vB Easy Archive - 3G as a Broadband Replacment

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3G as a Broadband Replacment
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Posted by: magixman

Really impressed with the 3G on my new V3XX. Unlike Edge on my previous phone this setup is totaly usable for surfing the web when tethered to a laptop. Skype works perfectly on it. You can make calls while surfing. Not as fast as cable but still very usable. What else could you ask for?

So I as this. Why not just buy the $39.95 plan + Media Max ($19.95) and have your home phone, broadband and mobile phone needs taken care of. You can use Skype when at home so you don't go over the 450 minutes or for international calls where you pay through the nose.

Posted by: Quake97

That would work nicely if you only need one computer hooked up to the Internet and you have constant battery power or lots of extra batteries. For me, it wouldn't work since I have a PS3 and Tivo S3 that needs to be on the net. Plus, when I bring my work laptop home I need access for that too. Now, I guess I could be a scumbag and just "borrow" my neighbor's Internet via his/her open wifi router.

Joe

Posted by: Foxbat121

For you to legally tether your phone to your PC the way you described, you need pay $59.99/mo data plan, not $19.99/mo plan. So it is not really worth it you're not planning to steal from Cingular. Besides, the latency is usually 100+ ms. Much higher than any broadband connection (other than sattelite).

Posted by: magixman

I keep seeing references to tethering not being allowed with the MediaNet unlimited plans. I can't find anything in the terms and service booklet that came with the phone. You would think that if Cingular did not want you to do it they would be a bit more clear about it.

Agree about the latency. It is certainly not as fast as broadband but for many needs it is more than enough. I certainly don't intend on using it as a broadband replacement but I know a lot of people for whom this arrangement would be fine.

At $59.95 it would not be a great deal at all so I imagine that if enough people start doing serious data by tethering they will make their policy more clear or more likely put a limit on the plans.

Posted by: RF9

It does say on the terms and conditions that tethering is no allowed on anything other than "data connect or blackberry tethered."

You can get away with light tethering on Media Max but I wouldn't use it as a broadband replacement. You'll crank up gigabytes of data and your account could get flagged for unusually high use. Then they'll wonder how you did 10GB of data on a cel phone.

For a broadband replacement, you're simply not going to get away with anything other than laptop connect (or possibly pda connect as it's the same thing.)

DSL comes pretty cheap these days if you an get it. I'd just stick with that.

Posted by: magixman

I received a booklet with my phone called 'Terms of Service'. They do reference a 'rate plan brochure' but none was included in the box. There is a link if you follow it from the Media Net service: http://www.cingular.com/learn/en_US...gal-notices.jsp and in that document they clearly state that tethering is not permitted and specify a remedy to this prohibition:

"Cingular reserves the right to (i) limit throughput or amount of data transferred, deny Service and/or terminate Service, without notice, to anyone it believes is using the Service in any manner prohibited above or whose usage adversely impacts its network or service levels or hinders access to its network"

However no reference is made this obscure link during the checkout process or at any time do you signal your agreement to it. So it sounds to me like they don't really have the whole thing hanging together and that for now it is just not a problem for them. They certainly could give their lawyers a kick and figure a way to enforce it if they wanted to.

So my question to you folks who have more experience than I is do you know of any case where Cingular has called anyone "on the carpet" for tethering. If not and this is a case of ethics I suppose I can accept that though I fault Cingular for not making it clearer that they don't want you to do that. I mean no one would get to that obscure link on the terms of service for that bundle and nothing is presented in print.

Posted by: jomo25

I agree Cing's 3G does work well when you are in a good coverage area. I'm at a conference in Orlando, and I'm using my tethered BJ to connect and surf. I was tethered for 3 straight hours, VPN'd into my work network and doing everything almost like I normally would.

Still, it's not nearly as fast a my cable modem at home and I doubt it ever will. Also, the connection isn't nearly as consistent as a broadband connection either. So, while I've thought about it, it doesn't replace my need for true broadband yet, whether my plan allows for it or not.

Posted by: TheGSRGuy

If you just surf the Internet occasionally and send/receive e-mail, I doubt you'd go over.

But if you start to use BitTorrent or do streaming video, your account will get turned off for sure. P2P & streaming video = bandwidth hogs.

Posted by: RF9

Quote:

Originally Posted by magixman

<snip>
However no reference is made this obscure link during the checkout process or at any time do you signal your agreement to it. So it sounds to me like they don't really have the whole thing hanging together and that for now it is just not a problem for them. They certainly could give their lawyers a kick and figure a way to enforce it if they wanted to.

So my question to you folks who have more experience than I is do you know of any case where Cingular has called anyone "on the carpet" for tethering. If not and this is a case of ethics I suppose I can accept that though I fault Cingular for not making it clearer that they don't want you to do that. I mean no one would get to that obscure link on the terms of service for that bundle and nothing is presented in print.

I believe the text you need to consider is this:

"FURTHERMORE, UNLIMITED PLANS (EXCEPT FOR DATACONNECT AND BLACKBERRY TETHERED) CANNOT BE USED FOR ANY APPLICATIONS THAT TETHER THE DEVICE (THROUGH USE OF, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION, CONNECTION KITS, OTHER PHONE/PDA-TO-COMPUTER ACCESSORIES, BLUETOOTH® OR ANY OTHER WIRELESS TECHNOLOGY) TO LAPTOPS, PCS, OR OTHER EQUIPMENT FOR ANY PURPOSE. Service is not intended to provide full-time connections, and the Service may be discontinued after a significant period of inactivity or after sessions of excessive usage."

Where it gets gray is that the $40 PDA connect data plan is actually a 'data connect' plan. But when push comes to shove I don't know as if they'd see it this way

To answer your question on being being called on for tethering:
$20 MediaMax = Yes, excessive use has been called on in the past. But I've only heard of it with very excessive use
$40 PDA Connect = Never heard of anyone getting nabbed.
$60 Laptop Connect = Obviously not.

But you're not just talking about occasional tethering from what I understand. You're talking about a full-time replacement for broadband on a Media Max plan. So I guess it depends on what your usage is like. The T&C does list a whole lot of things they don't want you doing which, if you're like me, I do all of those on my cable modem. But a lot of that is just Cover your Ace stuff giving them the right to cut you off should you be an unfavorable customer. I don't think they actually expect people to adhere to all of these (Very very ridiculously restrictive) terms.
It's not really a matter of whether you totally agreed to the T&C, it's a matter of them pointing to it and saying "you violated this" on the day they cut you off. At that point your argument is pretty much moot.
I'd be a different story if they billed you up the wazoo and you ended up in court arbitration over it... in that case I bet you could make your case and win. But that shouldn't happen under any circumstances. They're all unlimited data plans meaning you can use as much as you want without additional charges. But what would potentially happen is after 1 or 2 months your usage level would exceed the acceptable usage levels and they'll cut off your data plan or force you to a higher priced data plan.

I honestly don't see the harm in trying. It's all about what you can get away with. The worst that should happen is that you'll get cut off and not have home broadband OR cingular broadband.

This recent thread debates how much data you can use before Cingular will cut you off:
http://www.howardforums.com/showthread.php?t=1138602
I recommend giving it a read.

I've always recommended Media Max for only occasional tethering. PDA Connect (at least) for regular tethering because they don't monitor PDA connect and more than laptop connect for data use as far as I know.

Posted by: magixman

Quote:

Originally Posted by RF9

This recent thread debates how much data you can use before Cingular will cut you off:
http://www.howardforums.com/showthread.php?t=1138602
I recommend giving it a read.

I've always recommended Media Max for only occasional tethering. PDA Connect (at least) for regular tethering because they don't monitor PDA connect and more than laptop connect for data use as far as I know.

Your recommendations are sound but still the question goes unanswered. For the brazen few who suck Gigabytes like they were popsickles on the $19.95 plan what has actually happened?

The thread you mentioned is about Verizon doing caps on bandwidth which would be easy for Cingular to do but they have not (yet). Surely if someone was cut-off or verbally roughed up they would mention it here but the silence speaks volumes.

I am just looking for the actual facts on what has happened to date on people who don't honor the (well hidden) terms and conditions for Cingular's unlimited (but limited) Medianet services.

Posted by: aaadock

ive had the cingular as my net provider for a LONG time.. 5 yrs at least .. started with the 79.99 plan .. then the 19.99 that everyone here calls "grandfatered " ... at some point it was changed to the media max..

it has been my only source for internet at home LONG before 3G came around.

i download movies.. and stream video thru slingbox and orb.. all day monday-friday,
so i can watch tv here at work ..

I also use SKYPE ..

its my main home phone service.

cingular has never made it an issue.... they just cash my checks that i send in to pay my bills..

< im doing this thru an 860 datacard .. >

Posted by: RF9

What sort of monthly data usage do you have? Just curious? How many GB?

Posted by: BTwannabe

Quote:

Originally Posted by magixman

For the brazen few who suck Gigabytes like they were popsickles on the $19.95 plan what has actually happened?

the answer is nothing.

i've also dumped time warner/vonage with my blackjack as a full time replacement at home. my typical usage is 2-3 gb/month. i have a wireless card at home to pick up freebie unsecured WLAN but the phone is a backup when the WLAN signal is low. my usage could be a lot higher.

in any case, before i made this decision, i did a ton of research. i have been on this board a long time and i've noticed that many people have claimed that stinkular will cut you off / bill you big bucks for per kb use / torture your children / etc. if you use too much data. of course i didn't want any of that to happen to me.

well, after months of researching the issue here and around the internet the results were inconclusive. i could not find one single example of anyone getting punished (by stinkular) for excessive data usage on media max or any other data plan. not one.

so i concluded that its nothing more than hype. a few seeds planted by stinkular employees and a bunch of worrisome folks spreading the pollen around... nothing more.

Posted by: bobolito

Just because you haven't found evidence, doesn't mean it doesn't exist. I know people that have gotten nailed so I have evidence, but by the same token, there are others who simply get away with it without getting nailed. It almost looks like a matter of luck, where Cingular holds a lottery drawing and picks who will get nailed next. Therefore, I rather err on the side of caution and tether carefully without abusing.

Posted by: magixman

Quote:

Originally Posted by bobolito

I know people that have gotten nailed so I have evidence

So what actually happened to them?

Posted by: RF9

Ditto. What actually happened? That's one thing I've never been able to figure out.

Posted by: BTwannabe

Quote:

Originally Posted by bobolito

Just because you haven't found evidence, doesn't mean it doesn't exist. I know people that have gotten nailed so I have evidence, but by the same token, there are others who simply get away with it without getting nailed. It almost looks like a matter of luck, where Cingular holds a lottery drawing and picks who will get nailed next. Therefore, I rather err on the side of caution and tether carefully without abusing.

just curious, were these people you know personally or through hofo or some other forum; and do you know the circumstances leading up to getting nailed?