Text 52028, 49 rader
Skriven 2008-12-22 22:22:30 av Robert Fowler (1:123/789.0)
  Kommentar till text 52013 av Alan Zisman (1:123/789.0)
Ärende: 3G
==========
Alan Zisman -> ED VANCE wrote:

 AZ> I don't have any first-hand experience with Cricket's service, but I do
 AZ> have a few comments that may be of use:

 AZ> 1) All the major mobile phone providers also sell data services- in some
 AZ> cases, this is metered, with relatively high prices, but there's been a
 AZ> move to fixed price monthly charges...

 AZ> 2) While their primary markets have been users with mobile phone
 AZ> accounts- including so-called 'smartphones' like Blackberries and
 AZ> iPhones, as you've seen, they're also offering services for computer
 AZ> users. Most often, this is targetted at laptop users... the biggest
 AZ> advantage of such a service is that it's available wherever you go- at
 AZ> least within their service area. And unlike relying on WiFi hotspots,
 AZ> you've got a much broader range of coverage.

 AZ> 3) 5 GB is a moderate amount of bandwidth as these plans go; often if
 AZ> your needs turn out to be greater, they will be happy to sell you more
 AZ> bandwidth- at a higher cost.

 AZ> Remember, the target market isn't generally a home user who is perhaps
 AZ> online for hours at a time, watching YouTube videos or something....
 AZ> it's more often a business user with a laptop- perhaps a travelling
 AZ> sales rep who needs to be able to access the Net in relatively short
 AZ> bursts as they call on clients in order to send in sales orders. Given
 AZ> that sort of usage, 5 GB is more reasonable.

 AZ> If it meets your needs- or your brother's needs- in terms of
 AZ> affordability, speed, available bandwidth- and what's offered by
 AZ> competing cable or DSL providers, then it's worthwhile... but I wouldn't
 AZ> want to be the first person I knew to sign a contract!

 AZ> 4) CDMA is one of two common mobile phone and data technologies. GSM is
 AZ> the other. GSM is widely used internationally, while competing with CDMA
 AZ> in the US, Canada, and (oddly perhaps) South Korea. 3G is not really a
 AZ> technology but a marketing term for higher-speed data networks
 AZ> (piggybacking on both CDMA and GSM). Currently, the GSM networks are
 AZ> boasting of higher data rates, but that can flipflop back and forth.

Another less expensive option is DUN for phones that support it.  All it uses
is minutes.

Regards,

Robert Fowler

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