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Communications Technology Hardware

Verizon Blesses Phone-As-Modem Plans 58

Posted by Zonk from the come-in-out-of-the-cold dept.
DigitalDame2 writes "PC Magazine reports that Verizon Wireless has decided to let its subscribers use their cell phones as high-speed modems for their laptops. For $59.99 per month, users of the LG VX9800, Motorola RAZR V3c, Motorola E815, and LG VX8100 phones will connect to Verizon's BroadbandAccess EV-DO network." From the article: "For a while now, Verizon subscribers have illicitly used their phones as modems; various Web sites have information on how to do so. But up until now, doing so has violated service contracts, leaving users open to Verizon cutting off their service or charging high per-kilobyte fees."
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Verizon Blesses Phone-As-Modem Plans More

Verizon Blesses Phone-As-Modem Plans

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  • tmobile (Score:4, Informative)

    by MikeFM ( 12491 ) on Friday February 03, 2006 @03:00PM (#14636657) Homepage Journal
    I have an N-Gage QD with T-Mobile and use the phone as a modem for my laptop for $20/month. I had to get a little bluetooth adapter for about $20 from Fry's and it works really well. It's about two to three times faster than a normal modem it seems but not as fast as DSL. Still it works almost anywhere my phone works, is an unlimited plan, and I can even use my phone as a phone even while using it as a modem. Overall, I like it a lot.

    • Re:tmobile (Score:3, Informative)

      by the_tsi ( 19767 )
      As far as i can tell, they don't offer the $20/unlimited bytes a la carte plan anymore, you have to be grandfathered into it. I went to change my plan options about a month ago and noticed it wasn't listed, so I stuck with the one you describe. I've been using it for almost two years over three sony/ericsson phones.

      • Re:tmobile (Score:4, Interesting)

        by MikeFM ( 12491 ) on Friday February 03, 2006 @03:10PM (#14636739) Homepage Journal
        They told me they raised the price to $30/month and added in HotSpots access. Fine I guess if you spend a lot of time at airports and Starbucks but for me the $20 plan is better. Even for $30/month though it's still a good deal I think.
        • That's pretty impressive, since regular HotSpot only access is $29/month anyway. Almost makes me wish I'd gone with TMobile...
          • I've never used the HotSpot access but I'm told (by T-Mobile) it's included in the plan so I just assume it is. If HotSpot access is $29 then it sounds like you get the unlimited data plan on your phone pretty much for free. Can't beat that deal. I'm thinking of getting the Nokia 770 which I think can use the same access to let me use it as a mobile but less limited Internet device than my phone and more portable than my laptop. :)
      • Interesting ... I just went online about 15 days ago and added their $19.99 "T-Mobile Internet" plan. Works great! Speeds are about 100kbps via bluetooth on my Nokia 6230b.

        Since my phone is an "unsupported" phone (taken from Cingular -- wow am I happy to be away from that horrible company), I had to fudge with their website selecting different phones for a while until I got the options I needed to enable the Internet GPRS plan.
    • That's not EV-DO speeds. Verizon has 3 levels... 14.4k known as Quick2Net (QNC), 1xRTT/Express Network/115k, and EV-DO which the article says is 700k, but I've heard of higher and lower (200k). I would say TMobile's is comparable to VZW's Express Network.
      • The T-Mobile speeds I was getting topped out at 200k up/down but the latency ended up making me resort to DSL. I was getting 200-500ms ping times. Nearly satellite-like latency.

        I didn't like how I couldn't use my phone while online, or even (easily) know if I missed a call.

        Oh well, perhaps I'll try again after my DSL angers me enough. I've still got my stupid cable and everything.

        • Strange. I can be online and using my phone for calls at the same time without any problems. I wonder if your limitation is in the service or in your phone.

          For me, latency is a little high but not horrible as I still manage to use ssh without any major problems. For web and email I don't even notice the latency issue.
          • I bet it's my phone.

            They told me it wouldn't work, but an old website said it would. They turned it on when I insisted and it worked, but apparently not as well as modern phones do.

            • Can you get a new phone? Mine was free with my newest plan and works just fine.
              • I *can* get a new phone, free. But I have a better plan than they're offering now, plus I'd have to sign another contract.

                Now that my phone number is allegedly portable, I like the false sense of freedom to change carriers if I ever need to.

                Phones will always be free, they will be more feature-laden every few months, and I feel guilty throwing away a perfectly functional phone. (although they have to recycle them here, it just makes them angry when you insist they do so)

                I'll probably use this one until it

                • My phone can play MP3's and can be loaded from PC. You'd probably have to buy a MMC card to go with it though as I'm sure you'd want more files than the phone built-in space has room for. ;)
                  • 640k ought to be enough for anybody.

                    I'll look into it though, if you can get a free mp3 player phone from t-mobile. What model phone do you have? the motorola v360 looks good, but I've only seen it available free with rebate from weird resellers.

      • Yes, 115k seems to be the speed I get. Fast enough for web, email, and most things but not fast enough to download ISO files of your newest Linux distro. If you're in the field though and just need to check your email or look at Google maps then it works really well. I use it to ssh into servers from remote locations a lot.

      • I subscribe to Verizon Wireless' Broadband Access and use the PC5740 card for access. I get speeds up to 1 Mbps down, but for short bursts only. The card appears as a modem in Windows, and I noticed a significant performance improvement when I re-configured the device's speed, changing it from the default 115200 bits per second to 921600 bps. Also, I suspect Verizon Wireless is applying some traffic shaping, as streaming MP3 feeds (e.g. in iTunes) are cut off after about two minutes of playing time. I w

    • Yeah, T-Mobile's data service plans rock. With EDGE, the bandwidth is decent (180kbps with a good card), but the latency is still pretty bad (400-600ms).

      The $20 plan was rumored to be going away, but AFAIK they can still add it.

      It's a good idea to use a PC card instead of a phone, too - most phones only have class 3, 4, or 8 EDGE and won't get the maximum bandwidth of the system; in addition, most phones add 100-200ms of extra latency. The PC cards are under $100 on eBay, so the only concern is swapping you
  • For $59.99 per month

    For more than the price of cable or DSL, you can get a modem! Wow, what a deal!

    "Your old world is rapidly aaaaging. Please get out of the new one if you can't lend a haaaaand, for the times, they are a chaaaaangin'!"

    • Re:*sigh* (Score:3, Insightful)

      by avalys ( 221114 )
      The advantage here is that you can use your cell phone as a modem, if you're on the train, in your car, whatever.

      • ...and it is 700kbps.

        • Re:*sigh* (Score:3, Insightful)

          by krisp ( 59093 ) *
          but only where EVDO is supported, which, let me tell you, isn't everywhere.

          • Re:*sigh* (Score:3, Interesting)

            by DigitalRaptor ( 815681 )
            Even where EVDO isn't supported you get on the order of 220kbps.

            I've even used my phone --> laptop via bluetooth to get internet access at my cabin where no other internet access is available.

            If you're on the fringes of the network (like at my cabin) you only get on the order of 50kbps, but it's better than nothing.

    • Re:*sigh* (Score:5, Funny)

      by generic-man ( 33649 ) on Friday February 03, 2006 @03:21PM (#14636867) Homepage Journal
      SPONSORED POST

      I tried using my cable modem when I was traveling, but truck drivers complained about the 400-mile length of cable running behind my car. The speeds were awful too.

      Then I tried 802.11g, but the cops made me pick up all the Pringles can repeaters I planted on the side of the road.

      So $60 a month for wireless access is pretty good.

      Verizon Wireless -- Can you read what I'm typing now? Good!

      SPONSORED POST

      • Re:*sigh* (Score:4, Interesting)

        by LordMyren ( 15499 ) on Friday February 03, 2006 @03:39PM (#14637013) Homepage
        I only got hassled by the cops once. And I blame it solely on the fact that my cantenna fell apart. I was sitting in an empty drive way across the street, but the neighbors thought itw as overly suspicious.

        It'd been like a week since I'd bothered connecting up; it usually is when you've got only a moderately good wifi card with no real antenna. I was probably there way way too long.

        With a good cantenna (Whooo Pepperidge Farm canisters!!) I could've been where I normally am; sitting in my car or at a park, far far away.

        OTOH, Cingular does offer an unlimited data rate plan for a grand $20/mo. Sure there's no teathering allowed by policy, but there is a nearly dejure unenforcement. As it should be! Its like the Europeans; the laws are only there to pester those who offend, not to crack over the skulls of basically benign citizens. I know quite a few people who are on Cingular for this reason alone. Thats why I got Cingular, and I know quite a few techies and non-techies alike in the same boat.

  • IR port on phone + Laptop = 9600 baud (Score:3, Interesting)

    by beacher ( 82033 ) on Friday February 03, 2006 @03:14PM (#14636776) Homepage
    Maybe I don't want to spend $60/month - My old Nokia 6340i had an IR port that I could use and get 9600 easily. Slow? Sure. Free data access? You betcha. For the money they're asking, it's probably better to get tmobile hotspot access at Starbucks, or get NetStumbler and an Orinoco card.

    Greedy

  • Woo! I have an LG VX9800! (Score:3, Funny)

    by Lord Bitman ( 95493 ) on Friday February 03, 2006 @03:20PM (#14636847)
    Now I just need a laptop and a steady $60!
  • I have been a Verizon Wireless customer for six or seven years. In that time I have had six or seven verizon phones (I only do one-year contracts). Each time I go to the Verizon store, and buy the current usb to phone interface cable and the new sofware that lets me use it as such. So if I was violating my terms of service, I suppose that Verizon was complicit in it.
    • The violation only applied to EVDO compatible phones that had bluetooth.

      I was ticked about this when I went to switch to Verizon. I asked the guy if I could use bluetooth on the MP3 phone I wanted, and he said "No, but you can on the $99 phone over there".

      I was ticked. Basically, Verizon was intentionally crippling the higher end phones to try to create a market for higher speed internet.

  • Comment removed (Score:3, Informative)

    by account_deleted ( 4530225 ) on Friday February 03, 2006 @03:23PM (#14636890)
    Comment removed based on user account deletion
    • you where limited to 14.4 but it was free

      I take it that "free" means "no additional charges over the usual per-minute voice rate", right? As in "free evenings and weekends, but don't use it all day or you're gonna see a really, really big number at the end of the month".
    • Do they let you download custom ring-tones yet, or does this somehow 'require' paying verizon?
      • Do they let you download custom ring-tones yet, or does this somehow 'require' paying verizon?

        You can transfer ringtones for free with a data cable, or email them to your phone as attachments for the price of a picture message ($0.25 if you don't have a package).
    • They're not talking about the 14.4k being illicit. It was the high speed part that they're talking about. People with certain non-billed features were able to use the $60/month high speed network while only using minutes.

      Websites gave details, drivers, and instructions on how to get Verizon to change your account to make it happen. Hell, even store employees would tell customers what to do to make it happen. They'd even setup the account right.

      People were pissed when suddenly they couldn't get online and we
    • ...couldnt use the modem because I needed the phone, but ALSO needed to go online so I used my other phone.

      You went online with your cell as a modem instead of a phone because your land line was in use as a phone and not a modem.
      I don't quite understand the logic, but whatever works for you.
    • With Verizon's 1xRTT network, you can get up to 144 kbps (in practice, more like 80-100 kbps) even without a data plan. In most of the country, this is still the best you can get; EVDO is only available in the biggest markets.

      Most if not all America's Choice plans include "NationalAccess MOU", which lets you use 1xRTT data connections at the same rates as voice calls--i.e., free at night and on weekends. Officially, you're not supposed to use it for anything but Mobile Web and Get It Now, which are features
  • I don't care about those phones or that data network. When will they sanction my Treo 650 on the 1xRTT network? I don't think they'll have EV-DO where I'm at (Montana) for a long long time.
  • Check your monthly statement to confirm the total cost of $59.99. If
    you see something like the following, be sure to question it:

    Verizon Wireless surcharges

    Fed Universal Service Charge $.50
    Regulatory Charge .10
    Administrative Charge

  • Bad Verizon, Bad! (Score:3, Informative)

    by feijai ( 898706 ) on Friday February 03, 2006 @07:30PM (#14638826)
    Verizon has done whatever it can to prevent users from taking advantage of their own phones. Why? Because with the best coverage, they figure they can mess with their customers and they won't leave.

    To whit:

    1. Instead of Java, Verizon has insisted that its phone manufacturers install Qualcomm's noxious "BREW" standard, with its awful GUI and lack of portability. You cannot make a free BREW app. If you want to distribute an app for your company to run on its cell phones, for example, you have to pay Qualcomm and Verizon some serious money.
    2. Various phones Verizon sells can run Java fine before Verizon tinkers with them. But in order to enforce its BREW money-maker, Verizon disables the Java and requires the manufacturer to run BREW instead.
    3. Verizon is also careful to make certain that users cannot add their own ringtones. All ringtones must go through "Get It Now!", Verizon's BREW-based profit center.
    4. Likewise for wallpapers on many (but not all) of the phones.
    5. Verizon has intentionally disabled Bluetooth on a number of phones (like the Motorola v710 and E815). The one phone Verizon has which has full Bluetooth capability (the Nokia 6256i) Verizon refuses to sell in their stores or to repair. Verizon also deleted the Nokia's media player feature and arranged it that the 6256i can upload MP3 files but cannot play them as ringtones. The company has an open policy of refusing to allow perfectly good CDMA phones on its network if they are not broken in these regards.
    6. The article is incorrect. Verizon has always allowed EVDO and RX1TT phones to use its data network. But to do so requires paying Verizon 1.5 cents per KILOBYTE. For those paying attention, that's $15 for a 1MB file. They offer various "plans", stuff like 10MB for $50, and now unlimited for $60. On top of your phone plan: verizon's minimum plan is $40 so you're talking $100 a month for the "faster" cellular data rates. Verizon still offers a 14.4Kbps modem option (actually about 10K) that just uses up your minutes. But it may be phased out.
    7. And the Verizon UI. What can I say? Verizon is trying to force all its phone manufacturers to offer the same BREW-based UI, one which appears to have been invented by chimpanzees.
    The reason for all of this is that Verizon wants the phones to be an extension of its cellular service. You must use their phone to use their plan, and thus must pay extra $$$ (big-time) for features that ordinarily you would have free for your phone. Many on /. are too young to remember the last company that did this. It was called AT&T. A long time ago if you wanted to make a phone call you had to rent one of their phones. They were the definition of "monopolistic predatory practice".

    • As a Verizon user, I don't disagree with most of what you said. However, point #3 is not entirely true. I've got an LG VX4500 with the data cable, and I've put both ringtones and wallpapers on my phone without going through GIN. They're MIDI ringtones, but I don't think the 4500 knows how to speak MP3 anyhow.

      I'd post a list of ringtones I have installed, but it's Friday night and I'm going downtown. =) Yay beer.

  • I purchased the E815 the weekend of release. I was warned in-store that using this phone as a modem with the VCast service was going to get me kicked off the network.
    So I did the right thing... I didn't purchase VCast (it's a pointless service for me as it is)

    I called customer service to see how I could get this setup with their "Unlimited" (quite limited) Wireless Broadband plan. Of course, the first three tries netted very confused operators who ended up making my phone unable to connect to Mobile Web
  • They screw the customer, they force you to use BREW, they disable bluetooth, they force you to buy ringtones through them, they force you to use the crappy verizon UI, you cant even transfer pictures taken with the phone camera unless you pay them.

    Why are they still in business? Why do people put up with all this crap instead of finding a better provider?

    • Easy. As Sun would say, it's the network. Very few of my friends use Verizon cell phones, because they're the most expensive. On the other hand, not a single one of my friends gets the reception and coverage that I do.

      In fact, last year, I took a trip most of the way across the country with some family. A couple of them had specifically bought a new cell phone just for the point of travelling - one from AT&T, and I don't recall the other carrier. I can't count the numb
    • 1. unlimited in network calling
      2. network coverage
      3. Ringtones, Picture Transfer, (partial) Bluetooth easily enabled.

      So the crippled Java is a drawback still, but hopefully this answers you.

      I've been using express network once in awhile over bluetooth for over a year now.
      The thing that kind of bugs me with this new service they offer is that it's $60 a month. I really appreciate having the connection available when needed, but I use it only once every few months at most. No way I'm going to for
    • Why are they still in business? Why do people put up with all this crap instead of finding a better provider?

      Network coverage, network coverage, and network coverage. Verizon has significantly better coverage than other US providers. Oddly enough, some folks use cell phones for placing and recieving phone calls.

    • Because, when it comes right down to it, nobody's network works as well as Verizon.

      In the last three years, I've had cell phones from AT&T's GSM network (now part of Cingular), Nextel, T-Mobile, and now Verizon. AT&T's GSM service was awesome when it was new, but when they started loading GoPhone subscribers on the network quality went to hell in a handbasket. Additionally, customer support sucked ass.. and only got worse during the Cingular transition (which is why I left.. I wanted a 503 phone nu
      • This suggests to me that it would be a great market move for cingular, AT&T, T-Mobile or someone else to invest in getting a network as good as verizon without having the crappy phones (with the crappy vzw UI and the money-grabbing disabled features)

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