[Novalug] OT: CLEAR for on-the-go-wireless (greg pryzby)

Roger W. Broseus rogerb@bronord.com
Sat Sep 18 12:27:16 EDT 2010


Greg,

I go to a lot of our-of-the-way places and want connectivity. Over the 
years I have found that Verizon has the best coverage. So, in 
anticipation of a trip to Florida in our RV - where charging excessively 
for WiFi in campgrounds is rampant, I sprung for a Verizon MiFi 2200. 
It's an "aircard" that also functions as a WiFi hot spot for up to five PCs.

I think the connectivity issue is than just being out in the woods: as 
many know, connectivity in NYC and other locals is problematic for AT&T 
customers because of capacity issues due to the popularity of iPhones, 
etc. My daughter switched from Verizon because she got an iPhone and 
calls drop a lot - she's in Brooklyn. It don't happen to me there.

I get connections with the MiFi 2200 where I can not get a connection to 
complete a voice call, e.g., in the  "mountains" of West Virginia, where 
I got one "bar," if lucky, on my cell phone and most calls were dropped 
but I could count on the MiFi connection. It connects via on its own, 
dedicated cellular "phone" number.

I manage to stay under the 250 MB monthly data limit for the $40/month 
service; 5 GB costs $60. I setup T'bird to exclude large downloads, 
leaving them on the mail server.

I also suspend service when I am not using the card. They charge $15 
(jerks) for suspensions and they are limited to 90 days each and 180 
days per year; suspensions extend the contract.

The downside to the MiFi: you must set it up under Windows, using the 
USB connection, in spite of the claim of Linux compatibility. And, it 
must be stand-alone (not USB-ed) to function under Linux, working in 
WiFi mode. OK: I compromise my principles and use Windows for this - 
after all, we must be flexible, adaptable, etc. (My main, travel laptop 
is a Thinkpad T42 dual booting Ubuntu and Win-7).

I'm drooling over the Android HTC Incredible. As I understand it, the 
same functionality is built-in to this and some other smart phone, i.e., 
data + WiFi functionality. The pricing plans are different.

--
Roger W. Broseus - Linux User
    Email: RogerB@bronord.com
    Web Site: www.bronord.com

>    6. OT: CLEAR for on-the-go-wireless (greg pryzby)



More information about the Novalug mailing list