Sprint PCS air card

[Pyrosama]

One of my gifts this Christmas was an air card for wireless connection and I'm really excited about it. The only problem that I'm having in understanding how all this works is that though I have unlimited minutes on access time, I am limited to the actual data transfer and if I go over 20 megs in a month, I will get charged more than the monthly service fee. I'm worried a bit about how these deals work, too.

Does anyone have this type of service? If so, how do you take advantage of your computer options to maximize the benefits and conserve on data transfer? I'm looking for the place to disable the downloading of graphics when loading webpages in my internet options, but not sure if that's something to even look at.

I don't plan to be downloading any files with this connection and hardly any of my Threshold connection logs ever amount to more than 500 KB.

[Aristotle]

20 *megs* ???

That sounds like an extremely small amount of bandwidth to me.

[Kard]

I used to work for Sprint for a few years up until I quit about 6-7 months ago, but here's a heads up on your Aircard. They were still fairly new when I was around, but I think they've gained a bit more ground now.

First, about your plan, you said you are limited to 20 megabytes monthly, which is correct, it is/was one of their basic starting plans. If you go over your data usage, you are billed at 1/5th of a cent per KILOBYTE, effectively making additional megabytes over your limit $2 each. Depending on your usage, you might need to take one of the higher plans so you aren't getting charged an arm and a leg, but all of the Aircards have software with them to tell you EXACTLY how much data you are using during each session and your accumulated usage.

There is an unlimited data usage plan available, but you should check their site for current pricing. When I worked for Sprint PCS, unlimited usage started at $120, fell to $100, fell to $80, and then rose to $100 again during the course of several months, but you'll pay whatever the rate is when you sign up until YOU change it -- they won't mess with your rate, for better or worse. Your best bet is to just keep an eye on advertisements or the website and change your rate if they get better. You won't be charged anything extra to do so, but they will most likely want you to extend the length of your contract, just like a regular cellphone.

The confusing part you might have been running into was the 'unlimited minutes'. This has to do with the few Aircards that allow voice communications over the PCS network (the ability to make a 'real' phone call from your laptop if you have a headset or microphone). If you have one of these, you can make and place phone calls just like a cellphone without worrying about minutes. A few of the Aircards are data only, and if you have one of these, the 'unlimited minutes' part of your plan really doesn't apply to you. When you only access the Internet from the Aircard, you are assessed data usage and are not using the traditionally thought of 'minutes'.

The Aircards operate on the Sprint PCS Network, so anywhere Sprint offers its PCS service (all cities and most interstates, some smaller towns and highways), you will be able to use the Internet on your laptop via the Aircard. When I worked for them, the speeds were 'consistantly' around 50-70k, with spikes upwards 144-250k. This might have increased in the time since I left the company, as the 3-year plan at the roll out of their 3G network last year was to have broadband speeds over the air at its conclusion.

I've only barely used it myself, but I believe it allows full Internet access. HTTP, FTP, SMTP, Telnet, etc. I troubleshot one for my boss when he couldn't get it setup correctly, but apart from that, I haven't used it, only enough to ensure it was surfing sites correctly.

As to conserving data transfer, nixing graphics ought to help considerably. In IE, you can go to Tools->Internet Options, hit the 'Advanced Tab', and then scroll down to the Multimedia fields. You can turn off animations, pictures, movies, and sounds from there. Otherwise, not running data-heavy applications or downloading huge files seems like a no-brainer.

You wouldn't want to start working on your mp3 collection from your Aircard, for example.

Really, 20 megabytes doesn't sound like a whole lot, but most people don't really NEED a whole lot. Just keep track of what your usage is turning out to be each month with the supplied software and your bills. If you notice you are going over, either eat the extra charge or just bump up your plan.

[Pyrosama]

Originally posted by Aristotle
20 *megs* ???

That sounds like an extremely small amount of bandwidth to me.

Yes, it appears that 20 megs wouldn't cut it for daily use. Watching the useage accumulate just loading a page is really scary!

I think I'd easily use up the 20 megs if I use it for more than 10 days tops.

Originally posted by Kard

You wouldn't want to start working on your mp3 collection from your Aircard, for example.

Really, 20 megabytes doesn't sound like a whole lot, but most people don't really NEED a whole lot.

No kidding. But, my Threshlog for yesterday alone was 1.4 megs (this is excessive but rare). I can't see having a wireless connection and not enjoying it for fear of using up the max limit. I don't plan to use this connection for anything other than when I'm away from home though so I think I may be safe for now.