[ale] temp mobile broadband option?

[Neal Rhodes]

I've been tethering my wife's Verizon RAZR for the last 2 years and
29,000 miles all over the US.   If you have a 2-bar EVDO connection or
better it works pretty good. 

I've maintained an SSH connection to the same server for several hours
and several hundred miles. 

IF your existing phone supports USB tethering, then it gets real simple.
Presuming you use linux, and don't want to make  career out of it, buy a
Cradlepoint USB router, plug in your phone,  call Verizon and tell them
to turn on Broadband Access Connect, wait 2 minutes and you're done.
Verizon has this VZAM software for windows, but I'm not aware of a good
linux option, and frankly, using a Cradlepoint CDR-350 is more reliable
and stable.  Let it fool with the dang phone. 

Because BBAC is a FEATURE, you can turn it on and off at will, and only
be charged per day while it's on.   That's around $1.66/day last time I
checked.   You have to turn on and off by calling Verizon. 

This beats a data card, which is a separate phone number, and if you
have one, they expect you to pay for it for 2 years.   There used to be
a distinction between the connectivity of data cards versus tethered
phones, especially in roaming areas, but my impression is that has gone
away.    I had no roaming connection problems this summer from Atlanta
to Grand Canyon and back with a tethered phone. 

Android supports sharing it's data connection as a wireless hotspot as
of 2.2.    You do have to pay an extra $20/month to use it, versus the
$29/month to tether your regular phone.   Yes, you can use various other
proxy servers and rooted-tether programs, and yes, Verizon can catch you
at it with unpleasant results. 

However, the fact is that my wife's RAZR has a better radio in fringe
areas than my HTC; like 10dB better radio.   So, we still use her phone.

If you are going waaay out into the hinterlands, then a cellular
amplifier like the Wilson Sleek, perhaps with a trucker's cellular
antenna, can be a lifesaver.      I have spent evenings in a campground
trying to do a server update when the phone kept switching from an EVDO
tower to a 1xRtt tower every time the wind changed direction and it
ain't fun.   Although, you really do gain an appreciation of how robust
the TCP/ip protocol can be when you are doing useful work with a 25%
packet loss. 

For any of these options, you have to consider coverage.   There is a
whole lot of nothing in this country, especially west of the
Mississippi.    Rule of thumb: if you don't see anyone or anything that
looks like it might be a paying subscriber for 40 miles, then you may
not have coverage.   IMHO, and in lots of other travelers opinions,
Verizon has all the other carriers beat hands down at coverage in the
sticks. 




On Tue, 2010-11-23 at 09:47 -0600, Preston Boyington wrote: 

> I'll be traveling around visiting different family members over the 
> holidays and several have no access to Internet.
> 
> I've been toying with the idea of a "pay as you go" plan/device since I 
> will only need access for short periods of time and only for a couple 
> days.  Unfortunately, the only folks that offer this are not in the 
> SouthEast.
> 
> Does anyone have a suggestion for a temp provider and device?
> 
> Worst case, I scrounge up a USB modem for my netbook and see about 
> getting dial-up info from my home internet provider.  although, that is 
> low on my list of preferred things.
> 
> 
> Thanks all,
> 
> Preston
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