Faster 3G For Your Laptops
October 25th, 2006 (8:47am) Om Malik 6 CommentsTweet This
Folks if you are in the market for a faster wireless connection for your laptop, then there is good news for you. Sprint has started turning on its next generation wireless network, starting with San Diego, and will have 20 cities online by end of this year. This is a major upgrade from previous EVDO technologies and it is fast enough for making Skype calls and even an iChat video conversation in a pinch. The company is also offering a good deal on a USB modem, which is good for Macbook owners. There are other options of course.
The new EV-DO Rev A technology allows peak burst rates of 3.1 megabits per second (downlink) and 1.8 megabits per second (uplink.) But in reality the network can offer average speeds of between 450-to-800 kilobits per second and average upload speeds of 300 to 400 Kbit/s. Since it is Sprint, we will take that with a pinch of salt.
I use EVDO constantly, and have stopped searching for WiFi connections. There is a good chance Verizon is going to upgrade their network as well, but I am seriously contemplating switching to Sprint for an always on connection. I think this is a must have tool for all web workers.
Complete list of cities is after the fold:
Baltimore
Boston
Buffalo, N.Y.
Denver
Detroit
Hartford, Conn.
Kansas City, Mo.
Las Vegas
Los Angeles
Milwaukee
New York City
Newark/Trenton, N.J.
Philadelphia
Pittsburgh
Providence, R.I.
Sacramento, Calif
Salt Lake City
San Francisco
Seattle
Washington, D.C.
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No love for us Saint Louis based web workers…
(though, it is possible I am the only one)
we love st. louis, especially if you slam the tigers for good. :-)
Had 3G for 3 years in UK / Europe at 300 odd Kb/sec, you can make Skype calls over it but it eats into the allocated data amount.
If you’re not a fan of EV-DO and want something JUST a little faster (costantly getting 1.2Mbps down) AND you’re lucky enough to be in a big city you can try cingular ’s HSDPA internet
It’s not everywhere like EV-DO but it’s in more places than Rev. A.
Here’s even a site that talks about how to get it for $14.99 if you have a voice contract or $19.99 without
Cingular HSDPA Internet for $14.99
Who really uses Verizon EV-DO? Haven’t all their customers been kicked off or sent the “Warning Letter” yet? Verizon DOES NOT HAVE UNLIMITED! They cap it at 6GB’s a month. Which means if you go over that, then you will get a letter. The 2nd time, your account will be canceled. Notice how Verizon no longer markets their EV-DO on TV? Do you want to know why? That is because they were canceling so many customers account for going over the cap, that they worried about their churn rate. Now all you see is PDA’s with EV-DO access. And even then they will cancel your account if you stream too much! It is a scam and anyone foolish enough to waste money on Verizon shouldn’t have any money to begin with!