at $79.99 a month, it's only a good deal to those who can write it off as a business expense."
Grrr. I'm paying $60 for a (highly rate limited due to the # of subscribers) 256Kbps 802.11 uplink, $99 for 128Kbps IDSL (yeah, I know it's just repackaged ISDN) because the former is too unreliable, and $15 for a decent dial-up to backup all the others because I can not afford not to have a connection! If I thought it would help I would kill someone to get 600Kbps for $80.
You can not function in the modern employment world above the level of "service" without solid, fast Internet connections. If you haven't figured this out yet you're grist for the unemployment line. It's a personal expense the same way a plumber pays for a toolbox full of tools. Get it?
Maw! Fire up the karma burner!
"But at $79.99 a month, it's only a good deal to those who can write it off as a business expense."
This guy apparently doesn't know any geeks.
With VOIP becoming so popular, a laptop with this would be portable broadband and mobile VOIP all in one. That would be well worth the expense to lots of us.
LK
"Hi. This is my friend, Jack Shit, and you don't know him." - Lord Kano