Slingshot from Pilot. Any opinions-experiences?

Hi, the former cheer leader for slingshot has returned....I have a question for anyone who can answer it...

Now that I'm a slave to the contract...I have to watch those bites....
How much gb does watching youtube eat up?

when I had slingshot I never worried about it...and watched all the youtube i wanted too...and never had issues...but now...I want to make sure I don't go over...

My AT@t is going well...but I still miss my slingshot...slingshot worked just as good if not better...it wasnt as technical....

 

Youtube and other video download or streaming activity (e.g. Hulu etc.) does use up a bit of bandwidth. Really depends on how much it is used. If you are concerned about usage, you may want to check the online account log; see quoted text below (on my prepaid AT&T I can do this by checking my medianet balance on 611; but it's different for postpaid). Other way is to use a low cost bandwidth monitor program (such as Net Meter; there are also many other similar programs out there). Worth checking on this so you don't get inadvertent overage charges!
AT&T website faq on how to check data usage:

"From the myWireless Account home page, click on the Data tab in the Voice & Data Usage box. [much more detailed explanation at link below on AT&T's website]"

http://www.wireless.att.com/answer-c...377&isSrch=Yes

New Macbooks and OS announced today at a developers conference, so I'll probably go shopping for a new broadband card after I've upgraded from my 7 year old Fujitsu subnotebook. Probably will either go AT&T postpaid, Millenicom Verizon, or Virgin Mobile Sprint.

 

I found this notice hanging above the cash register at the Pilot today:



Sorry about the quality, white text on a glossy black background is hard to get a decent photo of. (the fact that I wadded it up and stuffed it in my back pocket didn't help matters either.)

The bad news is, from what my understanding of what's written above, the new provider is offering 200 megabytes per month at $49.99. That price is ridiculous. That is a little more than one day's allowance if you have a $60 5 gigabyte plan. 5,242,880 (5 gigabytes) / 30 days = 174762 megabytes. 200 megabytes for $50? What are they smoking?

If you go to Readybroadband's site, the biggest plan they have is $75 for 500 megabytes. Why anyone would want this I have no idea.

 

Just another way that Pilot is taking advantage of the driver.

 

I had a Cingular (now AT&T) data plan for 4 years (tethered to cell phone) and now I have a Verizon plan with the USB760 modem.

No problems with either of them...none. The only reason I switched to Verizon was because the idiot at the Cingular store made me mad...it had nothing to do with the service.

$60 a month...and I have yet to get any overage charges (but if you do its 25 cents per megabit...not bad really)

 

To be fair, the only crime Pilot did in this mess was offering Slingshot in the first place. Slingshot is the villain in this. I got my modem from Sprint directly, but I feel bad because I steered several drivers to this service. I don't know who this Readybroadband outfit is, but with prices like that I don't see them being around very long either.

 

Pilot makes money off who they let run the service. If the usage is dropped to a lower level, it creates over use fees. These fees are then shared by the Pilot company.

My comment is not directly aimed at the Pilot company. It is directly aimed at the vultures who are using these products with such limits to achieve the taking advantage of the truck driver. The driver has a very limited choice of where to park.

Personally, I would never consider such plans. It is why I have an air card. I rarely stay at truck stop.

The only time I use a truck stop service is in Canada. I use the Flying J and pay with the coupons they send me.

 

The Slingshot modem was a Sprint air card. The only difference was it was prepaid, with no contract. It wasn't a bad idea. I don't know why they failed. They had nothing to do with Pilot, other than Pilot sold their modems in their stores. I think Best Buy carried them as well.

 

Thanks for posting the ReadyBroadBand offer (I hit the Thanks button)! While I am glad Pilot went the extra mile for their customers by arranging a swap for Ready BroadBand, I agree it's not a great deal for heavier data users. May be appropriate for lighter users. Think the upcoming Virgin Mobile offer may be better (although I suspect ReadyBroadband will likely change their pricing to compete).
Virgin Mobile will be introducing a Broadband2Go offer by month's end, initially through test marketing with Best Buy. $149 modem and rates are $10/100mb, $20/250mb, $40/600mb, $60/1gb. 10 day exp date on 100 mb card, 30 days on all others. Modem stays live one year from activation or last refill (even if out of airtime). Can currently be only activated on Windows XP or Vista, but once activated may be run on a Mac or Linux machine with the appropriate Novatel MC760 drivers. Offer here: rates here:
Offer for Broadband2Go seems reasonable except for $60/level (most other offers are 5gb through Millenicom or direct through carriers on postpaid). Other issues would be the question of whether this is Sprint with no off-net roaming (Verizon, etc.) like Slingshot allowed, and required Windows machine activation (their website Q&A for Broadband2go mentions they will incorporate Mac access at a later time). Plus is since sold through BestBuy, they will likely have onsite tech support from their Geek Squad people (likely at a small fee).
For myself will likely do Juno dialup, free wifi where occasionally available, and either Millenicom Verizon, AT&T postpaid or VM Broadband2Go prepaid as wireless providers.
Whatever people choose as a replacement for Slingshot, suggest compare cost, network coverage, and customer service. What will work for some people will not work for others. Good luck with your choices!

 

They failed because Sprint shut them down for some breach of contract.