Comparing data speeds Cingular vs. Verizon

Last night I was talking to a friend of mine from Minneapolis who was
on vacation in Tampa Bay, FL. He and I were discussing his service with
Verizon, and my service with Cingular. Currently, he has the
"NationalAccess" data plan with Verizon, in which he has a data card
that is constantly plugged into his notebook for $59.99 per month. He
claimed that he was getting pretty good download speeds anywhere he
went, and currently where he was in Tampa Bay, he was getting a
completely full signal.

I asked him to download a 5MB test file from my server. He was getting
a speed flow between 80-100Kbps. Compared to the 5Kbps I was getting on
my downloads having my tethered phone with the MEdia Net service with
Cingular, I of course found this to be excellent. I then started
looking on Verizon's site about their data plans for PC data cards.
They have two packages. NationalAccess which is $59.99 (average speeds
of 60-80 kbps), and BroadbandAccess which is $79.99 (average download
speeds of 400 - 700 kbps, according to their website).

I started looking at data cards on Cingular's site. Yesterday I saw
three cards, now they're down to only two. Sierra Wireless AirCard 860,
and Sierra Wireless Aircard 875. The 875 looks better than the 860, and
I'm thinking of picking up one of the 875's and testing it out with
speeds under full signal conditions. However, I'm just wondering why
he's getting better speeds on a CDMA network, whereas even though I'm
on MEdia Net connecting to the *same* exact network as the Laptop
Connect, Data Connect, Broadband Connect, and whatever funky plans
Cingular has...I'm getting the crappy speeds. Putting into
consideration that I was getting 3 bars, on a tethered phone which is
only a GPRS device.

The cards Cingular offers are EDGE cards, both of them. So if I have
the MEdia Net unlimited package that I have, and I throw my SIM card
into the PC card and into my notebook, I'm going to get the EDGE
network speeds if it's available in my area? There's no special 3G SIM
card required?

However, with Verizon's site on "unlimited" data access with either
plans, their conditions are:

"The Unlimited Data Plans and Features MAY NOT be used for any other
purpose. Examples of prohibited uses include, without limitation, the
following: (i) continuous uploading, downloading or streaming of audio
or video programming or games; (ii) server devices or host computer
applications, including, but not limited to, Web camera posts or
broadcasts, automatic data feeds, automated machine-to-machine
connections or peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing; or (iii) as a
substitute or backup for private lines or dedicated data connections.
This means, by way of example only, that checking email, surfing the
Internet, downloading legally acquired songs, and/or visiting corporate
intranets is permitted, but downloading movies using P2P file sharing
services and/or redirecting television signals for viewing on laptops
is prohibited. A person engaged in prohibited uses, continuously for
one hour, could typically use 100 to 200 MBs, or, if engaged in
prohibited uses for 10 hours a day, 7 days a week, could use more than
5 GBs in a month."

Whereas with Cingular, they really aren't that picky it seems.


The whole speed comparison with Verizon and Cingular is really
different to me...

---

› See More: Comparing data speeds Cingular vs. Verizon

On 5 Dec 2006 14:52:52 -0800, "Drew" <[email protected]> wrote in
<[email protected]>:

>Last night I was talking to a friend of mine from Minneapolis who was
>on vacation in Tampa Bay, FL. He and I were discussing his service with
>Verizon, and my service with Cingular. Currently, he has the
>"NationalAccess" data plan with Verizon, in which he has a data card
>that is constantly plugged into his notebook for $59.99 per month. He
>claimed that he was getting pretty good download speeds anywhere he
>went, and currently where he was in Tampa Bay, he was getting a
>completely full signal.
>
>I asked him to download a 5MB test file from my server. He was getting
>a speed flow between 80-100Kbps. Compared to the 5Kbps I was getting on
>my downloads having my tethered phone with the MEdia Net service with
>Cingular, I of course found this to be excellent. I then started
>looking on Verizon's site about their data plans for PC data cards.
>They have two packages. NationalAccess which is $59.99 (average speeds
>of 60-80 kbps), and BroadbandAccess which is $79.99 (average download
>speeds of 400 - 700 kbps, according to their website).
>
>I started looking at data cards on Cingular's site. Yesterday I saw
>three cards, now they're down to only two. Sierra Wireless AirCard 860,
>and Sierra Wireless Aircard 875. The 875 looks better than the 860, and
>I'm thinking of picking up one of the 875's and testing it out with
>speeds under full signal conditions. However, I'm just wondering why
>he's getting better speeds on a CDMA network, whereas even though I'm
>on MEdia Net connecting to the *same* exact network as the Laptop
>Connect, Data Connect, Broadband Connect, and whatever funky plans
>Cingular has...I'm getting the crappy speeds. Putting into
>consideration that I was getting 3 bars, on a tethered phone which is
>only a GPRS device.

There's your answer. GPRS is pretty slow. EGPRS(EDGE) is much faster.
UMTS faster yet. HSDPA faster yet.

>The cards Cingular offers are EDGE cards, both of them. So if I have
>the MEdia Net unlimited package that I have, and I throw my SIM card
>into the PC card and into my notebook, I'm going to get the EDGE
>network speeds if it's available in my area? There's no special 3G SIM
>card required?

Yes and yes. Or you can buy an inexpensive EGPRS card on eBay.

--
Best regards, FAQ FOR CINGULAR WIRELESS:
John Navas <http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Cingular_Wireless_FAQ>

> There's your answer. GPRS is pretty slow. EGPRS(EDGE) is much faster.
> UMTS faster yet. HSDPA faster yet.

Then what does Verizon use for their service that my friend has?
GPRS/EDGE/UMTS?



> >The cards Cingular offers are EDGE cards, both of them. So if I have
> >the MEdia Net unlimited package that I have, and I throw my SIM card
> >into the PC card and into my notebook, I'm going to get the EDGE
> >network speeds if it's available in my area? There's no special 3G SIM
> >card required?
>
> Yes and yes. Or you can buy an inexpensive EGPRS card on eBay.

Alright. So there really is no need for me to look into purchasing a
Sierra Wireless card on eBay like the two Cingular has on their site if
I want to get typical speeds like my friend does with Verizon. Just
some regular EDGE card. Having one of the newer cards (like the two on
Cingular's site currently) isn't going to increase my speeds?

"Drew" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>> There's your answer. GPRS is pretty slow. EGPRS(EDGE) is much faster.
>> UMTS faster yet. HSDPA faster yet.
>
> Then what does Verizon use for their service that my friend has?
> GPRS/EDGE/UMTS?
>
>
>
>> >The cards Cingular offers are EDGE cards, both of them. So if I have
>> >the MEdia Net unlimited package that I have, and I throw my SIM card
>> >into the PC card and into my notebook, I'm going to get the EDGE
>> >network speeds if it's available in my area? There's no special 3G SIM
>> >card required?
>>
>> Yes and yes. Or you can buy an inexpensive EGPRS card on eBay.
>
> Alright. So there really is no need for me to look into purchasing a
> Sierra Wireless card on eBay like the two Cingular has on their site if
> I want to get typical speeds like my friend does with Verizon. Just
> some regular EDGE card. Having one of the newer cards (like the two on
> Cingular's site currently) isn't going to increase my speeds?
>
There is no comparison between Verizon's EVDO and anything Chingular has to
offer.....PERIOD...

Chingular has better lipservice....verizon has better DATA service.

> There is no comparison between Verizon's EVDO and anything Chingular has to
> offer.....PERIOD...
>
> Chingular has better lipservice....verizon has better DATA service.

But Verizon's $59.99 "NationalAccess" plan isn't considered to be EVDO
I wouldn't imagine, with speeds of only topping out at about 80Kbps.
Maybe EVDO has something to do with the BroadbandAccess or whatever the
$79.99 plan is, but I'm doubting that on the lower priced plan.

"Drew" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>> There is no comparison between Verizon's EVDO and anything Chingular has
>> to
>> offer.....PERIOD...
>>
>> Chingular has better lipservice....verizon has better DATA service.
>
> But Verizon's $59.99 "NationalAccess" plan isn't considered to be EVDO
> I wouldn't imagine, with speeds of only topping out at about 80Kbps.
> Maybe EVDO has something to do with the BroadbandAccess or whatever the
> $79.99 plan is, but I'm doubting that on the lower priced plan.

You are correct....1XRTT is worthless. EVDO service is FAST...and $59 for
existing Verizon Customers.


>

> You are correct....1XRTT is worthless. EVDO service is FAST...and $59 for
> existing Verizon Customers.

I'm not sure what you're referring to by "1XRTT", and how it is
worthless. There's no question that EVDO service is fast. Although,
what is is compared to in equivalence? $59.99 is for existing customers
on Verizon to what plan? NationalAccess...Broadband Access...

On 5 Dec 2006 15:29:51 -0800, "Drew" <[email protected]> wrote in
<[email protected]>:

>> There's your answer. GPRS is pretty slow. EGPRS(EDGE) is much faster.
>> UMTS faster yet. HSDPA faster yet.
>
>Then what does Verizon use for their service that my friend has?
>GPRS/EDGE/UMTS?

Depending on location:
* CDMA2000 1xRTT (faster than GPRS but slower than EGPRS), or
* CDMA2000 EV-DO (roughly comparable to UMTS/HSDPA)
CDMA2000 is fundamentally different from GSM/UMTS.

>> >The cards Cingular offers are EDGE cards, both of them. So if I have
>> >the MEdia Net unlimited package that I have, and I throw my SIM card
>> >into the PC card and into my notebook, I'm going to get the EDGE
>> >network speeds if it's available in my area? There's no special 3G SIM
>> >card required?
>>
>> Yes and yes. Or you can buy an inexpensive EGPRS card on eBay.
>
>Alright. So there really is no need for me to look into purchasing a
>Sierra Wireless card on eBay like the two Cingular has on their site if
>I want to get typical speeds like my friend does with Verizon. Just
>some regular EDGE card. Having one of the newer cards (like the two on
>Cingular's site currently) isn't going to increase my speeds?

Without a 3G SIM and UMTS or HSDPA service, the best you can get with
Cingular is EGPRS(EDGE) speed of 150-180 Kbps. A Sony Ericsson card
with that capability typically goes for $50 or so on eBay.

--
Best regards, FAQ FOR CINGULAR WIRELESS:
John Navas <http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Cingular_Wireless_FAQ>

On 5 Dec 2006 16:55:30 -0800, "Drew" <[email protected]> wrote in
<[email protected]>:

>> You are correct....1XRTT is worthless. EVDO service is FAST...and $59 for
>> existing Verizon Customers.
>
>I'm not sure what you're referring to by "1XRTT", and how it is
>worthless. ...

1xRTT is 2nd generation CDMA2000 data service, faster than GPRS, but
slower than EGPRS(EDGE), not to mention UMTS/HSDPA, which are roughly
comparable in speed to EV-DO.

--
Best regards, FAQ FOR CINGULAR WIRELESS:
John Navas <http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Cingular_Wireless_FAQ>

> Without a 3G SIM and UMTS or HSDPA service, the best you can get with
> Cingular is EGPRS(EDGE) speed of 150-180 Kbps. A Sony Ericsson card
> with that capability typically goes for $50 or so on eBay.

3G service isn't even available in Nashville, which is where I thought
3G service would be available. UMTS or HSDPA service with Cingular
needs a 3G SIM card?

On 5 Dec 2006 17:30:07 -0800, "Drew" <[email protected]> wrote in
<[email protected]>:

>... UMTS or HSDPA service with Cingular
>needs a 3G SIM card?

Correct.

--
Best regards, FAQ FOR CINGULAR WIRELESS:
John Navas <http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Cingular_Wireless_FAQ>

Drew <[email protected]> wrote:
> Last night I was talking to a friend of mine from Minneapolis who was
> on vacation in Tampa Bay, FL. He and I were discussing his service with
> Verizon, and my service with Cingular. Currently, he has the
> "NationalAccess" data plan with Verizon, in which he has a data card
> that is constantly plugged into his notebook for $59.99 per month. He
> claimed that he was getting pretty good download speeds anywhere he
> went, and currently where he was in Tampa Bay, he was getting a
> completely full signal.

> I asked him to download a 5MB test file from my server. He was getting
> a speed flow between 80-100Kbps. Compared to the 5Kbps I was getting on
> my downloads having my tethered phone with the MEdia Net service with
> Cingular, I of course found this to be excellent. I then started
> looking on Verizon's site about their data plans for PC data cards.
> They have two packages. NationalAccess which is $59.99 (average speeds
> of 60-80 kbps), and BroadbandAccess which is $79.99 (average download
> speeds of 400 - 700 kbps, according to their website).

Just to add a real world experience with EVDO in here: I had
the chance to test out a laptop today that had a built in EVDO card.
I was really quite surprised how fast it was, according to a reliably
consistent/accurate speedtest site it was doing 1.2Mbit down and 128Kbit
up. The signal on the card was quite good in the area tested and if it
weren't the speed will likely go down. Also, I don't know if EVDO has
any fallback like EDGE falls back to GPRS in areas where it isn't
available.

I've never tested EDGE so I can't say anything about that, GPRS
is slow though I do know that and EVDO really suprised the hell out of
me on the speed. Also, treat anything that Novice says as suspect, he's
in love with Cingular and sees them through rose colored glasses. Best
to go borrow a card and test it out if you want to know what the real
performance is going to be like.

On Dec 5, 6:30 pm, "Drew" <[email protected]> wrote:> 3G service
isn't even available in Nashville, which is where I thought
> 3G service would be available.

Actually 3G service is available in Nashville.

http://www.big-online-casinos.com/20...band_bagc.jspx

B. Wright wrote:

> I've never tested EDGE so I can't say anything about that,

Well of course EDGE is slow. The Sprint commercials comparing EDGE to
EVDO are ridiculous, since the competition for EVDO is HSDPA, not EDGE.

Cingular has been trying to catch up with Sprint and Verizon in terms of
speed, with the deployment of HSDPA, and in three to six months they
will probably have comparable coverage, and even now they have coverage
in the major metro areas.

GomJabbar wrote:
> On Dec 5, 6:30 pm, "Drew" <[email protected]> wrote:> 3G service
> isn't even available in Nashville, which is where I thought
> > 3G service would be available.
>
> Actually 3G service is available in Nashville.
>
> http://www.big-online-casinos.com/20...band_bagc.jspx

Wow, cool. Since I'm in Nashville often, I guess I would see the
difference in speeds. So if I pickup a 3G SIM card, and get Cingular to
switch that into a phone that is 3G compatiable, would I see the speed
difference in MEdia Net unlimited?