WiFi On The Road IS An Important Tool

Well streaming is still downloading as you said, which is what i said to start with. Yes you can setup the mobile broadband or the the device your tethering with and it will alert you when you are getting close to your allotted amount.

 

I have decided to go with the netbook that is offered through verizon. I was actually getting ready to purchase one of these from the store as my new mini laptop but the one they offer has many features the ones in the stores do not and is $100 cheaper than the cheapest ones. It is made by HP and has the wifi and mobile braodband devices built in and has an 80GB hardrive and 1GB memory both upgradeable, built-in webcam and a lot more. That is awesome for these mini's especially for $199.00 . I will let you all know how it works out when i get it and spend a few days on it.

 

Seems like people who do movie downloads are the ones I see getting the 5g warnings.

Rabbit trail: I see the truckstops are full to the brim. Why would they need to spend money on WiFi to increase business? The solution must lie elsewhere, although I'd hope my tether would appropriate a much more useful internet than my dang blackberry. At best, it's good for weather or reading an email, but visiting websites leaves you lost and confused. And that Edge network is sloooowwwwww....

 

I still have the old unlimited plan from sprint and love it. I steam my favorite radio programs,lots of youtube(love the big truck drag races up in QC on there). I often use 100MB every morning just listening to Bob and Tom. Sprints coverage is awesome. As far as WiFi goes the truckstop WiFi is crap, I used some pretty good wifi elsewere but most of those places are hard to access in a truck. Sprint has hotspots that you can access for free .

 

So even with an unlimited data plan for my b.b. I can still only download 5 gigs?

 

Downloading 1 dvd is 5 gigs. If you like to watch streaming video at sites like Hulu or Fancast, 1 2 hour movie comes in at 700 megabytes. 5-6 movies and you're done. If you stream video or use peer to peer to download movies, you are going to eat up your allowance pretty fast. As far as online gaming, I can play Team Fortress 2, a first person shooter, for 2-3 hours, and when the session is over, I'll check the connection software to see how much I've used, it's usually no more that 20-30 megabytes. Not bad. I've had my card for about a year, it's through Sprint. I'm "grandfathered" which means I won't get charged overages, but if I use more than what they think I should be, they will send me a letter cancelling my services. I use about 1 gig a week. Mainly web browsing, an hour or so of online gaming, more if I'm laid over. I stay away from streaming video, except for maybe the occasional 1-3 minute youtube or news clip. The bottom line is if you want to use your broadband card and laptop to replace your television, you are going to run into problems and pretty quickly.

 

No. If you have the unlimited data plan on your BB then i was told you can use it to tether and still be unlimited just by paying the xtra fee to use it as a modem.

 

Yes if you want to rpleace your tv with this method you will be in trouble as stated several times already. Online gaming, youtube and anything else like these types of things is also streaming or downloading whichever you prefer to call it and will eat through that 5GB in a hurry too.

Now as far as your first statement that downloading 1 dvd is 5GB that is not even close for a normal movie. Besides if you are downloading from a DVD to your computer you are not using an internet connection for that anyway. Anything you download from a disk you do not have to be connected to the internet.

 

The tethering plans are limited to 5 gigs. The unlimited data on the phones means you have unlimited data, on your phone. A lot of people get away with tethering without the carrier finding out about it, but you can't use a lot of data or you will get caught. If you are someone who logs on to the internet a few times a week for a few minutes to do online banking, you'll probably be one of those who can do it and get away with it without getting the 5 gig tethering plan. Google the words PDAnet and Blackberry, then click the first link.

The "extra fee" is $59.99 for 5 gigs.

 

Just telling you what Verizon told me.