Millenicom Wireless: a review and test

I only quit using them because I jailbroke my iPhone and tethered it. I have the grandfathered unlimited plan.

Honestly, I never had ANY issues with Millenicom. It even worked in places where my phone didn't. The customer service was great as well. I just recommended them to a riend who is getting ready to hit the road in an RV and retire.

 

Have had Millenicom for about a year and a half now. My package is $60/month for 10 Gb on Verizon
Things I like about Millenicom are:
1) 10 gb limit on my package is double the data limit of a direct Verizon postpaid contract without having to pay any nickel and dime extra fees (Millenicom is a wireless Internet Service Provider so they don't have to charge the fees and surcharges that I would get going directly with Verizon). Plus no overage fees although if I go over Millenicom could throttle my data speeds or cut service off (never go anywhere near 10 gb so it's a moot point).
2) No contract, just month to month to my credit card...and they even send an email when my credit card is about to be charged in case I need to change any billing details.
3) 24/7/365 customer service with a toll-free number right on the modem. Only have had to call once to report a Verizon service outage, but it's nice to know they have real tech support when and if you need it.
4) They represent multiple carriers (think Verizon, Sprint, T-Mobile, Clear and possibly others).
5) Off-network roaming in the US is allowed if needed.

All in all, think it was a good choice, and would recommend it to others.

Are there other providers or resellers without a ball and chain postpaid contract? Yes, there's Virgin Mobile/Sprint with a $10/100 mb or $40/unlimited (although they phrase it in the fine print as "unlimited but not unreasonable use") but while Sprint has a great high speed data network, Verizon has better coverage where I need it (Verizon is the only carrier with 3g coverage near my home and where I travel...in BDL now waiting for the first of four flights ending up in OGG).
Also AT&T and Verizon have rolled out direct prepaid wireless broadband offers but I think Millenicom (of whatever carrier flavor) or Virgin Mobile Sprint offer a better value for the money.

 

I've had Millenicom for almost 2 years now. My only beef is that they charged me $200 for a replacement air card when they were offering it for free to new customers. I almost dumped them over that.

 

Ran a speed test with mine.. using this test:
http://www.internetfrog.com/mypc/speedtest/

...getting about 500 kbps down and 1000 kbps up. Kinda backwards to what I'm used to.

That's with 4 bars showing on the Watcher, and EVDO at -80 dBm.

 

Speedtest on my Millenicom Verizon modem on a MacBook Pro in Hawaii at night (I'm over 5,000 miles away from home right now). Pretty decent. Typical speeds I see for 3g Verizon are ~1000-2000 kbps down and around 500-600 kpbs up depending on where I am.

Suspect the slower download speeds you are currently getting may be tower loading from too many users and/or heavy bandwidth users doing stuff like interactive online gaming or streaming movie or television downloads. That will happen particularly if the tower doesn't have a real heavy duty internet feed.

 

you need a modem? Thought you just needed the usb adapter they have on the webpage?

 

What do you think that little usb adapter is?

 

Millenicom has just upgraded all Verizon 10 gb/month buy-the-device-in-advance plans to 20 gb/month, effective immediately(according to a post on a different forum that has been confirmed by a Millenicom employee). An email notice will be going to all effected subscribers in a few days.

Please note this only applies to Millenicom accounts that are:

1) Verizon (not Sprint, T-Mobile, Clear, etc.)
2) That are the current 10 gb Advanced Plan where you purchase your device in advance

Happy Holidays!