Mobile Broadband Decision
Now that we know what the iPhone tethering option is, I decided to go ahead and pull the trigger on a mobile broadband solution.
Quick Summary:
I am using Sprint 4G mobile broadband via an Overdrive. In the process I am ditching my home internet connection. The speeds are a little slower than Comcast, the price is the same, but it is portable. My reasoning is below.
Why not AT&T tethering?
There was a lot of chatter about the changes to the data plans for iPhones. The debate seemed to focus on whether or not 2GB is enough monthly bandwidth for most users. I checked my usage history and 2GB is plenty for my mobile usage (I use between 250MB and 1GB). I don’t have a problem with the iPhone data plan. What I have a problem with is the tethering option; for $20 you get the ability to tether and no additional bandwidth.
2GB may be fine for a phone, but it is not enough for tethering. I used to have a Verizon EVDO card and I regularly went over the 3GB soft limit. That is 3GB only on my computer, not including the up to 1GB that I am using on my phone. So what is that $20 buying? There is no additional cost to AT&T, just $20 extra profit. If I was to use 4GB it would be an additional $20 bringing the total to $40.
What do I want?
Maybe this is a bad assumption, but I feel that broadband should constantly be getting cheaper, faster, and more portable. Unfortunately it seems that you can only pick one of those. There is cheaper broadband, but it is slower and not portable. There is faster broadband, but it is not cheaper and not portable. There is portable broadband, but it is slower and not cheaper. So what is my main priority then? I used to want the fastest internet available. I have had a residential Speakeasy T1, AT&T Uverse, and the fastest Comcast has available. Now I am less interested in maximum speed and more interested in having it always available. Admittedly I have been spoiled by a Verizon EVDO card, my iPhone, and WiFi on airplanes, What I don’t want is to pay a connection fee for every device I own since I pretty much use one at a time. Provide me with bandwidth, meter it if you want, but don’t jerk me around with BS fees like $20 for tethering when it gets me no more service.
The Solution
I am going with Sprint for three reasons: it is portable, it is fast enough right now (4G WiMax), and it is unlimited bandwidth (at least while on 4G, there is a 5GB limit for times when 3g is all that is available). I picked up a Sprint Overdrive from BestBuy for $50. There is a $60 monthly charge and I can carry it with me everywhere I go. I can cut my $60 Comcast internet bill and trade portability for speed. The unique circumstance that allows me to do this is that there is almost never a need for an internet connection at my house while I am out and about. This will change eventually and I will have to decide between multiple portable routers or reinstalling a home internet connection.
So how do the numbers work:
| Current setup | |
|---|---|
| This plan gets me internet at home and on my phone | |
| iPhone data plan: | $30 |
| Comcast home internet: | $60 |
| total: | $90 |
| Their way | |
|---|---|
| This plan gets me internet at home, internet on my phone, internet on my iPad, and mobile internet on my laptop. It assumes 1GB data usage on my phone and 3GB data usage on my laptop while mobile. | |
| iPhone data plan: | $25 |
| iPhone tethering: | $20 |
| iPhone data extra bandwidth: | $20 |
| iPad data plan: | $25 |
| Comcast home internet: | $60 |
| total: | $150 |
| My solution | |
|---|---|
| This plan gets me internet at home, internet on my phone, internet on my iPad, and mobile internet on my laptop (and friends who I want to share with). It makes the same assumptions as above, but requires I carry around a device just for portable internet. | |
| iPhone data plan: | $25 |
| Sprint Overdrive 4G mobile hotspot: | $60 |
| total: | $85 |
So I am not getting faster, cheaper, more portable internet, but I am getting it cheaper and more portable. It is slower at home, but faster while mobile.
Why now?
It is finally obvious to me that I can give up hope for iPhone tethering. Also, I suspect more carriers will change their plans the way AT&T has. It makes me think that the “unlimited 4G” deal from Sprint will go away as it becomes more prevalent. It kinda feels like a “get in on the ground floor” opportunity.
Sounds like a good plan. I’ve been evaluating the different mobile options myself, but I’m hampered in that I live about 15 minutes northwest of Nashville, where coverage is spotty. I’m curious to hear what your opinion of the 4G coverage in the middle Tennessee area is like.
While I don’t use it as my primary connection, I’ve had good luck tethering my Verizon Droid to my crappy little Netbook with a tool called PDANet ($20 one-time price). I even managed to watch some shows on Netflix during a recent vacation. Worked pretty well!
Chances are good this will be my only internet connection while I’m in Atlanta for much of the next 10-12 months. (Unless my future housemate wants to split the cost of a cable-based data plan.)