Considering VZ Mobile Broadband - how to measure current internet traffic load?

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Dave - 05 Feb 2008 17:31 GMT

I may want to make a shift to using VZ Mobile Broadband for Internet
access from home and on the road. The Verizon plan makes it clear
that they reserve the right to throttle down service rates if the
total byte count exceeds 5GB in a month. (Shades of dealing with
Earthlink and its FAP - I thought I had rid myself of that long ago!)

This prompts a couple of questions:

1. Is the "month" a rolling 30 days? A calendar month?
2. How can I establish my current internet traffic volume? Is there
some handy utility that will sit by and measure bytes counts as they
go by?

Thanks.

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crazygolfer62 - 05 Feb 2008 21:39 GMT

> I may want to make a shift to using VZ Mobile Broadband for Internet
> access from home and on the road. The Verizon plan makes it clear
[quoted text clipped - 10 lines]
>
> Than get net meter

http://www.softpedia.com/get/Network-Tools/Bandwidth-Tools/NetMeter.shtml

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George - 05 Feb 2008 22:08 GMT

> I may want to make a shift to using VZ Mobile Broadband for Internet
> access from home and on the road. The Verizon plan makes it clear
[quoted text clipped - 10 lines]
>
> Thanks.

The "VZmanager" connection applet supplied with the aircard keeps a byte
count.

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Dave Rudisill - 05 Feb 2008 23:08 GMT

>Dave <david.f.jenkins@usa.net> wrote:

>I may want to make a shift to using VZ Mobile Broadband for Internet
>access from home and on the road. The Verizon plan makes it clear
[quoted text clipped - 5 lines]
>
>1. Is the "month" a rolling 30 days? A calendar month?

Per billing period. See:
http://b2b.vzw.com/broadband/bba_terms.html

>2. How can I establish my current internet traffic volume? Is there
>some handy utility that will sit by and measure bytes counts as they
>go by?

If you are talking about a cell phone, you can dial #DATA. With any
kind of device you can go to your VZW account online and see your data
usage to date during the billing period.

Signature

Dave

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Jar-Jar Binks - 06 Feb 2008 06:24 GMT

If you are concerned about data usage, you may want to go with Sprint. They
have true unlimited data plans for the same price as Verizon data plans that
have a cap.

> >Dave <david.f.jenkins@usa.net> wrote:
>
[quoted text clipped - 18 lines]
> kind of device you can go to your VZW account online and see your data
> usage to date during the billing period.

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George - 06 Feb 2008 15:58 GMT

> If you are concerned about data usage, you may want to go with Sprint. They
> have true unlimited data plans for the same price as Verizon data plans that
[quoted text clipped - 19 lines]
>> kind of device you can go to your VZW account online and see your data
>> usage to date during the billing period.

But he would also need to consider that Sprint has much poorer coverage
in many areas and from what I understand you can't roam on to VZWs
network to compensate with a data connection. Also Sprint still hasn't
turned up EVDO in many of their markets.

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Jar-Jar Binks - 06 Feb 2008 17:55 GMT

>> If you are concerned about data usage, you may want to go with Sprint.
>> They have true unlimited data plans for the same price as Verizon data
[quoted text clipped - 24 lines]
> compensate with a data connection. Also Sprint still hasn't turned up EVDO
> in many of their markets.

All of these statements are incorrect. Sprint actually has more data
coverage than Verizon and their data coverage has been rated to be better
than Verizon. Data is the niche where Sprint really excells. You are also
wrong that you cannot roam on Verizon's data network. I am doing it right
now on a laptop that is sitting on my desk. I heard all of the horror storys
when I switched to Sprint data and was very worried. After several years, it
turns out that none of them were true. Interesting huh?

Sprint has horrible customer support but since their network is good and
they have the best roaming agreements, I never need to call customer
support.
Don't believe everything that you read. Get a Sprint and a Verizon laptop
card and give them a try.

Jar-Jar

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George - 06 Feb 2008 22:18 GMT

>>> If you are concerned about data usage, you may want to go with Sprint.
>>> They have true unlimited data plans for the same price as Verizon data
[quoted text clipped - 26 lines]
>
> All of these statements are incorrect.

Except the ones that are true of course. There is no EvDO in my market
on Sprint. I compare notes with the people I meet here and in the nearby
states where I travel and VZW definitely has superior DATA coverage in
those locations. I just don't understand how Sprint excels at data as
you say. As far as I know they add data capability to their voice sites
the same as VZW and don't have additional data only sites. So if you
have poor Sprint voice coverage the data will also be poor.

Sprint actually has more data

> coverage than Verizon and their data coverage has been rated to be better
> than Verizon. Data is the niche where Sprint really excells. You are also
[quoted text clipped - 10 lines]
>
> Jar-Jar

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Dave Rudisill - 06 Feb 2008 18:20 GMT

>George <george@nospam.invalid> wrote:

>But he would also need to consider that Sprint has much poorer coverage
>in many areas and from what I understand you can't roam on to VZWs
>network to compensate with a data connection. Also Sprint still hasn't
>turned up EVDO in many of their markets.

I recently saw an excellent comprehensive post by Alex Sian from EVDO
Experts, comparing data coverage from AT&T, Verizon, Alltel, and Sprint.

One snip from that post:
"So if you're the kind of RVer who cares mostly about who has the most
coverage of any kind of speed, and because Sprint/Verizon/Alltel all
allow each others customers to roam on each others 1xrtt networks, to me
its a coin toss between the three. ATT's EDGE is also widespread, but no
roaming between ATT and sprint/verizon/alltel."

Another snip:
"In my opinion, the carrier with largest network of true high speed
broadband EVDO availability is Sprint because their roaming agreement
with Alltel allows customers to roam at EVDO speeds (unlike verizon's
agreement with alltel, which still only allows 1xrtt roaming)."

Do yourself a favor, though, and read the entire post by "EVDOalex"
here:
<http://www.coastresorts.com/forums/index.cfm/fuseaction/thread/tid/20767294/goto
msg/20768081.cfm#20768081>
or
http://tinyurl.com/ypvpbw

Signature

Dave

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Pete - 22 Apr 2008 12:08 GMT

>If you are concerned about data usage, you may want to go with Sprint. They
>have true unlimited data plans for the same price as Verizon data plans that
[quoted text clipped - 22 lines]
>> kind of device you can go to your VZW account online and see your data
>> usage to date during the billing period.

Verizon is not a true nation wide data plan. When you go into roam the
speed will be very slow..Not the rev a you pay for...I am a over the
road trucker and find that unless I am within 40miles of a larger city
rev a is there...so its the slow national plan and if its on another
network its slower yet. Sprit sucks with the way they handle customers
but they are faster over all in more area's.

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Larry - 22 Apr 2008 13:21 GMT

Pete <no@spam.net> wrote in news:sgljq35ifmgm82gal2p2e7bc4jenpc2lp7@
4ax.com:

> Verizon is not a true nation wide data plan. When you go into roam the
> speed will be very slow..Not the rev a you pay for...I am a over the
> road trucker and find that unless I am within 40miles of a larger city
> rev a is there...so its the slow national plan and if its on another
> network its slower yet. Sprit sucks with the way they handle customers
> but they are faster over all in more area's.

All this is VERY dependent on where you are. Across NC/SC, noone beats
Alltel's EVDO for service and speed. The only time it drops me is when I
cross that imaginary line between systems when it issues me a new IP from
the new system. That forces me to reconnect, of course, to whatever
streaming radio station I'm hooked to. I'm simply amazed at how far out in
the boondocks EVDO reaches on Alltel, here. Verizon and Sprint aren't even
close.

http://content.alltel.com/business/images/map_mobilelink_scarolina.gif

It also works very well in Florida:
http://content.alltel.com/business/images/map_mobilelink_florida.gif

Here's the other state maps they cover:
http://content.alltel.com/business/enhanced/mobilelink_coverage.jsp

I travel in the boondocks of eastern SC very often. When Alltel converted
to EVDO, they did most all of it, not just the big markets.

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EVDOinfo - 06 Feb 2008 13:43 GMT

Dave;191204 Wrote:

> This prompts a couple of questions:
> 1. Is the "month" a rolling 30 days? A calendar month?
> 2. How can I establish my current internet traffic volume?

1. Its the 'billing month'
2. while there are many utilities to measure data usage, we've found
that none of them match up with what verizon says, and its their opinion
that counts.

FYI, we've not yet had any customer be 'throttled' for usage.

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