Fast, Nationwide, and Expensive

Last weekend, I had to fly to California for a speaking engagement—right smack in the middle of a book deadline. I was panicked. All those hours sitting in traffic getting to and from the airports without Internet access—wasted. And what if I couldn’t find wireless Internet service in the airport waiting lounges or the speaking venue? More hours wasted. No chapters would be turned in, no PDFs sent in for proofreading, and the book would not make its deadline.

That’s when a friend cheerfully offered to let me borrow her Verizon laptop adapter for the trip. Verizon offers these adapters for Mac and Windows in three forms: as a PC card, an ExpressCard, or as an external USB dongle (for laptops, like the MacBook, with no card slots at all).

What these cards give you is amazing: high-speed, unlimited Internet connections over the cellular airwaves. Pretty much anywhere you can make a call, you can also get onto the Internet. Trains, taxi cabs, at home—anywhere. Next to the national blanket of cellular high-speed Internet signal, the coverage of Wi-Fi hot spots looks confining and scattershot.

This thing saved my book. I worked all the way to the airport in the car (no, I wasn’t driving). I worked in the airport waiting lounge without having to look for, or sign up for, Wi-Fi service. The plane delayed? No problem—more work time for me. I worked in the two-hour drive to my destination city, too.

The Verizon service (technically called EVDO but marketed as BroadbandAccess) is the future. High-speed wireless, all the time. It’s kind of like the AT&T EDGE cellular network I’d been using on the iPhone, except fast.

I reviewed BroadbandAccess a couple of years ago; two things have changed in the meantime. First, Verizon has rolled out its “Rev A” network—basically a nationwide speed boost. Second, the price for non-Verizon voice subscribers has dropped, from $80 a month to the same $60 paid by Verizon customers.

I just wish it weren’t so expensive. I mean, who can justify $60 a month just for the laptop? Top-tier executives and rich people. That’s about it. (Sprint’s similar network has similar fees.)

I asked Verizon why it didn’t make the price lower and enjoy an influx of millions of new customers. Is Verizon worried about the network’s ability to handle all that traffic?

The reply: “We’re comfortable with pricing, which has been consistent since we launched in the fall of 2004. Uptake [number of customers signing up] is great, networks running tremendously well (Rev. A boosts both uplink and downlink speeds). Pricing is right where we want it. (Like I was going to say anything different than that!)”

No, I guess you wouldn’t. But that’s too bad. For the moment, one of technology’s premium pleasures still commands premium fees.

Mr. Verizon, tear down this price!

Comments are no longer being accepted.

Nick July 24, 2007 · 12:57 pm

This won’t be the first time I’ve wished the iPhone could have been offered on Verizon.

:sigh:

deriter July 24, 2007 · 1:03 pm

I also have one and believe me when you’re outside the limits of the broadband, it works ok too, but darn is it slooooooooooooow. Too sloooooooooow for the cost IMO.

indira July 24, 2007 · 1:09 pm

yeah–it is amazing as long as you do not experience the endless dropped connection. I use wireless almost evryday at least for a couple of hours and the connection drops about four times in that time.

RB K July 24, 2007 · 1:11 pm

well… Sprint’s unlimted blackberry plan @ $40 offers free unlimited EVDO phone as modem service… been traveling and using it for nearly a year… surprised so many people haven’t caught on to that

Michael July 24, 2007 · 1:11 pm

Yeah, it’s tough trying to have constant net access at a reasonable price. Depending on where you live and travel TMobils hotspots for 1/2 the price seem like a bargain. Also why the heck is the USB one soooo huge and ugly?

So what’s the book????? Oh and where is Aperture the Missing Manual?

Mary Lee July 24, 2007 · 1:13 pm

Thank you, thank you for recognizing that $60/month is not just another fee to add to the budget. I’m so tired of phone/cell/high-speed monthly charges and I don’t even subscribe to cable. However, I am so deeply unhappy with my DSL provider (Earthlink) that I’m looking for at any and all alternatives. It now seems that I could dump high-speed at home and just use the Verizon or Sprint service…at home or anywhere. (I called Verizon and the have a device for desk computers as well.)

Nate Chenenko July 24, 2007 · 1:26 pm

David, do you think it’s practical to use the EVDO card for your sole means of internet access? $60/month for high-speed internet doesn’t sound outrageously high.

bharat211 July 24, 2007 · 1:36 pm

I think it is great that there exists a service that is fast enough for people to use. But alas, only for those who can afford it. People usually find themselves in situations like yours (myself included) and ultimately big corporations try to take the fullest advantage of it, which is well within their rights. In any case, one day in the future we may finally have something cheaper as competition increases. Hopefully, we will have more than just the 4 cellphone networks we find today. :)

V July 24, 2007 · 1:42 pm

I love your “Missing Manuals” books and I’m glad that you were able to get your work in on time. But couldn’t you have “tethered” a Verizon phone (or ATT 3G) phone to your laptop via bluetooth to get similar internet connectivity.

Your post relates to another issue that was discussed by Times columnist Paul Krugman (//select.nytimes.com/2007/07/23/opinion/23krugman.html?n=Top%2fOpinion%2fEditorials%20and%20Op%2dEd%2fOp%2dEd%2fColumnists%2fPaul%20Krugman) about how the US is lagging behind other nations in cheap and competitive broadband access. Many of these companies have monopolies and it’ll take someone like Google, who is interested in the soon-to-be available 700mhz spectrum, to stir things up so that wireless broadband (and perhaps broadband in general) can become more affordable.

Roger July 24, 2007 · 1:45 pm

My boss just denied a request for two things:

1) a Treo that would have web access (an extra $40 on top of the $40 for the telephone line), and a wireless card

2) Since that was not an option, I went for the card you mentioned, no dice, another $80.

Steve Ongley July 24, 2007 · 1:45 pm

So who says it’s just for laptops? Use it at home too and kill the cable modem and the tv!

HR July 24, 2007 · 1:45 pm

If cellular broadband was reasonably priced I’d drop my land connection.

I guess corporations and rich people never fail to meet profit margins.

Gil July 24, 2007 · 1:46 pm

It’s true, it’s true. I saw my first Treo back in, say, 2001. Being an avid Palmpilot user, I said “in two, three years tops, the price of those will go down enough for it to be worth buying”.

It turns out that the prices did drop, but what I didn’t count on was Verizon ‘s monthly fee being the bottleneck. To me they’re the only carrier worth having if you’re in NYC. They could easily be collecting an additional 30 bucks from me a month if only…

Gregory Severance July 24, 2007 · 1:49 pm

Unfortunately you’ve got to pay to play. And I admire your ability to work on writing/proofing book pages while riding in a car. I get dizzy whenever I try to read anything in a car or bus. Trains are okay though.

I enjoy your column and remember meeting you at a Mac User Group meeting in Manhattan way back in the early to mid 1990s.

Eye Guy July 24, 2007 · 1:53 pm

Two questions David: If I buy 2 adapters (one for my laptop, and one for my desktop PC at home), can I get on the EVDO network with BOTH machines for the 60 bucks? In that case, I could ditch my cable internet, and save 45 bucks right there.

Also, I have a Moto Q, for which I pay 45/month for the unlimited data plan. I was told that to tether my Q to my laptop would cost 15/month additional, so that I could use the Q as a PC card. That adds up to 60/month. My question is, if you pay 45 for a phone data plan, do you HAVE to tether the phone to the laptop? Or can you just pay 15 bucks more per month for the PC card/USB dongle?
Thanks!

Brendan Burns July 24, 2007 · 1:53 pm

The speeds even for newer versions of EV-DO (highly theoretical) maximum of 2.4Mbps and a generally reported average of 400 to 700 kbps. This is massively slower than even the increasingly dated 802.11g wi-fi standard (max. 54Mbs), or cable modem (average 3-7Mbs) or even most DSL (700kbs-1.5Mbs)

The cell companies are desperately afraid that high-speed wireless internet will destroy their business model. [Ubiquitous wi-fi + Skype/Vonage = no more cell phones] and are thus trying to lock people into dated, expensive and slow cellular-based internet.

Its time to say “no” to lousy products that exist to benefit existing old-economy companies.

David Cesarino July 24, 2007 · 2:00 pm

Is your friend rich? or a top-tier executive? or both? :D

Anyway, you’re right, but there is no free lunch… (probably there wouldn’t be such a tsunami of new customers anyway, not to counter the costs, I mean)

Bob Corcoran July 24, 2007 · 2:00 pm

Can’t you just connect the card wherever you go, desk top, work, home?

Justin Roth July 24, 2007 · 2:05 pm

I have a Sprint Mobile Broadband device (USB-based) and like it very much, EXCEPT for some problems with Mac compatibility.

The comment about price is somewhat unwarranted on Pogue’s part, as $60/mo. for internet anywhere is reasonable when compared to cable-based high-speed data connections. My Time Warner service cost $50/mo. and was limited to a few rooms of my apartment. I canceled Time Warner service and kept the Mobile Broadband, for a total increase in cost of $10/mo.

One thing that nobody seems to be saying, interestingly, is that Mobile Broadband from Sprint (and, I’m fairly certain, Verizon’s BroadbandConnect as well) is NOT as fast as a real hard-line cable modem or DSL line. My typical Kbps rate (download speed) with Mobile Broadband is about 60-80 Kbps. With my wireless Time Warner connection, I was getting upwards of 300 Kbps (that’s 4x as fast)! So Mobile BROADBAND is a misnomer, as the speeds are NOT comparable to most real broadband services. Something to keep in mind if you are going to go with Mobile Broadband ONLY (at home and on the road) and you send or recieve large files (anything over 5mb) regularly.

So, other than bad tech support for Macs (a common shortcoming) and slowish speeds, I think Mobile Broadband is great. If you want Mobile Broadband AND a home connection, then you’re talking big bucks. I say pick one or the other (based on how mobile you are) and stick with it. Both speeds should increase over time.

One final note: If you have a BlackBerry or Treo and want to get unlimited data service on it, that you will have to pay for that separately from you Mobile Broadband data service. It feels kind of like a ripoff, paying for two unlimited data plans… why not share one? I guess it just doesn’t work that way. As with Pogue’s reply from Verizon in this article, it looks like it’s just another way corporate telecom juggernauts can get away with milking the consumer through confusing pricing and service plans and politically-savvy obfuscation. I’m not bitter.

Thom July 24, 2007 · 2:06 pm

You actually questioned a telco about why they had an expensive price? You wanted an answer from a telco that is suing Vonage because they still want to charge 30-60 dollars a month for phone technology that has not changed significantly in decades? These companies thrive on charging premiums instead of revving up their innovation and development.

Eddie B July 24, 2007 · 2:07 pm

I’ve had the service for 3 years with Verizon and I must say I’m a big fan; it forms a big part of my business in marketing and technology. I install CarPC’s for limos and this is a big selling point. I dont’ know how people live without it. I even watch my TV with my Slingplayer.

Andy Nardone July 24, 2007 · 2:09 pm

I’ve been thinking about this service lately to provide a truly virtual office. Does anybody know about the practicality of using it for your dedicated home connection as well. Can a wifi router be connected to it to support wireless around a house? If that were the case, you could dump your home service (+-$40) making the jump to $60 a lot less painful. Of couse, when the card leaves the house, everyone at home is dark. Maybe not such a great idea.

David K July 24, 2007 · 2:13 pm

I have been using verizon broadband for almost 2 years. Speeds vary greatly. It can be quite slow even when it appears that you are in a location wiht full signal strength. I would like to see Verizon improve the sped of the network.

Quinn July 24, 2007 · 2:17 pm

Waitaminutehere. So, for $20 more than what I am currently paying for highspeed internet at home, I could have it anywhere? All the time? Including at home, with no wireless router needed? I feel like I’m missing something. The catch, for instance.

Admittedly, $60 is a lot every month, but it somehow grates less than paying $40 for a connection that sits at home and still costs me money while I am on the road paying for internet in some hotel.

Scott July 24, 2007 · 2:25 pm

Corporate executives are not the only ones who use VZW’s EVDO service. My company supports various government agencies and provides us with the EVDO cards for our Windows laptops. When the service works, it is great to have.

HOWEVER (you knew there had to be extra commentary), the key is “when it works.” In areas where my company has a lot of people working on site, bandwidth can be effected by the numbers of people connecting. Also, if you are stationary, you can be “dropped” by the cell tower if you are connected too long and the tower systems sense they need the bandwidth for a new user.

VZW’s EVDO is a nice service, but I wish there was more consistency in the way it operates.