Ken Posted April 2, 2006 Share Posted April 2, 2006 I am looking at getting a Cingular Wireless PC card for my laptop to get internet access when traveling and not in a hot spot. Their unlimited access plan is $60 per month with a two year contract. They have limited plans--10mb of data access per month for $30.00 per month, for example. The question is--how much web browsing and e-mail checking can I do before I reach my monthly limit? Since the limit is not based on minutes like the phone, I am lost in terms of being able to gauge my usage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shred Posted April 2, 2006 Share Posted April 2, 2006 I have a Cingular unlimited data plan for my cell phone-- it checks and downloads new e-mail every 30 minutes. I also do light web-surfing and such with it, though not a lot. Last month I used 220 MB. It would be half that or less if I cut down the auto-e-mail download. Typically each of those is 170KB. If you don't do the auto-download thing and don't surf the web much, you might be able to get by with 20 or 30 MB. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Heiter Posted April 2, 2006 Share Posted April 2, 2006 Just be careful when you get it because their wireless connection client likes to keep running even when you have another network connection set as active. I have the unlimited plan so it's not a big deal but I know it suprised me a few times when I thought I had shut it down but it was still running in the background and billing me. John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NewRacer Posted April 2, 2006 Share Posted April 2, 2006 There are a few applications out there that will run in the background and keep track of that information. I have one for my phone (Treo700W) but have not used one on my laptop. Google for "monitor bandwidth" i.e. http://www.bandwidthmonitorpro.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigDave Posted April 2, 2006 Share Posted April 2, 2006 I might be talking about the same thing, but we use Verizon wireless cellular internet at work. Unlimited is about $80/mo I think. Better than dial-up, not nearly as fast as T1. There is also supposed to be a high-speed card we're going to get. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ken Posted April 2, 2006 Author Share Posted April 2, 2006 (edited) Seems like the limited (10mb, 20mb, 30mb, etc.) plans are too small. I guess I'll have to go with the unlimited plan to be pocketbook safe, though that tracking option looks good. Edited April 2, 2006 by Ken Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcoliver Posted April 4, 2006 Share Posted April 4, 2006 If you hang around the video section of this forum, you'd eat up that limit in one night. Those wireless PC card net access you guys are talking about, are those the ones where you need to put in a SIM card to operate? If so, anybody know if your networks are providing GPRS speeds with that or are they using EDGE(something)? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moverfive Posted April 4, 2006 Share Posted April 4, 2006 If you hang around the video section of this forum, you'd eat up that limit in one night. Those wireless PC card net access you guys are talking about, are those the ones where you need to put in a SIM card to operate? If so, anybody know if your networks are providing GPRS speeds with that or are they using EDGE(something)? Yes, the cards they are referring to require a SIM. And yes, if you are planning on using your computer on the internet with the normal volume that you would normally use if connected to a cable or DSL modem, then odds are a 'limited' mb plan would be too small. And for Cingular - the speeds are going to depend on the card you have. The are a lot of older cards out there that are not EDGE capable. But if you have a newer one (typically a Sony Ericsson), then it is probably EDGE. So if you are using Cingular with an EDGE card, you should be getting anywhere from 100 - 140kb/sec throughput. The new network that has been launched is UMTS and then HSDPA - initially, this network will give about 400 - 700kb/sec. The capability of this network exceeds 14mb/sec - but given limitation of network support and spectrum, I think 1mb/sec will be closer to reality in the near future - still, about 10 times faster than EDGE. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nebraskan Posted April 5, 2006 Share Posted April 5, 2006 Not knowing anything about wireless internet, could this be a possibility for rural home use as long as I could get cell service? My wife has been bugging me to get internet at home but I have resisted, as the dialup we had was only 12k (really!) so I canned it. That, and I think I got a virus or spyware, because when I did have dialup, it would be continually downloading and I couldn't surf or send email. I would check the little status box and it would show something like downloaded 10meg, sent 600k or something like that. I suppose this should be its own thread. The satellite internet is $700 + $60/mo. I think we could easily get by on 20-30meg for her little bit of surfing. I guess worst case, we go up to unlimited and end up at the $60/mo which would be the same as satellite, without the upfront $700. Am I missing anything here? Can this be used on a desktop PC or only laptops? Special hardware required? Is it transferrable if I wanted to move between my home desktop and laptop while travelling? Sorry for all of the questions, but I am thinking this may save me some $ (It's amazing that I have put off getting the sat internet due to cost and have spent $3k on our game in the last two months.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shred Posted April 5, 2006 Share Posted April 5, 2006 Most of the cell internet is still GPRS, which is dial-up slow. Make sure you can get the high-speed where you are first-- I know around here the good signal cuts off not far out of town. Usually the cell-modems are either plugging a USB cable into a phone, or in PCMCIA card that fits into a laptop. (some brand-new laptops have them built in now). The PC-Card way is better for long-term PC use, and can be shared between PC's if both have PC slots. For use like that, you'll want unlimited and probably have to be on a 'device' plan, not a 'phone' plan, even if you use the plug-a-cable-into-a-phone method (the companies call this "tethering" and charge more for it) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moverfive Posted April 5, 2006 Share Posted April 5, 2006 In the case of Cingular's network, it is all EDGE now. But if you use your phone as the means to connect, you will typically get slower speeds that you would if you used a PCMCIA card (also, if you are using a phone that isn't EDGE capable, then you will only connect using GPRS). And if the signal quality isn't wonderful, that would also degrade your throughput - so it would seem that you are only getting GPRS rates even when connected via EDGE. So depending on the combination of equipment and signal - throughput could vary dramatically. But with that said, Cingular doesn't charge extra if you use your phone to connect as opposed to a dedicated PC card - just charge for the amount of data consumed based on your plan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shred Posted April 5, 2006 Share Posted April 5, 2006 But with that said, Cingular doesn't charge extra if you use your phone to connect as opposed to a dedicated PC card - just charge for the amount of data consumed based on your plan. They do on my plan; the old AT&T->Cingular "$24.99 Unlimited data" plan-- any tethering is extra, and even sometimes when I'm not tethering, they still charge me for it, so then I have to decide if I want to call and bitch about 17 cents. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcoliver Posted April 5, 2006 Share Posted April 5, 2006 Great feedback guys. Thanks. Some part of our team of analysts is considering on going with this wireless internet (SIM card-based) option since the area we're in doesn't have any broadband capability. However, I fear the service we might be getting will be close to GPRS because EDGE isn't available yet in all areas. If that's the case with the connection just like dial-up, I doubt we can do much once we activate the company VPN. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moverfive Posted April 5, 2006 Share Posted April 5, 2006 But with that said, Cingular doesn't charge extra if you use your phone to connect as opposed to a dedicated PC card - just charge for the amount of data consumed based on your plan. They do on my plan; the old AT&T->Cingular "$24.99 Unlimited data" plan-- any tethering is extra, and even sometimes when I'm not tethering, they still charge me for it, so then I have to decide if I want to call and bitch about 17 cents. Yeah, I just checked with the guy over data about costs for tethering and he said that there was a period where they tried to restrict actual internet type usage via a phone and therefore might have had charges or even tried to outright restrict. But on current plans, that is no longer the case. Those older "unlimited" plans were really meant to be for data used on the phone itself (mMode or Media net) and not PC type usage. So yeah, you could be charged for tethering with an old plan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ken Posted April 13, 2006 Author Share Posted April 13, 2006 Moverfive, A computer salesman told me that in June Cingular is coming out with a new type of PC card, which, as I understand it, will be something different than the typical Type II card. I'm thus wondering whether that equates to an upgrade in speed. Any ideas? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcoliver Posted April 14, 2006 Share Posted April 14, 2006 I jut tried the wireless setup with an Aircard 775. With an EDGE connection (work area), it was relatively faster. But with GPRS (home location), I got better speeds from my dial-up. Maybe your area can provide better service though so YMMV. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moverfive Posted April 14, 2006 Share Posted April 14, 2006 Moverfive,A computer salesman told me that in June Cingular is coming out with a new type of PC card, which, as I understand it, will be something different than the typical Type II card. I'm thus wondering whether that equates to an upgrade in speed. Any ideas? Long-winded explanation as to what is going on here..... I think he is referring to UMTS/HSDPA. Right now Cingular, T-Mobile, and any of other GSM based carriers are at crossroad. While GSM is great for voice and limited data usage (due to its medium speed), to take it to the next generation of data speeds they will have to build out a NEW, separate network called UMTS (aka W-CDMA, which is not Verizon's CDMA). Again, this will be a NEW network - so these carriers will have multiple networks in operation - TDMA, GSM, and UMTS. Whereas Verizon, Sprint, and the other CDMA based carriers only operate one (well, Sprint has two, the second for former Nextel). This is why Verizon has been winning the "network wars." Maintaining and improving one network is easier than multiple ones. This is why all of the hype with Cingular going to UMTS - this will eventually be their one and only network. Anyway, Verizon and Sprint are in the process of upgrading to 1x-EVDO (I think that is the acronymn) which is about 3x - 4x faster than their (and Cingular's) current speeds. Cingular will be immediately upgrading their UMTS network to HSDPA and eventually HSUPA (download and upload). Based on the available spectrum and equipment, this network will be equal (and possibly exceed) to T1 speeds. In reality, this network will give 400-700kbs throughput because of current spectrum limitations. So to answer your question more directly - I am assuming the "new type" of PC card is referring to HSDPA. I know some computer manufacturers are going to be integrating these cards into their systems. Just understand that this new network is going to initially be launched primarily in metro areas - it is going to take a little time to get the wider availability that EDGE currently offers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lpspinner Posted May 25, 2006 Share Posted May 25, 2006 I had a Cingular Sony-Ericsson Edge card. I wanted it for just in case and had their most basic plan. With my corporate discount, my service ran about $15.00/month with 8mbs. When I surfed, I had turned off images, so I only got the placeholders and text. It helps, but even with a few minutes usages every week, I still ocassionally went over. Because of a project I was working on, my company supplied me with a free Sprint card. That service was slower then dialup. (But it was free). Go for the unlimited plan. It will be worth it over the course of the year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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