HOT! Verizon cell phone - free Express Network high-speed internet (144Kbps)

[mrVW]

I don't have a lot of time to post tons of detail, so I'm going to punt. I'm a long time user of Express Network going back to when they first introduced the $100/month unimited plan.

It seems that starting June 2, 2003 Verizon silently started giving Express Network for free. It is not entirely free, as it uses your cell phone minutes. However, this is a big change! If you have unlimited night and weekends on your plan, you get unlimited night and weekends with Express Network!

1. Any plans activated after June 2, 2003 are supposed to have this automatic. IF you have a "1x capable phone".
2. if you have an earlier plan, you can "reup" your plan or call and ask them to add it. People have been able to get the option added WITHOUT having to "reup" (renew contract). You want "1XPP1" on your plan. However, CSR's have been pretty clueless about the procedure. Here are Usenet postings to read that it is real: (1), (2), (3), (4), (5).
3. There are newer threads on Usenet that are just now being picked up by Google Groups that confirm the deal. alt.cellular.verizon. Search for "1xpp1".

If you don't have a phone, I suggest the Kyocera 2235 as a good cheap one. We have used it for all our data needs for over a year with great results. They even offer a rs232 serial cable so it can be used with Linux, Macintosh, etc. I personally use the Kyocera 2235 car kit via rs232 serial with OpenBSD 3.3 firewall in our home office on wheels.

As a long time user, here is my experience with it: I have gotten real downloads as high as 10.0Kbytes/second as measured by Internet Explorer downloading a pre-compressed (ZIP) file. Latency for 1-byte pings is as low as 200ms, but often more like 300ms. Study the Verizon Express Network maps, they are real (done a lot of travel, always found maps to be good). I have stayed online as long as 48 hours with the Kyocera 2235 phone, it is good!

UPDATE: The deal has been confirmed by many. Previous reports of it not being legit seem to be unfounded. You do have to be on specific plans ("Americas Choice") to get it, and Verizon does sometimes lag in some areas on new offerings...

 

[m1ke101]

wow this is pretty hot, anyone kno of any verizon promos? My cingular contract ends next month and this might be a good deal to look into.

 

[rasputinj]

I use Express Network at work and have been getting speeds anywhere from 55-97Kbps, good find. I have had it for a couple of months and have had good service.

 

[Pennstate]

Does this work wit Verizon motorola v60?

 

[dman]

There was talk about something similar to this (may have been another provider) on Slashdot a few months back. At the time, there was a restriction in the user agreement that the data minutes were only for usage via the phone and that if you used the data mode of the phone for another device (PC, etc) it wasn't included in those minutes.

Now, I don't know how they would tell the difference or if that's even the case here, but, something to check up on before you use a lot of minutes.

 

[mrVW]

dman: I believe you are confusing Sprint with Verizon.

Sprint has restrictions, Verizon does not. The only thing Verizon restricts is you can't put remote cameras or "other unattended devices" on a cell phone.

 

[Mugwumper]

mrVW shouldn't your "home office on wheels" be a Westfalia or at least a Eurovan? Let me guess you tow a bug behind that thing. That's a nice rig whatever it drags.

Back ON topic, can one of these phones comunicate with a PocketPC (Toshiba e335), or are they all requiring a 232 port? In your situation I think the most elegant solution would be to hook the phone up to a WiFI router. Is that even possible?

 

[newphatdaddy]

Boy, I don't know if this is truly for real or not. Check out the super-high prices they quote on their website (at least at the time of this posting): VerizonWireless.com

EDIT: And here's a link to the actual plans you purchase separately for the service: Plans

Final EDIT: Okay, this looks like it: Mobile Web by VZW with MSN. It's legit.

I just ordered 2 LG LX4400's for the Family 400 plan and got this VZW on both - plus $50 off each phone (net $50 each then) - and 2 car adapters and leather cases. Great deal!

 

[isekii]

so this would be basically about 2.5x 56k ?

 

[AnyMal]

I am little confused here. If I buy a data cable and use my lg 4400 as a modem for my laptop, are there any extra charges for "data" or will it still be like a regular phone call.

 

[SteveNYC]

The deal is true. Like most things with Verizon, it has been filtering down slowly to the Verizon reps. The same thing happened when Verizon started releasing their Unlimited Express Network for PDA plan at $44.95. It took forever for the reps to get it straight. They swore up, down and sideways that it didn't exist until I got the code. "oh, I haven't seen that one before" was the answer.

Anyway, in this case, it's fairly simple. Currently, anytime you are on a Verizon digital account (except pre-pay), you have access to Quick Net Connect (QNC). QNC is nothing more than a simple 14.4 kbps connection. It doesn't have to be activated. You just have it.

Now Verizon is essentially doing the same thing with Express Network. They are making it a part of the account, like QNC is. The negative is that you use minutes, just like QNC, just faster (a lot faster on a laptop). For some people, this plan works great because their use of data is small. With Express Network included with your minutes, it is more cost effective to either not change their plan at all or maybe move it to the next level up. This is usually cheaper than going with any of the unlimited Express Network plans available.

The one negative on this new deal is that Express Network often goes into dormant mode on a PDA phone like the Kyocera 7135. I don't know if dormant mode exists on something like the new v60 or some of the other EN capable phones. But I do know this, DORMANT MODE EATS MINUTES TOO. And since I don't know how to absolutely make sure my phone (7135) is not going into dormant mode, I'm not crazy about the feature, so I'm staying with my more expensive $44.95 unlimited EN for PDAs plan.

One other note, newphatdaddy. You should know that Mobile Web by VMW with MSN has absolutely nothing to do with this EN stuff. A lot of people get thrown off by it. Mobile Web is nothing more than access to Verizon's WAP portal. If someone is using a Kyocera 7135 or a Samsung i700, this Mobile Web service is totally useless unless you REALLY like Verizon's WAP portal (and why would you because you have a web-browser in those situations). It's only barely useful on non-PDA phones if you really want the convenience of the Verizon WAP portal. You can, in fact, use a free WAP portal on your phone (like WAPTUNNEL). The charge for Mobile Web with Verizon is nothing more than access to their portal. It provides you with NOTHING else. You still pay per-minute charges whether you use Verizon's WAP portal or someone else's. Just thought I'd mention it.

 

[mrVW]

The deal is real. It has been going on for 3 weeks and is still a big secret with most Verizon employees. Don't trust them if they say it doesn't exist

This is exactly how they have been all along about Express Network since it was introduced (January 2002, Olympics) - they are clueless And they often DO NOT show these deals on their web site. It is more of a "policy change" than it is a promotion. Yes, I know the web pages don't show it for free - they are just out of date.

Mugwumper: I have a 1967 Westy, but the 40' Bluebird is long enough that we don't like to tow anything else. We are currently in Lake Havasu City, Arizona (Colorado River) enjoying the 115 degrees Going to Farmington, New Mexico for the 4th of July to visit wife famly. Getting T-Mobile as backup to Verizon.. as Farmington, MN does not have Verizon - but it does have T-Mobile and Sprint (but I am fed up with Sprint).

Verizon Coverage maps for Express Network

 

[mrVW]

isekii - not really 2.5 56K modem. Wireless speeds tend to be exagerated 11Mbps 802.11b is lucky to have 6Mbps when you consider overhead. My experience with 144K 3G Verizion is more like 100K tops... 70K typical. For cell phone, it is amazing (18 months ago 14.4 was considered good).

 

[Pennstate]

SO is all I need a data kit for my V60i? Thanks

 

[mrVW]

^ bump

A Verizon employee on Usenet (Ross Weber) is now saying that this may be a mistake and that the CSR's aren't supposed to offer this... will post more as we find out. May take days to get good answers. Verizon has a long history of not knowing what plan changes are going on, so getting a "final answer" is never easy.

 

[weepul]

wow... awesome find!

//krunk (^_^x)

 

[newphatdaddy]

Thanks SteveNYC - you seem to know what's going on here

 

[SteveNYC]

Glad I could help npd. Verizon is coming out with so many plan changes and offerings that it gets real confusing REAL quick.

For example, early on when the 7135 was just coming out, Verizon had this deal where you could convert your regular minutes to carry Express Network service for an extra $30. It was almost impossible to get good info on the plan because there are different billing systems for Verizon for different parts of the country and the codes are not always the same. Even when the codes ARE the same, they might not be available in certain regions (why I have no idea).

Eventually the deal died and they just stopped offering it. It was never official. My guess (and it's only a guess) is because they were contemplating something like this (where Express Network goes on for free, just eating minutes).

Weird. Go figure.

 

[LeeTJ]

Originally posted by: newphatdaddy
Boy, I don't know if this is truly for real or not. Check out the super-high prices they quote on their website (at least at the time of this posting): VerizonWireless.com

EDIT: And here's a link to the actual plans you purchase separately for the service: Plans

Final EDIT: Okay, this looks like it: Mobile Web by VZW with MSN. It's legit.

I just ordered 2 LG LX4400's for the Family 400 plan and got this VZW on both - plus $50 off each phone (net $50 each then) - and 2 car adapters and leather cases. Great deal!

if your on the family plan you can't get express net. unless i'm misunderstanding what the verizon reps told me, but i asked that specific question.

 

[rasputinj]

Originally posted by: Pennstate
Does this work wit Verizon motorola v60?

that is not a 1x capable phone, so it will not. Good deal though to use those night and weekend minutes on..

 

[LeeTJ]

Originally posted by: rasputinj

Originally posted by: Pennstate
Does this work wit Verizon motorola v60?

that is not a 1x capable phone, so it will not. Good deal though to use those night and weekend minutes on..

ya, he needs the v60e.

i have the v60 phone also, gonna give it to my son and pick me up a V720 or the samsung one on their site.

both look pretty good.

 

[droppedd]

I just got off the phone with a CSR - he told me this deal/code thing for new plans (and the 1xpp1 code thing) is only for one one month of Express Network service; after that regular charges would apply. Poopy. YMMV.

 

[adsouthpaw]

Anyone know if a Nokia 3285 or any other Nokia Verizon phone is compatible with EN? What I am getting from this thread is that I can use a data kit, hook my phone to my laptop and browse the internet from there? If so, how do you establish a connection on the laptop?

 

[DaCurryman]

I have a LG VX4400 since back in Feb/March. I know I'm on 1x for my regular calls, but how will I know if I'm on QNC or Express Network for my data?

 

[KrustyVT]

None of the Verizon reps have any clue about this ... I wouldn't worry about the "one month" line the rep fed you. Most likely that's B.S.

You can tell the difference between QNC (14.4) and EN (144) based on how you connect ... to logon to QNC your username and password are "qnc", and this is included in everyone's plan. To use EN your plan must be provisioned for it (All A.C. plans after 6/2, or anyone who has called to add the feature) and you will connect using phonenumber@vzw3g.com as the username.

-=K=-