Sprint Mobile Broadband sm

• Transcribing in boonies - zoe
  • MTing in the boonies - Rochelle
  • Sprint or Verizon - sm
  • I have used satellite and sm - Boonie goonie
  • kickin it in the sticks - upnorth
  • reply to your post - anon
    • Big help, thanks. - Zoe
      • Sprint Mobile Broadband sm - HappyMT
  • Oops - zoe
    • No DSL, no cable, not even mail delivery to house. - Indastix

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Hi to everyone!

Is anyone out there using the wireless broadband, like Sprint or Verizon (not so unlimited)?  I am currently using Verizon and have now found out the unlimited is not so.  I have ordered Sprint and the USB modem will be here in a few days, but am now paranoid about 0ver-Use on that!

I just moved to a house in the country, with no DSL, no cable and am unsure about Wild Blue for satellite because of the start up cost and then not being satisfied.

Any country living transcriptionists out there with advice?  I am in northern CA.

Thanks for any help!

Hi ..

I need to set up to work away from home and am considering mobile broadband wireless. 

I would appreciate any information ya'll could give me - I know nothing about it, other than most service is 60.00/month ... specifically, what carriers and how much time does it get you? 

Thanks so much!  I have verified the major carriers provide coverage in the area I will need to be in. 

Merry Christmas!

"air" cards that allow you to go wireless provided you are in their service area.   The service is about $50/mo I think and then you have to buy the card.  I think the card is about $200, but they have deals sometimes where if you commit to 1 or 2 years that you get the card for free.   You can probably go to the websites of both companies to check to see if you have service in your area.  

We also have a service in my area called Clearwire.  They have a modem that you plug into an outlet and you can take it and plug it in and get service anywhere within range.  They have different levels of service, similar to DSL, where the faster the download the more the $$.  I think the cheapest package is $25/mo.   They may have the same service under a different name in other areas. 

My Sprint USB card is in my husband's PC, connected to a Linksys router and then to mine with Ethernet cables. You just have to run the internet connection sharing wizard on XP. I've been using this for almost 2 weeks now and absolutely love it. Also, Verizon has a cap on how much bandwidth you can use each month (5 GB) and you have to pay for overages. Sprint has unlimited usage for the same amount per month ($60). If you have any questions about it, I can give you the website where I purchased my equipment. My e-mail is pixie.chick@earthlink.net.

I don't mean to hijack the OP question, but you mentioned you use a PC card for your Internet since you live in the country. I too live in the country and do not even have cable available - only dial-up.

I recently purchased a laptop and it only came with an ExpressCard slot (which it is my understanding that laptops in the future will be built with these and not PC slots). The ExpressCards have not hit the local Verizon or Sprint stores yet but I hear they are to soon and I plan to try one. I hope to be able to drop my dial-up ISP and just use my laptop for my on-line job. I also have my own local account where I pick up tapes and deliver their transcription and I can continue to use my regular PC for that work if I choose to.

Anyway, I would really appreciate knowing how you like your "card" for connecting to the Internet and how well it works out for you. Do you know if Verizon or Sprint has more coverage area? Have you traveled much with yours to see if you are able to get connections? How reliable has this been and how fast of a connection rate do you get on average?

I sure would appreciate any info you could share regarding this. Thanks so much.

Sandi

I  have a router on my main computer, which also speeds up the connection. Downloads .wav files in a flash. The router also allows The Boy to play his Xbox live in the basement.

I don't have it because of the price ($55 a month), but because I cannot get DSL or cable.  I looked into satellite, but after explaining to them the work that I do, they said that I would easily exceed their limits in probably about three weeks, leaving me with week four totally down (they don't have an overage that you can buy).  I actually spent the time tallying one weeks' worth of voice files to give them an average of what my week looks like.

The weather doesn't really affect my wireless, I have had my satellite go out during bad weather, but my wireless is still up and going.

I would be interested in the cards mentioned, but I live in an area where cell phone reception is hit or miss, so that won't work for me either.

I use two different FTPs and also a WebTop platform for my hospital account.

I don't have it because of the price ($55 a month), but because I cannot get DSL or cable.  I looked into satellite, but after explaining to them the work that I do, they said that I would easily exceed their limits in probably about three weeks, leaving me with week four totally down (they don't have an overage that you can buy).  I actually spent the time tallying one weeks' worth of voice files to give them an average of what my week looks like.

The weather doesn't really affect my wireless, I have had my satellite go out during bad weather, but my wireless is still up and going.

I would be interested in the cards mentioned, but I live in an area where cell phone reception is hit or miss, so that won't work for me either.

I use two different FTPs and also a WebTop platform for my hospital account.

a map on their website showing coverage area.  I haven't used a broadband card yet.   I know someone who used a Verizon air card and they said they were able to get service everywhere they went.  They were on the west coast, where it seems more reasonable that there would be a wider range of service.   You can check Verizon's website for coverage area too.  Another option may be for you to get dial-up at your mother's house.   You can get People PC for $10.95/month, but I don't know if they require a contract.   If none of the big ISPs have a local number you can get service through a small local provider and they usually do not require a contract.  I have traveled extensively and have spent several weeks in some places where dial-up was the only available option at the time and even though I had an ISP they did not have local service.  

Another option is to try the free trials with various ISPs if they have service in your mom's area.   There is no charge is you cancel before trial period is up. 

I just want to be able to move around the house with a laptop, which I am still looking for a good deal on.  I am looking for a 17 inch screen.  What is your laptop?  Give me the specs please.

Thanks

KC

Interesting question!  I own a small MTSO that is essentially a family business.  My Dad is retired, but does sales and bookkeeping for me.  My Mom is retiring August 1st, and she is planning on getting back into transcription, working for me.  They own a big RV and are planning on being "snowbirds" - living in Arizona for at least 3 months of the year.  The place they are going to is a big RV community which has WiFi internet, so they can both work remotely. I am also an avid camper, so we've been looking into remote internet options.

We explored the different satellite options, but it was very expensive initially for the equipment and the setup at each stop seemed kind of complicated.  The other problem was the upload/download speed - I can see why many services won't hire someone with satellite service.  We ended up going with Verizon Broadband access - anywhere I can get a cell phone signal I can get internet.  The speed isn't the greatest, but it works for us.

What I've found is if you work for a company that requires you to be logged on to the internet the whole time you are working, this option won't really work because of the connection speed.  However, we use a product called DocShuttle by Bytescribe that allows my staff to download the audio and disconnect, type the reports, and then connect and upload the documents.  It works great for that - I even have an employee who lives in the country where there is only dial-up available, and she works just fine like this.

It can be done - I've worked while camping several times this way.....

wireless internet through Verizon.  I currently have a Verizon cell and have no problem with reception in my home, so I'm hoping this is a go.  I also have a 30-day trial period, so I'll know for sure if I have any glitches. 

What I don't understand is this lingo about voice files, etc.  I'm on the Bayscribe platform, so any info would be greatly appreciated.  Please "dumb it down" for me, as I am not a PC person.  The lady that signed me up told me that the limit is 5 GB and that that generally means about 35,000 web pages a month.  How does this correlate to voice files?  Do I even use voice files on Bayscribe?  I'm assuming so since I have an audio player. 

At least I know if this doesn't work out, I can cancel and not lose anything.  Then I'll have to sign up for satellite, which is about $300 upfront and $60 to $90 per month for service.  I'm keeping my fingers crossed that Verizon will work for me.

Thanks for any info.