Substituting home internet for a 4G Mobile Hotspot, worth it?

[Red Storm]

I've been thinking about canceling my home internet (Comcast, 12Mb speed) which is costing me $80 a month to go with a Verizon 4G mobile hotspot for $50 a month. I know the big difference here is the data cap, but the cap is not much of a concern to me, I'm more interested in performance comparisons. Is the $30 a month savings worth it?

Edit: I see AT&T also has a 4G hotspot with a $35/month data plan. If their 4G works at my apartment, that would be a pretty nice savings.

 

[amdhunter]

A co-worker of mines has been singing praises for Clear's 4G hotspot + Phone, but I've read only nightmare stories online. Have you considered them? At least it's unlimited.

 

[Dulanic]

I've been thinking about canceling my home internet (Comcast, 12Mb speed) which is costing me $80 a month to go with a Verizon 4G mobile hotspot for $50 a month. I know the big difference here is the data cap, but the cap is not much of a concern to me, I'm more interested in performance comparisons. Is the $30 a month savings worth it?

Edit: I see AT&T also has a 4G hotspot with a $35/month data plan. If their 4G works at my apartment, that would be a pretty nice savings.

Holy shit $80 for comcast? Shit I have 20 down /w comcast and it costs me $56 after taxes and I don't have have cable TV so it is higher than normal.

 

[Red Storm]

Holy shit $80 for comcast? Shit I have 20 down /w comcast and it costs me $56 after taxes and I don't have have cable TV so it is higher than normal.

Yep, they are the lone provider for our apartment complex, so I'm pretty much stuck with them. I guess it depends on where you live.

A co-worker of mines has been singing praises for Clear's 4G hotspot + Phone, but I've read only nightmare stories online. Have you considered them? At least it's unlimited.

I honestly did not consider anyone else besides the two majors. I checked Clear and they do have 4G coverage where I live, but it doesn't say how fast their 4G is, just "No preset download speed cap." AT&T I'm looking at about 14Mbps down. I'll have to look into Clear more, unlimited usage for only $10 more is definitely tempting (AT&T is a paltry 3GB, but for $35/month).

Edit: Some Googling shows that Clear's 4G is rated at around 3-6 Mbps, with "bursts" over 10 Mbps. Hmm, decisions, decisions...

 

[alent1234]

I've been thinking about canceling my home internet (Comcast, 12Mb speed) which is costing me $80 a month to go with a Verizon 4G mobile hotspot for $50 a month. I know the big difference here is the data cap, but the cap is not much of a concern to me, I'm more interested in performance comparisons. Is the $30 a month savings worth it?

Edit: I see AT&T also has a 4G hotspot with a $35/month data plan. If their 4G works at my apartment, that would be a pretty nice savings.

WTF are you paying for

i have time warner cable $120 or so for cable/internet/unlimited phone and DVR. my internet goes up to around 15mbps

a la carte is like $30 for 6 months and probably $50 afterwards

 

[Red Storm]

WTF are you paying for

i have time warner cable $120 or so for cable/internet/unlimited phone and DVR. my internet goes up to around 15mbps

a la carte is like $30 for 6 months and probably $50 afterwards

I'm paying for anything above 6 Mbps. No Fios in our area (The company that owns the apartments is currently "in talks" with Verizon about bringing in Fios), so it's either Comcast or DSL. Yep, it downright sucks in our area, which is why I'm looking for alternatives.

 

[Dulanic]

Yep, they are the lone provider for our apartment complex, so I'm pretty much stuck with them. I guess it depends on where you live.




I honestly did not consider anyone else besides the two majors. I checked Clear and they do have 4G coverage where I live, but it doesn't say how fast their 4G is, just "No preset download speed cap." AT&T I'm looking at about 14Mbps down. I'll have to look into Clear more, unlimited usage for only $10 more is definitely tempting (AT&T is a paltry 3GB, but for $35/month).

Edit: Some Googling shows that Clear's 4G is rated at around 3-6 Mbps, with "bursts" over 10 Mbps. Hmm, decisions, decisions...

I'd go with Clear over the AT&T monopoly. AT&T will cap, fine and fee you to death.

 

[alent1234]

I'm paying for anything above 6 Mbps. No Fios in our area (The company that owns the apartments is currently "in talks" with Verizon about bringing in Fios), so it's either Comcast or DSL. Yep, it downright sucks in our area, which is why I'm looking for alternatives.

did you have this fast internet a long time ago when 15mbps was super fast? maybe you're just paying old rates from years ago?

 

[Red Storm]

did you have this fast internet a long time ago when 15mbps was super fast? maybe you're just paying old rates from years ago?

Nope, moved here in April. Comcast basically has a monopoly on fast internet in our neighborhood, at least until Fios finally arrives.

 

[RockinZ28]

If data caps are no concern and the 4G is good in your area, wouldn't be a bad idea.

I just canceled all FioS service a couple weeks ago, that shit isn't cheap after 12 months. Was going to just keep 25/25 internet and drop tv, but still that's $75/mo with taxes.

Just WiFi tethering my phone now, get 15/5 with 50ms ping at my house. I'm on unlimited though, used 10gigs last month, at least half of which was MLB.tv.
Didn't even notice the difference between 4G and FioS, besides not being able to dl/ul huge files or stream HD without concern.

I need to get a home isp for it though. If I use my ps3 to watch baseball it uses over 2gb/HR, and it over heats my phone before that. Going with Time Warner 15/2 for $40 no rental fee or taxes. What's sad is I get faster speed for $25 from VZW than a comparable landline, isp's suck.

 

[Red Storm]

If data caps are no concern and the 4G is good in your area, wouldn't be a bad idea.

I just canceled all FioS service a couple weeks ago, that shit isn't cheap after 12 months. Was going to just keep 25/25 internet and drop tv, but still that's $75/mo with taxes.

Just WiFi tethering my phone now, get 15/5 with 50ms ping at my house. I'm on unlimited though, used 10gigs last month, at least half of which was MLB.tv.
Didn't even notice the difference between 4G and FioS, besides not being able to dl/ul huge files or stream HD without concern.

I need to get a home isp for it though. If I use my ps3 to watch baseball it uses over 2gb/HR, and it over heats my phone before that. Going with Time Warner 15/2 for $40 no rental fee or taxes. What's sad is I get faster speed for $25 from VZW than a comparable landline, isp's suck.

Yeah I've been thinking of just going with an LTE phone and tethering from it. Only problem is I can't add the official tethering because work pays my phone bill and they denied my request to add on tethering to the plan. I could use the unofficial tethering methods I guess, but I've had issues with those and connecting devices like tablets or my Kindle. Seems the phones like to use ad-hoc, which doesn't play nice with certain devices.

 

[Oyeve]

Wow, I would hit the cap in a couple of days. Yesterday my time warner cable went completely out, internet, phone and cable so I used my phone as a wifi ap for all of last night and used a gig for just one night of netflix streaming.

 

[alent1234]

Yeah I've been thinking of just going with an LTE phone and tethering from it. Only problem is I can't add the official tethering because work pays my phone bill and they denied my request to add on tethering to the plan. I could use the unofficial tethering methods I guess, but I've had issues with those and connecting devices like tablets or my Kindle. Seems the phones like to use ad-hoc, which doesn't play nice with certain devices.

carriers can spot tethering fairly easily. not a good thing to have the carrier slam your employer with extra charges

 

[Red Storm]

carriers can spot tethering fairly easily. not a good thing to have the carrier slam your employer with extra charges

Yeah that's the worry, but do the carriers actually do anything about it if you stay within your cap? I'm on the old unlimited data ("soft" cap of 5GB I believe).

 

[soulcougher73]

Do you have DSL options with AT&T? I got naked DSL from them for the 6mb down package and its only $19.95/month. No fees or taxes for some reason. It was on special at the time but had no dates with it. Almost 2 years later i only pay $19.95/month. I pull in 5mb down which is plenty fast for gaming or internet viewing.

 

[pm]

The problem that I've seen with most data connections through HSPDA/EVDO is the latency. My father's AT&T HSPDA connection had a latency of around 170ms. My mother's EVDO rev.A on Verizon was around 220ms as I recall. My DSL connection at home is usually less than 20ms. If you have things that are latency sensitive (particularly first-person shooter gaming but also video conferencing), then this can be a problem. I'm not sure what the latencies are like on the newer LTE/WiMax technologies though.

 

[Red Storm]

Do you have DSL options with AT&T? I got naked DSL from them for the 6mb down package and its only $19.95/month. No fees or taxes for some reason. It was on special at the time but had no dates with it. Almost 2 years later i only pay $19.95/month. I pull in 5mb down which is plenty fast for gaming or internet viewing.

No AT&T DSL in my area. I would gladly switch to $20/month for 6Mb down if I had that choice. :\

 

[Oyeve]

No AT&T DSL in my area. I would gladly switch to $20/month for 6Mb down if I had that choice. :\

Where the hell do you live? The Yukon?

 

[Doboji]

I've been thinking about canceling my home internet (Comcast, 12Mb speed) which is costing me $80 a month to go with a Verizon 4G mobile hotspot for $50 a month. I know the big difference here is the data cap, but the cap is not much of a concern to me, I'm more interested in performance comparisons. Is the $30 a month savings worth it?

Edit: I see AT&T also has a 4G hotspot with a $35/month data plan. If their 4G works at my apartment, that would be a pretty nice savings.

I was thinking of doing the same thing.... but you have to keep the data caps in mind. I need to find a way to meter my home usage to figure out if I'm exceeding 5GB per month on average. I suspect I probably am by a good bit.

 

[Red Storm]

Where the hell do you live? The Yukon?

Rockville, ~30 minutes from DC.

I don't think it's my location per se, but rather the apartment leasing company. As far as I understand it, they have to have deals in place with the providers to offer their services for the residents. I do have Verizon DSL as on option, but it's close to $40/month and goes no higher than 1-2 Mbps.

I was thinking of doing the same thing.... but you have to keep the data caps in mind. I need to find a way to meter my home usage to figure out if I'm exceeding 5GB per month on average. I suspect I probably am by a good bit.

For me caps aren't a problem, I can take care of any and all downloading I need to do at work (tv shows, disc images, etc.), and I don't use Netflix or Hulu, so they aren't there to sap my GBs.

AFAIK you can monitor your usage usually on your provider's website (i.e. "My Comcast")

 

[Doboji]

Rockville, ~30 minutes from DC.

I don't think it's my location per se, but rather the apartment leasing company. As far as I understand it, they have to have deals in place with the providers to offer their services for the residents. I do have Verizon DSL as on option, but it's close to $40/month and goes no higher than 1-2 Mbps.




For me caps aren't a problem, I can take care of any and all downloading I need to do at work (tv shows, disc images, etc.), and I don't use Netflix or Hulu, so they aren't there to sap my GBs.

AFAIK you can monitor your usage usually on your provider's website (i.e. "My Comcast")

Well I live near DC as well, in Fairfax VA, and have a Verizon 4G Hotspot... and it works like gangbusters...

 

[Red Storm]

Well I live near DC as well, in Fairfax VA, and have a Verizon 4G Hotspot... and it works like gangbusters...

When I had my Droid Charge I loved the LTE speeds, but Verizon's 4G hotspot plans are $50/month minimum, and I'm not sure if only $30 savings is worth it.

 

[RockinZ28]

When I had my Droid Charge I loved the LTE speeds, but Verizon's 4G hotspot plans are $50/month minimum, and I'm not sure if only $30 savings is worth it.

Maybe try talking with Comcast, see if they'll give you a promo.$80/mo for 12mbps is robbery.

I'm assuming the 4G plans require a 1-2 yr. contract? Do you live with anyone else, and are Comcasts rates better for new customers? My plan is to stay away from FioS for a few months, then call back and see if they will give me a new customer 2 year contract. If not, have my gf get it. Luckily TWC requires no contract either, so I can cancel anytime.

 

[zinfamous]

Maybe try talking with Comcast, see if they'll give you a promo.$80/mo for 12mbps is robbery.

I'm assuming the 4G plans require a 1-2 yr. contract? Do you live with anyone else, and are Comcasts rates better for new customers? My plan is to stay away from FioS for a few months, then call back and see if they will give me a new customer 2 year contract. If not, have my gf get it. Luckily TWC requires no contract either, so I can cancel anytime.

yeah, since you say you do have a DSL option, even though it's $40, you can tell Comcast that you are switching to them, talk to reclamations, and hope they start offering you deals to keep you on.

 

[Thegonagle]

My Verizon LTE device (HTC Thunderbolt) typically returns pings around 100 ms, give or take 20 or so. Speed for wireless is "Dude!"

I have about 50 LTE test results from the past few months logged with the speedtest.net app, and my slowest LTE download result is 5080 kbps (at 6:23 PM), next is 8107, third is 11,093. The fastest 3 are 34,685 kbps, 32,722 kbps, and 30,700 kbps. The rest are somewhere in between, with mid teens looking pretty typical.

Don't try doing that with HSPA+ or Wi-Max.

LTE is clearly the fastest, but the only companies that offer it have data caps that streamers and power-users will quickly exceed.

Wi-Max (Clear) would be a good choice for unlimited, but is technically inferior.

If your city is one of the handful with municipal wi-fi, that might be an option if one of their antennas is close enough to your home. My sister uses the city wi-fi in Minneapolis, MN on the 1.5 Mbps plan for $20 a month (includes a wi-fi modem/repeater thing with window-mounted antenna), no caps, no contracts, no cable tv or phone bundle, no nothing--I don't think there's even tax on it. It's not fast, but it's so cheap, and she still manages to stream netflix and hulu, so she doesn't care beyond that.