Ugh, cell phone companies

[altivo]

Gary got antsy and went and signed a contract with Verizon for 3G/EVDO service. His brother was here at New Year's with a laptop and a similar connection that apparently worked. That overrode all my cautious advice, I guess.

So they gave him a USB modem (USB760) and 5GB per month for $60 a month on a 24 month contract. I have no idea how fast he'll eat that up, but I suspect if he starts diddling with Google Earth and you-boob it won't take long. The instructions for installing the thing stink. The specs are nonexistent. Linux is not only unsupported, but not even mentioned. Likewise, connection sharing, unless possibly if you buy a wireless router (we do not use wi-fi in the house and I don't want to start.)

Worse, if he is connected via Verizon with this thing, any activity on the local ethernet LAN by my PC seems to cause it to disconnect from Verizon. I suspect this has to do with the way his Windows XP was configured for ICS using an ordinary dialup modem, but who knows. Microsoft is singularly obtuse about these things.

Since the USB760 is essentially a cell phone, and has provisions for sending and receiving text or connecting a voice handset of some sort. it seems at least possible that ICS could be activated for it by linking Windows' own dial up networking to the 3G modem in the device, and bypassing Verizon's VZAccess software (which is brain dead anyway) but I'm not sure how to begin. As for borrowing the device and connecting it to my Linux workstation, that's probably hopeless in the extreme.

He's got three days in which he can cancel and get a full refund, and 30 days in which he can cancel by paying $70. After that the impossible cell phone contract kicks in and we're stuck with the thing for two years.

I'm irritated because it only gets one bar out of four for signal strength. Even my cheap VM cell phone gets two here. I have no idea whether he could have done better with Sprint/Nextel or AT&T, and neither does he. Sigh.

Comments

[marzolan.livejournal.com]

I didn't think it was legal for them to charge you for contract modification or cancelation within the first 30 days... AT&T doesn't even charge a fee in the first 30 days, so I'm shocked another company, especially one like Verizon, would charge such a fee. I pray he'll see sense and cancel within three days then.

[canid-anubis.livejournal.com]

I meant to mention this as well. When I called Verizon for what I was dealing with, they told me it could be fully returned and refunded within 30 days, although maybe it is something that is state by state?

[marzolan.livejournal.com]

I was informed by AT&T that it's actually a federal regulation on such contracts that the signer has 30 days to modify or cancel the terms without repurcussion. So... I'l call them on it.

[altivo.livejournal.com]

They call the fee an "activation fee" which is "non-refundable." I have firmly resisted all cell phone and wireless contracts because they are so complex and sneaky. Anything that can't be canceled without paying huge fees is crooked in my opinion. It's like saying you can't cancel your newspaper or magazine subscription unless you pay it up through the rest of two years anyway.

[marzolan.livejournal.com]

$70 activation fee? That's insane. I do not understand why people complain of AT&Ts pricing in that case, their associated fees and costs seem far more reasonable in that light.

[altivo.livejournal.com]

The activation fee is $35 and the other $35 is a "restocking fee" for the modem device. I agree, this is a ripoff, but in my research it also looks about typical for most cell phone operators. Some or all of the charge is waived if you keep the contract, but it becomes effective if you cancel during the first 30 days.

AT&T's contract looks no better to me. I haven't seen Sprint's.

Considering that a land line phone installation now runs as high as $250 (unrefundable) or more, this doesn't seem so surprising to me.

[captpackrat.livejournal.com]

Try a Cradlepoint router. They make routers specifically for cellular modems and they're quite good about supporting and updating their firmware.

I originally purchased the CTR350, the pocket-sized version. For such a small device, it has a lot of configuration options. It has a single Ethernet port which can be configured as a LAN port or as a WAN port. The router has a failover function so you can switch from wired WAN to cellular, or vice versa, if one goes down. It has 802.11g WiFi. The downsides are poor WiFi range (about 25-50 feet indoors), no external antenna and no support for 4G. This model runs about $90-100 on Amazon.

I recently replaced that one with the MBR1200, their newest model. It supports up to 5 modems (3 USB, one ExpressCard and one PCMCIA) and a wired WAN connection, all with fully configurable failover. It has 802.11n WiFi with excellent range (supposedly up to 250 yards) and it has ports for adding external antennas. It also has a 4 port Gigabit switch. It can act as an IPSec VPN endpoint, and it supports 4G modems. The only real downside is the price, about $220-230 on Amazon.

Cradlepoint also makes the MBR1000, which was also sold as the Kyocera KR2. I had one of those, but Kyocera wouldn't provide firmware updates and the Cradlepoint firmware wasn't quite compatible. The MBR-1000 is a pretty good unit with multiple USB ports, failover, 802.11g, a 4 port switch and (non-replaceable) external antennas. It runs about $115-200 on Amazon. Don't bother with the Kyocera, they've dropped support for it.

And they have a model with a built-in battery, the PHS300. It has just a single USB port and 802.11b and runs about $160-175 on Amazon.

[altivo.livejournal.com]

Because of my amateur radio activities, I do not want any wireless routers in the house. Many of them generate obnoxious amounts of interference or will misbehave in the presence of other signals even if they are outside the supposed passband of the device.

Verizon appears to recommend the MBR1000, the one you don't recommend, of course. But in any case, we don't use wi-fi, don't have laptops, and all the computers in the house are on a fixed network.

[captpackrat.livejournal.com]

The Cradlepoint MBR1000 is a good unit, I was just warning against buying the Kyocera KR2 (which is almost exactly the same router except for the firmware). Kyocera dropped support for their router 2 years ago, while Cradlepoint is still issuing updates for their version. The MBR1000 is probably Cradlepoint's best seller.

All Cradlepoint routers with Ethernet ports can have their WiFi radios turned off. The CTR300 has a software switch, while the MBR1200 has both software and hardware off switches for the WiFi. I just checked the manual for the MBR1000, and the radio can be turned off in the configuration. Just log into the router's built-in web server (192.168.0.1 by default), enter the password (default is the last 6 digits of the router's MAC address), click on the Basic tab, select Wireless (WiFi) and clear the checkbox for Enable Wireless. Click Save Settings and it may or may not need to reboot the router.

[canid-anubis.livejournal.com]

"So they gave him a USB modem (USB760) and 5GB per month for $60 a month on a 24 month contract."

I've been dealing with a mother in law in a similar situation. I believe that she picked hers up at BJ's recently for $40 a month, with no charge for the device, but also a 2 year contract.

I talked to Verizon for her on the phone. If they were to rip through the 5GB in transfer over the month, assuming that there is no riding balance on the card, it would just stop working and allow them to buy more time if they liked.

My point in all this is that if he has a chance to return it and get a better deal on the same card elsewhere, maybe that is worth it to him. Some people (Like my mother in law) just feel the need to get one of these. But if the thing doesn't have the coverage that it needs, what's the point in the end, eh?

I'd at least cancle it outright for now and do some discovery to see if there is a better coverage plan out there.

[altivo.livejournal.com]

Oh, he has a valid need for something like this. There is no reliable service other than dialup available here. Satellite and terrestrial wireless don't work due to location and tree cover. There is no cable or DSL available in the area either. His graduate school is operated by nincompoops who insist that the whole world has broadband, so they expect him to deal with assignments over the internet that are created with bulky and inefficient packages and transfer huge amounts of data in order to achieve very little. Even though he is a local student and attends actual classes, and can use their own labs, they insist on this ill-designed and badly-implemented crap.

This county is full of cell phone dead zones too, and our house is apparently on the edge of one. I put the modem on a three foot shielded USB extension cable, which seems to have made the signal a bit more reliable. Possibly adding the external antenna (which the salesman/technician didn't even suggest) would make a greater difference.

If he exceeds the 5GB in a month, they will charge him 5 cents a MB for overage rather than cut off the service. That could add up in a hurry, especially since he generally seems to have little idea how much data he is moving. Fortunately, he doesn't play games at all, or watch videos (yet) nor does he download music. Alas, I have no idea what his poorly-implemented schoolwork is likely to add up to. I do know he's got a class that wants him to use Google Earth, and Google is notoriously insensitive to the way in which it wastes bandwidth.

[captpackrat.livejournal.com]

The USB760 has an external antenna jack, if signal strength is a problem. Using it with a router should also help some, since you can position the router and use a USB extension cable to place the dongle in a better spot.

5 Gigabytes is a pretty slim usage allowance. I've got Verizon, but I originally signed up with Alltel, so I have unlimited usage. I burned through about 40 Gigs of data last month, though that was mostly because someone gave me a bunch of games through Steam. Verizon charges 5 cents per megabyte after the first 5,120, so with my usage last month, my bill would have come to over $1,800, not including taxes!

[shadow-stallion.livejournal.com]

My mates mom has Verizon w/unlimited but that package is no longer available to new customers apparently. Might be available via others though.

[altivo.livejournal.com]

He doesn't play games and I doubt he is likely to start, fortunately.

What worries me is that he's not likely to think carefully about other things, like photo sharing, that can quickly use up an allowance like that.

I don't think we need a router. I found information about the underlying connection to Windows DUN that can be modified appropriately (no thanks to Verizon's shitty documentation.) The modem itself can be located away from the computer by using a shielded USB extension cable. I had a three foot one handy that we tried, and that helped a bit. I'll bring home an eight footer from work that will let him suspend it in a window and see what that does to help.

[captpackrat.livejournal.com]

They make active USB repeaters that can extend the range up to 80 feet, so you could even stick the modem up in the attic or something. They're a wee bit pricey, though, at about $15-20 for 16 feet (you can daisy chain them up to 5 times)

http://www.amazon.com/Tripp-Lite-U026-016-Certified-Extension/dp/B0002D6QJO

[kyhwana.livejournal.com]

Cancel! The thing sounds like arse..

[zenicurean.livejournal.com]

I don't know what the market looks like over in that direction, but for my money I'd tend to agree with this assesment.

[altivo.livejournal.com]

The US market is highly restrictive and complex. Comparing services is difficult to impossible, and often like buying surprise boxes that are sealed and do not permit the contents to be examined until they have been already paid for.

This is further complicated by the fact that service in rural and exurban areas like ours is spotty and unreliable. They have maps that say you are covered, but when you actually try a cell phone or modem on location it may not work at all due to variations in topology, trees, etc. Many of our friends in the area have cell phones that are completely dead in their own houses, but work if they walk down the road a quarter mile.

[zenicurean.livejournal.com]

That sounds terrifying. I can see how the service packages and combinations could get esoteric, but that should never be allowed to interfere with the consumer's ability to compare costs.

[altivo.livejournal.com]

Yes, terrifying is one way to put it. The US is a land of capitalist abandon, especially so after eight years of Bushdom. No regulations were imposed during that time. Corporate profit ranks higher than god here.

Cell phone companies are regulated but only at a minimal level. Their contracts are draconian, their rates are outrageous, and their sales tactics abominable. Figuring out exactly what you are buying is made as difficult as possible, and believing what the salesperson tells you is suicide. The contracts are all but unintelligible to anyone but a supreme court justice (if even to them) and they invariably have ironclad cancellation clauses that try to make you liable for large sums of money even if the service is terminated at the provider's end, as for instance if their towers are all blown down by storms.

[altivo.livejournal.com]

The documentation is indeed crap. The device itself may be OK. I was able to find more information about setting it up and configuring by searching the internet. It does work with Linux, evidently, and does go through Windows DUN so it can be shared and activated without using Verizon's crappy management software.

[avon-deer.livejournal.com]

I'd cancel. It does not sound trustworthy.

[altivo.livejournal.com]

Getting him to cancel will probably be like prying loose an immovable object. He's been nagging for faster internet service for years, despite all the indications that we can't get it here unless we pay huge fees. Now that he has had a taste of it, I probably can't do much.

The software and LAN issues can be resolved, I'm sure. I've already found some information that points the way (no thanks to Verizon's so-called documentation, which is the usual tripe for the compleat idiott.) What really worries me is the 5GB data cap, after which they charge 5 cents a MB for additional use. I just don't know how well he can discipline himself to keep his usage in line. The internet doesn't make it easy to estimate what you are doing or how much bandwidth you are using.

[shadow-stallion.livejournal.com]

Hard for me to say Tivo. If I was living there then I would certainly crave for a fast connection so I can probably see why someone would sign up for something like this.

At a guess I would say Verizon has the best coverage for this stuff but I have no proof of that.

If he is happy with it and it works for his needs then keep it. If you both are already frustrated then can it.

[altivo.livejournal.com]

I think the equipment is probably workable, and the software can be altered to meet our needs. The data cap is the big worry, and apparently they have no unlimited or larger plan available. Fortunately, we don't play games. But he has no control over what his school expects him to do, and they are utterly insensitive to bandwidth usage.

[shadow-stallion.livejournal.com]

I would be concerned about the cap but then again we are heavy users. I seriously doubt you will find an unlimited plan. Verizon canned that some time ago. The only reason Kevin's mom has not altered her service is that she is grandfathered in.

Good luck with it.

[altivo.livejournal.com]

Sprint has unlimited available but only in certain geographic areas. Not here, of course, but in the large cities where people can choose between dozens of options for broadband.

You can also get unlimited on some "corporate" type plans, but the price runs $250 a month or so. I didn't think the cell network would be a good option, but he's convinced he has to have something. I'm going to try to talk him into a new notebook or laptop computer with wi-fi. It will cost less than two years on this limited plan, and he can take it to any number of hot spots in the area, like public libraries or Starbucks. He can also take it to school with him. I hate laptop computers, but this might be a better approach for him.

[shadow-stallion.livejournal.com]

For some reason I thought he already had a laptop. At any rate, if he does not have one now then this might be the better option. Laptops are not my favorite but they do serve a purpose.

Is WiFi free at Starbucks? I know when I was traveling A LOT I signed up with Boingo for like $10/month which gave me WiFi at the airports and a lot of other places.

[altivo.livejournal.com]

Wi-fi is free at Starbucks at least if you have a Starbucks cash card. They limit the number of hours per day, though. At least that's what I understand. My dentist gave me a card before Christmas with $5 on it. I don't frequent Starbucks and I hate their coffee so I haven't used it. But when I registered the card to activate it, there was an option to register for the wi-fi and get a password to it. That was my understanding, that you could have two hours a day at no charge. I'm sure they assume you will buy something and probably most everyone will.

[shadow-stallion.livejournal.com]

Starbucks is the devil. They have convinced half the world to buy their swill which is nothing more than burnt beans no matter what fancy-smancy name they market it under. *deep breath* Sorry...no more ranting.

Speaking of coffee. Have you ever tried "Community Coffee"? There are two of us in the office that refuse to drink the generic coffee they buy for the office and tried this on a whim since we were out of 'Dunkin Donuts' brand. It was not bad but we were not impressed.

Where were we? Oh yeah, wifi.

I think given the option of the two I would probably go for laptop and a wifi signal at a hotspot. Surely he could download what he needs away from home and then cope with dialup at home if he needed something else.

*snickers* If it is was me though...I would be figuring out some way to sell my soul to the devil and get high speed net service at home in return but that's just me. ;)

[altivo.livejournal.com]

I don't think the devil is the least bit interested in my soul, it's much too boring. Gary's is no better.

No one seems to believe me when I say that there really IS no high speed net service here. Like about 35% of US residences, it simply is not available for any price. Well, I suppose if you paid AT&T the full cost of running T-1 here from somewhere and then committed to their monthly charge of $700 or so, you could get it. It would take several months to get it installed and the installation would run many thousands. There is no DSL here. They have no plans to upgrade the lines so they could provide it. There is no line of site on satellite or terrestrial broadband from a local provider. There is no cable television line. You can have dialup or you can pay a cell phone company for an unreliable service (again, no good line of sight, so service is flaky and weak) at their exhorbitant rate.

Your typical user of online games, music and video downloads would run up monthly charges of $1200 and up at the cell phone rate. I wouldn't even pay that on a mortgage, certainly not just for internet access.

[shadow-stallion.livejournal.com]

*snickers* I have a dark side and am surely not as pure and innocent as the unicorn persona I wear. I'm sure I could negotiate some high speed access from the devil in a pinch. ;)

I have heard you complain enough about how your area is growing and gaining population. One would think that eventually better access would come to the area due to more people living there.

[altivo.livejournal.com]

I imagine it will get here eventually, but I may well be dead first. When they can extract money at the rates they get for cell phone data plans, why would they spend millions to provide better service at a lower rate? Wireless broadband or satellite work for perhaps 60 to 70% of residences here because they are farmhouses out in the open surrounded by cornfields. There is no obstruction to the line on a tower or satellite.

We live in a dense oak grove though. I like it that way, and frankly, I'm quite willing to forgo high speed internet for it. The trees and birds are worth it and more.

[captpackrat.livejournal.com]

Ah! I was wondering how that worked. I bought some Starbucks cards at Costco and never got around to registering them. They worked just fine without it, and I usually only visit Starbucks that are inside another store, which don't have WiFi.

[keeganfox.livejournal.com]

Mum dragged me into the cell phone world, and it's rather convenient actually.
That said, I'm totally doing a pay-as-you-go scheme with Vodafone. I buy $20 at a time and add it to the account, and it's good for 12 months. It's the only way I'd do it.

[altivo.livejournal.com]

Yep, that's how we finally did the cell phone thing. Virgin Mobile pay as you go, $15 at a time, usually that lasts Gary about two months, and lasts me quite a bit longer. I rarely use mine for anything other than an occasional text message or web lookup.

Unfortunately, doing data that way gets expensive in a hurry, as most anyone who offers it charges by the megabyte.

[thedeere.livejournal.com]

I'd say cancel, and see if you can't get a contract from Alltel still. Their website's still up. I got Alltel EVDO and it's UNLIMITED GB. (Sheese, 5 gigs? I'd use that up in 12 hrs) at 60/mo/2yrs. Don't count on better signal though, my alltel modem has an external antenna port and with the external antenna they sent it gets WORSE reception. In fact if you're only getting 1 bar, maybe EVDO isn't a good idea at all.

[altivo.livejournal.com]

Nope. Alltel's website just redirects me to Verizon.

[thedeere.livejournal.com]

Uggh, sick. X( I swear if when I go to renew they try to cap me at 5GB I'll take up knitting and watching Oprah instead.

[cabcat.livejournal.com]

$60 US for 5GB a month O.O

I pay $72 a month shared with my housemate and that's for Cable with a 20GB peak 40Gb offpeak quota.

Cell phone internet plans are the biggest rip, even here.

[altivo.livejournal.com]

But you live where there is cable. Those of us who live in the US outside cities generally have no cable available. The same goes for DSL. It just isn't there.