Cell Phone vs PC Card for internet access - Montana Owners Club

gojodo · 05-03-2006, 02:11 AM

I am becoming increasinly frustrated trying to figure out what I really get if I go ahead and use the Verizon PC Card with their broadband service. First, as I understand it if I am outside of most metropolitan areas I will only have access to their National Access area. The real question I have is if I am using the PC card with National Access area access is the service any different than plugging in my Cell phone and dialing up to something like Earthlink? If not, then the extra minutes I use for Internet service would be a lot cheaper than the monthly access fee charged by Verizon. Does anyone understand this mess. Thanks - we are waiting for delivery of our new 3075RL in early June.

jrgwdenner · 05-03-2006, 02:48 AM

We used Mobile Office from Verizon for a couple of years. We had to wait until after 9 o'clock or the weekends so we wouldn't use our minutes. From all indications, Verizon is now charging a monthly charge for this service, although the details aren't clear. It would be about half the price of an aircard.

We recently purchased an aircard from Verizon plus a booster antenna and a router. For $60.00 per month, we have a wireless setup for both computers that is portable and efficient. It has worked flawlessly for our first week. We will be able to connect on line while we are driving because the setup is so portable. We recommend this setup. Although we are in rural Alabama and the service is only a little faster than dialup, it is faster and works well. We will be cancelling our Earthlink service as we will no longer need it as an ISP. I understand that you can keep your email account for $3.00 per month and we may do that.

Glenn and Lorraine · 05-03-2006, 06:11 AM

We have been using the Verizon AirCard for 2 1/2 years with few complaints. It is absolutely faster than the 14,4 cell phone connection. As I got a terrific deal on Cable TV with Internet this winter so I did use Road Runner while Lorraine used the AirCard. I will admit that Road Runner was faster the AirCard was just a few seconds behind in connection speed. As the cable deal ended April 30th I am now using the AirCard and hardly notice the difference in speed.
Of course the speed does have a lot to do with the signal strength. At this location we have 4 or 5 bars but as we begin to head north the number of bars at times will drop but I have most always been able to get online.
My next step will be to add the router, like Judy has, in order that Lorraine and I can be online at the same time.

As far as Email. I set up an email account at Lycos.com. I have 2 accounts and Lorraine has her own. Best of all it's FREE and I can check my email at anytime from any computer. You will get Pop-Ups but turn on the Pop-Up Blocker and they disappear.

rvfirefighter · 05-04-2006, 01:14 AM

Judy, you mention you are going to cancel your ISP now that you have an aircard, can you get on the internet without an ISP? I was under the impression you needed access to the internet no matter how your access.

jrgwdenner · 05-04-2006, 02:28 AM

We get on the internet with the aircard and then I click Firefox and off we go. I either use the Google search or Bookmarks (Favorites) to get to the page that I want. We only have two neighbors close to us so we keep the router going much of the time. I just pick up the computer and start searching.

Glenn and Lorraine · 05-04-2006, 05:17 AM

For all intent and purpose the AirCard is your ISP but unlike most ISP's you do not get an email address. As I stated above we use Lycos for our email or you could use Yahoo, Hotmail or many online FREE email providers. Do a Google search for "Free Email".

Lstierw · 05-04-2006, 08:22 AM

We have T-mobile and it costs us 20 bucks a month for unlimited internet access through GPRS. It's about 3 times faster than dial-up and it has worked well for us....Les

gkbutler · 05-05-2006, 05:17 PM

We picked up the Cingular 3G PC Card Modem today and we have had no problems connecting. It is a little more pricy than the other plans I have seen posted here, but is about the same price that we paid when we had the stick house. We pay $59.00 per month plus tax and fees.

jrgwdenner · 05-06-2006, 04:16 AM

Our Verizon plan is the same price, qkbutler. If you don't have a cell phone plan with them, it's $20.00 more per month. We're loving our setup with the wireless router. Glen got a new computer this week and he just turned it on and was connected. It's awesome. And very portable.

dsprik · 05-06-2006, 05:02 AM

Judy, I remember a little about the discussion onthis new wireless router, but could you refresh my memory on the cost, etc? I believe it was a Link-Sys?

jrgwdenner · 05-06-2006, 10:43 AM

The router is a KR1 and costs about $279.00 at Booster-Antenna.com. The card is cheaper with them than Verizon, $79.00 with the rebate. We bought the booster antenna for $70.00 because our location doesn't have a real strong Verizon signal and because we use the card in the router. It becomes a wireless system for both of our laptops. At least one of our computers is not compatiable with the card but it doesn't matter. The card goes in the router and the antenna attaches to the card. It is all very portable, fitting into my laptop case very nicely and has worked great for us. The company offers very good support, including two EVDO forums that will answer all your questions. The links are at the top of this page, https://booster-antenna.com/verizon/cards.php

dsprik · 05-06-2006, 02:41 PM

I already have a wireless card in my laptop. Isn't that compatible with the router and the card that inserts in it? Or do I have the setup wrong? I should follow your advice and just click on your link...

dsprik · 05-06-2006, 03:03 PM

Judy, are you using the Kyocera KR1 router?

jrgwdenner · 05-06-2006, 05:16 PM

Yes, Dave, we got the KR1 router. Your wireless card is for DSL or Broadband that comes through on a cable or whatever. The aircard does not need such a connection. It works like a cell phone....comes through the 'air', thus its name. The router is just plugged into the wall socket or the cigarette lighter for power and doesn't need to be connected to cable, etc. That's why it is so portable. You can use your aircard while you're riding down the road. That would be hard to do with a cable connection, unless you had a VERY long cable..... When I went up to my son's house, I just plugged in for electrical power and we were up and running.

dsprik · 05-06-2006, 05:22 PM

I know those run over $200, Judy. Did you find a good source to buy from at a decent price?

jrgwdenner · 05-07-2006, 01:30 AM

I bought everything from Booster-Antenna.com They have great customer support and are cheaper than Verizon.

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