On Wed, Jun 15, 2011 at 8:04 PM, Paul Stenquist <pnstenqu...@comcast.net> wrote:
> I'd like nothing better than to get rid of comcast and my cable modem. So > I've been thinking about buying a 4G wireless hotspot and using Verizon as my > ISP. Verizon has said 4G wireless is available in my area. Is anyone doing > this? Is the technology ready to replace cable internet? Are the pioneers > taking arrows? I am considering doing this when 4G is deployed at my home... but only because my current connection is satellite Internet, which is incredibly bad. I pay $50/month for 512 kbps down / 128 kbps up, with a 7.5 GB/month cap. It often stops working in bad weather. The latency (due to the stupid-ass finite speed of light) precludes gaming, Skype/FaceTime, and other real-time applications. The main problem with 4G is the monthly data caps. With Verizon, I think the choices are 5 GB/month for $50, or 10 GB/month for $80, with overage at $10 per GB. My 7.5 GB cap on satellite has a severe impact on the things I can do. Windows, iTunes, iOS, and other software updates add up. I like downloading podcasts and buying music, but I need to keep an eye on my totals. Even though I pay for Netflix, streaming movies is out of the question. Downloading games from Steam is out of the question (many are 10-15 GB per game). With Verizon, I'd get the 10 GB package, pay a little more than I do now, get a little more data transfer per month, and a lot more speed and (probably) reliability. If I had cable or DSL available to me, there's no way in hell I'd switch, because I would never voluntarily accept such a low data cap. If you are seriously considering the switch, I'd make sure you know how much data you transfer in a month, and how it compares to Verizon's caps. Comcast may have tools for monitoring your usage, since they also have (much higher) data caps in some markets. -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.
