Sprint says laptop cable is 'stealing'.

In article <%[email protected]>,
Jerome Zelinske <[email protected]> writes:
> If you do not want to pay for Sprint PCS laptop data service, fine.
> Either use just the handset or switch to a carrier that meets your needs
> at a price you want to pay.
[snip]

No argument with that, Jerome. My point is not whether connecting a
laptop to a phone w/o buying the data service is a T&C violation or
not--clearly it is. My points are that: 1. IMO it's an
unsatisfactory restriction. 2. SPCS is now apparently *quietly*
crippling (some?) phones to prevent this "abuse."

--
Jim Seymour | "There is no expedient to which a man will not
[email protected] | go to avoid the labor of thinking."
http://jimsun.LinxNet.com | - Thomas A. Edison

---

› See More: Sprint says laptop cable is 'stealing'.

In article <[email protected]>,
Joseph Huber <[email protected]> writes:
> On Thu, 28 Jul 2005 19:22:11 -0700, "Mij Adyaw" wrote:
[snip]
> Doesn't it even
> mildly upset you that Sprint made you buy a Vision data card when your
> MM7400 could do exactly the same thing???
[snip]

Ya think?

--
Jim Seymour | "There is no expedient to which a man will not
[email protected] | go to avoid the labor of thinking."
http://jimsun.LinxNet.com | - Thomas A. Edison

In article <[email protected]>,
Jerome Zelinske <[email protected]> writes:
> The "unlimited Vision I pay for" is through your handset. Connecting
> to a laptop to check your email or ebay bid uses much more data than
> through your handset.
[snip]

It does? You have proof, details to back up this assertion?

--
Jim Seymour | "There is no expedient to which a man will not
[email protected] | go to avoid the labor of thinking."
http://jimsun.LinxNet.com | - Thomas A. Edison

In article <[email protected]>,
Steve Sobol <[email protected]> writes:
> Jim Seymour wrote:
>> In article <[email protected]>,
>> Steve Sobol <[email protected]> writes:
[snip]
>>>
>>>Theoretically, if your company has a business relationship with SPCS,
>>
>>
>> Currently, we do not.
>
> Have you considered calling Sprint Business and setting up an account, if
> more than one of the company phones are Sprint phones?

Not a single $corp wireless phone is on SPCS atm.

>
>>>either have an account rep that can do something for you or you can call
>>>SPCS Business and they can work with you. I say theoretically because I've
>>>only dealt with SPCS on a consumer level.
>>
>> Same here. (May not be for much longer, tho. I'm considering a
>> move to VZ.)
>
> Yup. I can understand your frustration, because that's where I was recently
> myself.
[snip]

*nod*

Thing is: I used to *love* SprintPCS as a wireless provider. I dunno
what happened, but somewhere along the line *something* knocked the
wind out of 'em, looks like, and, if there's anything to
differentiate them amongst the competition these days, it would
*appear* to be supremely lousy customer service!

As for the data plan... well, I don't care what Mij and the others
say: It's just wrong, IMO.

--
Jim Seymour | "There is no expedient to which a man will not
[email protected] | go to avoid the labor of thinking."
http://jimsun.LinxNet.com | - Thomas A. Edison

"Mij Adyaw" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:7qgGe.27103$bp.26065@fed1read03...
> You are the exception to the rule! Other folks will abuse this privilege.

No Mij, Notan is not the exception. He's with the majority of folks who
might tether up. It's those folks who do abuse the system that are the
exception, and it's those folks that get the bad news from SPCS on their
monthly bill.

Bob

Jim Seymour wrote:

> Not a single $corp wireless phone is on SPCS atm.

Oh, it sounded like you had company phones with Sprint.

--
Steve Sobol, Professional Geek 888-480-4638 PGP: 0xE3AE35ED
Company website: http://JustThe.net/
Personal blog, resume, portfolio: http://SteveSobol.com/
E: [email protected] Snail: 22674 Motnocab Road, Apple Valley, CA 92307

"Jerome Zelinske" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> The "unlimited Vision I pay for" is through your handset. Connecting to a
> laptop to check your email or ebay bid uses much more data than through
> your handset. You are stealing all that extra data that you are not
> paying for.
>
I think you really have to twist your reasoning processes to conclude that
this is stealing. However, both sides in this discussion seem to be fervent
supporters of their own view and I am not sure that anything near a
consensus is possible. As for myself, after I found out about Sprints' view
on the matter, I renewed my two year contract with Verizon. Verizon
apparently does not share Sprint's view on tethering laptops. You can buy
their "Mobile Office Kit" for most of their phones right in their stores.
This makes it possible to connect to YOUR OWN ISP via dialup connection for
which the accompanying software will copy and convert into a wireless
connection. These kits run from about 39.99 up depending on the phone they
are designed to work with.

Also when I renewed my subscription I continued the Express Network (MOU)
for FREE!!! This allows me to use my phone with my laptop at a substantially
higher data rate. There is no mailbox with the Express Network but I use the
connection to quickly download my email from Earthlink since EarthLink's
mail servers will allow you to receive mail even when you are on another
network. In order to send out I have to connect to a dialup number for
Earthlink.

I am on the road many months a year. Once ever day or so, I log on to
Express Network, download my email and disconnect. This usually takes less
than one minute. I compose my reply offline then connect to MY OWN ISP and
send my response and this often takes less than a minute. My point for
explaining this is that I AM DOING THIS FREE and VERIZON HAS NO OBJECTIONS!
They sold me the kit and the service to do it with.

For what it's worth, why would anyone want to sign up with a carrier who is
more worried about customers' stealing service than they are for providing
legitimate service? If bandwidth is such a problem at Sprint, then why is
it not a problem at Verizon?

PS. Just to be completely clear. In order to get the customer rep to add the
FREE Express Network (MOU) she had to switch me over to someone in that
division. Unfortunately, Verizon and Sprint both do not completely train
their reps on what can be done. This addition does not cost one penny.

notan, i use my Sprint phone almost exactly as you describe. only for very
occasional use.

i don't think i would ever try to download music, or anything big, using my
cellphone. but it comes in handy when i'm away from home.
"Notan" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
Mij Adyaw wrote:
>
> I have a Legal Novatel Wireless card in my laptop and pay for the
> unlimited
> data service. It works very well. I do not or never did result to illegal
> tethers.

If this were illegal ("Sprint illegal"), Sprint would be sending warnings
out
to every user that logged on, for even a minute.

When I'm on the road, I log on long enough to check my e-mail and, if
necessary,
send a few e-mails. We're talking a few minutes, at most.

If Sprint said they're gonna charge me minutes and/or $5.00/month for this
luxury,
I'd go for it. But, for me to spend money on a data card and a monthly data
plan,
for this pittance of use, forget it... I'd seriously start looking elsewhere
for
another carrier.

In my opinion, Sprint knows this.

It's one of the reasons I stay with Sprint.

Notan

In article <[email protected]>,
Steve Sobol <[email protected]> writes:
> Jim Seymour wrote:
>
>> Not a single $corp wireless phone is on SPCS atm.
>
> Oh, it sounded like you had company phones with Sprint.

I only said "...we're just beginning the process of doing new
wireless contracts." We're currently using two other wireless
carriers. It'll all be one when we're though.

--
Jim Seymour | "There is no expedient to which a man will not
[email protected] | go to avoid the labor of thinking."
http://jimsun.LinxNet.com | - Thomas A. Edison

No twisting required. It is straight forward. Clearly stated in their
plans and tos.
That some other carrier's service fits your laptop needs better is
great, but you have to put up with the rest of that service to get it.

"Jerome Zelinske" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> No twisting required. It is straight forward. Clearly stated in their
> plans and tos.
> That some other carrier's service fits your laptop needs better is great,
> but you have to put up with the rest of that service to get it.

Actually, I completely agree with you. You go with the carrier who suits
your needs. I am a long haul trucker. I travel in every state in the
continental US. Only rarely am I in a roaming area and the coverage is great
with Verizon. I am happy. I only looked at Sprints' plan before I renewed my
contract with Verizon and that's when I found out that I would no longer be
able to tether my laptop and check my email if I went with Sprint. The
coverage plans prices are about identical. I have had no service issues.
That being the case and after reviewing Sprint, I just renewed my two-year
contract with Verizon. The only reason I got on this group at all was I
could not believe the Sprint service rep when she told me that tethering a
laptop was stealing. After reading the response on this group I see that the
service rep at Sprint was correct. She knew what she was talking about. That
IS Sprint's view. I wish them and all their customers the best.

So I stayed with the carrier who suites my needs.

Well, I guess that just depends on where you are. In most of the
states, and mine, WI, is one of them, most of the square miles are
roaming. Sprint PCS, uscellular, and cingular all cover more square
miles of WI than verizon. They also cover more interstate, US Highway,
State Highway miles than verizon.

James R. Brown wrote:
> "Jerome Zelinske" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
>
>>No twisting required. It is straight forward. Clearly stated in their
>>plans and tos.
>>That some other carrier's service fits your laptop needs better is great,
>>but you have to put up with the rest of that service to get it.
>
>
> Actually, I completely agree with you. You go with the carrier who suits
> your needs. I am a long haul trucker. I travel in every state in the
> continental US. Only rarely am I in a roaming area and the coverage is great
> with Verizon. I am happy. I only looked at Sprints' plan before I renewed my
> contract with Verizon and that's when I found out that I would no longer be
> able to tether my laptop and check my email if I went with Sprint. The
> coverage plans prices are about identical. I have had no service issues.
> That being the case and after reviewing Sprint, I just renewed my two-year
> contract with Verizon. The only reason I got on this group at all was I
> could not believe the Sprint service rep when she told me that tethering a
> laptop was stealing. After reading the response on this group I see that the
> service rep at Sprint was correct. She knew what she was talking about. That
> IS Sprint's view. I wish them and all their customers the best.
>
> So I stayed with the carrier who suites my needs.
>
>

James R. Brown wrote:

> That being the case and after reviewing Sprint, I just renewed my two-year
> contract with Verizon. The only reason I got on this group at all was I
> could not believe the Sprint service rep when she told me that tethering a
> laptop was stealing. After reading the response on this group I see that the
> service rep at Sprint was correct. She knew what she was talking about. That
> IS Sprint's view. I wish them and all their customers the best.

First, there is one person I know to be a Sprint employee that posts here,
and she has *not* posted on this subject. O/Siris used to be a Sprint Vision
tech support rep (in fact, so is the lady who still works for them who posts
here), but he was laid off when they closed a number of call centers about a
year ago. Mij doesn't work for Sprint.

And the people here can't even agree whether they agree with you - some do,
some don't. I personally do.

As for being Sprint's view, ever since they offshored CS, the reps I've
encountered have mostly been idiots. I'd take whatever they say with a grain
of salt. All we know *for sure* is that Sprint doesn't want you to tether
your laptop unless you have an appropriate plan. I'd not take the word of
some moron in CS that the company considers it stealing. I'd not necessarily
take the word of any SPCS employee that it's stealing, unless that employee
is relatively high up the corporate ladder... because that's a decision
front-line CS employees aren't authorized to make.

(In other words, I think the CSR was shooting off her mouth.)

> So I stayed with the carrier who suites my needs.

And that's what you have to do, it's all you can do, and if they meet your
needs, then IMHO you made the right choice. In spite of my problems with
Verizon within the last two years, I still consider them the gold standard
for customer service in the cellular industry. I do think they do a better
job of training their CSRs, and they hire people who genuinely want to do
right by the customer (in most cases, again IMHO).

As I've said, Sprint has a great network and a lot of cool services
available to their customers. Technology-wise, they're definitely ahead of
the game. Customer-service-wise... not.

Just think about me when considering which high-speed data plan to use. My
current carrier (T-Mobile) only offers GPRS, which isn't even as fast as the
1xRTT data service you can get with Verizon and Sprint. And nowhere near the
speed of 1xEVDO which Verizon already has and which Sprint's about to
officially launch.

**SJ "Every carrier has tradeoffs" S

--
Steve Sobol, Professional Geek 888-480-4638 PGP: 0xE3AE35ED
Company website: http://JustThe.net/
Personal blog, resume, portfolio: http://SteveSobol.com/
E: [email protected] Snail: 22674 Motnocab Road, Apple Valley, CA 92307

Jerome Zelinske wrote:
> Well, I guess that just depends on where you are. In most of the
> states, and mine, WI, is one of them, most of the square miles are
> roaming. Sprint PCS, uscellular, and cingular all cover more square
> miles of WI than verizon. They also cover more interstate, US Highway,
> State Highway miles than verizon.

That area is one where Sprint outshines Verizon; Oregon is another; in some
of the Plains states, Verizon does not even offer service at all, but Sprint
does.

--
Steve Sobol, Professional Geek 888-480-4638 PGP: 0xE3AE35ED
Company website: http://JustThe.net/
Personal blog, resume, portfolio: http://SteveSobol.com/
E: [email protected] Snail: 22674 Motnocab Road, Apple Valley, CA 92307

You are correct. In middle and northern Wisconsin I often have a problem. In
my particular case this is not that much of a problem since I am usually
only passing through. There are a few other areas in the country where I
have a problem. If I had Sprint I am sure I'd still have a few problem
areas. It seems the coverage for EITHER network is pretty good.

"Jerome Zelinske" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Well, I guess that just depends on where you are. In most of the states,
> and mine, WI, is one of them, most of the square miles are roaming.
> Sprint PCS, uscellular, and cingular all cover more square miles of WI
> than verizon. They also cover more interstate, US Highway, State Highway
> miles than verizon.
>
>>