Millenicom Update

[JackConrad]

  We received our Millenicom wireless internet thingy. It is manufactured by Frankin Wireless and is model CDU-680. Download speeds have ranged from a low of 129K on a 1XRTT connection to a high of 1024K on a strong EVDO connection.
   When we were at the Florida Flywheelers Park in the middle of nowhere, we only had a 1xRTT connection and a signal strength of 88-110 Db. This is where we had the slower download speeds. We also found that downlad speeds were faster during off-peak hours (faster at 6AM than 2 PM).
    Last Saturday, I install a Wilson "through the roof" cell antenna. The antenna is supposed to give a 5-6 Db gain. Parked in our driveway, I went from a signal strength of 82Db without the external antenna to 76Db with the external antenna.
    We are leaving sometime next week for a trip through GA, SC, NC, and VA. We will staying in several remote and mountainous areas. I will post our connection results. 
    Overall, we are happy so far with this wireless thingy. In the places that it has been slow, I have tried our old Cell phone connection and it was even slower.  Jack

[Hartley]

Jack,

I can pretty much gaurantee that if you come to my place in Tennessee the only connection you will get is my WiFi ... Cell phones / EDVO don't work down here in the
valley unless you have a 24 foot pole and directional antenna up on top....

Cell connections are fickle in a lot of places. But generally if you are near a fair size town or city you probably can have signal.

The thing that anyone that travels needs to consider is that there are lots of places that cell service doesn't cover due to terrain and line of sight restrictions. There are ways to enhance signals but all have financial impacts or technical catches. All that I can say is consider your budget and needs before commiting to a high cost service solution.

Dave....

[Dreamscape]

Hey Jack,

How did you make out with your wireless internet thingy? I'm looking for the best method, cheap too! Where did  you purchase it?

Paul

[JackConrad]

Hey Jack,
How did you make out with your wireless internet thingy? I'm looking for the best method, cheap too! Where did  you purchase it?
Paul

   I purchased in online www.mellenicom.com  We are very pleased with it and are finding that more and more places that were 1XRTT are now EVDO. 
   Since I bought Paula her own laptop for her birthday, we are thinking about getting one of these routers so we can both be online at the same time (at a slower speed, of course, due to sharing a signal). Any comments about this router?   Jack
http://www.wirelessnwifi.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=28&zenid=1d278d7206427743e04d8583a8959c1c

[Dreamscape]

Jack, I recieved a reply from Mellincom about coverage here in Abilene, dial up is the only thing they have to offer! That just aint gonna cut it. That's like going back to the stone age.

I like the price though, 9.95 month. There has got to be a better way. An aircard is just to costly, but might have to consider it. Sheesh!

Glad you're happy though!

Paul

[HighTechRedneck]

Jack, I recieved a reply from Mellincom about coverage here in Abilene, dial up is the only thing they have to offer! That just aint gonna cut it. That's like going back to the stone age.

I like the price though, 9.95 month. There has got to be a better way. An aircard is just to costly, but might have to consider it. Sheesh!

Glad you're happy though!

Paul

Millenicom uses both Sprint and Verizon networks (although they seem to be shifting away from Sprint to Verizon).  So if they showed that you were in a non coverage area, then neither of those company's air cards would work either. 

I went to the Verizon service map and Abiliene doesn't have EVDO (broadband coverage) they only have the 1xRTT (<150Kbps) service.  And while 1xRTT is faster than dial up most of the time, it really isn't worth the price.

I checked Sprint and it's the same and likewise for Alltel.

With AT&T it appears that if you are in the north half of Abiliene or north of town, you can get their 3G broadband, so their aircard would work, but not in the southern half or south of town.  So the good news is, it appears that AT&T is starting to set up the Abilene area for the 3G service.  If you are on the north side, you can get it now.  I would imagine the south side will be getting it soon.

[redbus]

Jack

I got the MRB1000. It works great. Also just plug & play.

[belfert]

I have an Verizon aircard available through work for trips out of town (business or personal) and I was disappointed by the coverage.  Coverage is available along I94 in western Wisconsin, but Verizon has no roaming agreement with the carrier in the area.  $20.84 a MEGABYTE for service!  Same thing happened in Spencer, Iowa too when visiting Ron the Busnut.  The Spencer thing I can maybe understand, but not on a major interstate 50 miles from one of Verizon's larger markets.

Verizon does have roaming agreements with many carriers, but I wouldn't be surprised if Verizon's agreement with Mellinicom excludes some or all of the roaming areas.  Mellinicom uses both Verizon and Sprint for a reason.  A Verizon aircard may very well get service in an area via roaming where Mellinicom doesn't get service if neither Sprint or Verizon is a carrier there.

Most everyone I talk to says Verizon has the best aircard coverage, but I'll have to look at Mellinicom closely if I get my own aircard since they use multiple carriers.

[Sojourner]

MilleniCom/Number/Networklist
Quote from above link "Millenicom's national network is comprised of many different backbones which allows us redundancy in all major cities. Each network operates independently of each other. You must use the access numbers of the network you originally sign onto. If you sign on using an access number on the B network, your account will activate on any number listed in any city shown on the B network ONLY. It will not activate on the C network." unquote

FWIW

Sojourn for Christ, Gerald

[Dreamscape]

HTR, Thanks for the update!

I have an ATT aircard for my work laptop and I only get 2G service right now, and yes we do live on the south side of town. Glad to hear we'll have 3G service soon.  That will help me out a bunch on speed, cause 2G is kinda slow. That's why I'm using my wifes PC most of the time when I'm home. Shhh, don't tell her!

When we moved here we had Verizon, had to switch to ATT because Verizon could not give us a local number, that was two years ago though.

I appreciate your response! 
 
Paul

[belfert]

MilleniCom/Number/Networklist
Quote from above link "Millenicom's national network is comprised of many different backbones which allows us redundancy in all major cities. Each network operates independently of each other. You must use the access numbers of the network you originally sign onto. If you sign on using an access number on the B network, your account will activate on any number listed in any city shown on the B network ONLY. It will not activate on the C network."

You're looking at their dialup network information, not their wireless broadband network information.

[HighTechRedneck]

Millenicom has a flat billing model.  The bill is $59.95.  Period.  No roaming charges (unless you go international), no taxes (they pay the taxes out of the $59.95), no over bandwidth charges (since they impose no limit).  They have used a combination of Sprint/Nextel and Verizon/Alltel backbones (Sprint was primary).  They seem to be shifting away from Sprint at this time.

Last year their rate was $49.95 in spite of a rate increase from Sprint to them early in the year.  As a result, they had a net loss as a company on their broadband service.  I suspect that has something to do with their shift away from Sprint as a primary backbone.

Personally, I like the "personality" of their company and the U.S. based tech support.  I hope it holds true to its business model so far.

[belfert]

Don't no roaming charges simply mean there are areas where the service doesn't work even if there is an available carrier?  I find it hard to believe they have agreements with every wireless provider out there.

Regardless, Millenicom will my choice for wirless broadband if I ever lose my employer paid aircard since they are shifting to Verizon now.  They charge the same as Verizon, but it appears they have better coverage through multiple carriers.

[JackConrad]

They charge the same as Verizon, but it appears they have better coverage through multiple carriers.

Actually, their charge is slightly less, because Verizon adds taxes to the 59.95, Millenicom does not.  Jack

[HighTechRedneck]

Don't no roaming charges simply mean there are areas where the service doesn't work even if there is an available carrier?

That may be, I don't know.  I've only used it in the Southeastern U.S. where Sprint and Verizon have pretty full coverage and I haven't been in a place that I couldn't get at least a 1xRTT signal.  Given that Sprint now includes Nextel and Verizon now includes Alltel, that provides a pretty good coverage map.