StarDestroyer.Net BBS

Who uses Mobile Broadband cards and what brands....

I am using my roommate's Sprint Mobile Broadband card

What's the latency like?

My work is a telco and they provide a Wireless Broadband product but I've not heard anything about what the actual latency is like, only the throughput speeds.

I have a rebranded Vodafone 3g card. The latency is OK, ISDN-like, however the bandwidth is extremely variable. If you get a good, 3g (UMTS), signal, its great for surfing and the like (300k+). However, if there is no 3g signal or the signal sucks, prepare for the pain - lower then 56k speeds with matching latencies. Utter suck.

Still, its probably the simplest way of having net access in places where you need it rarely (vacation house), potentially rural places where DSL is not available, or when you really need the mobility (when sailing for example). For those and similar situations, its good enough. Depending on available plans, it can also be a bit pricey with regards to data transfer limits and especially going over them.

At work, there is no usable phone line and the wireless broadband gives me the ability to download my e-mail and work on projects

Kitsune wrote:Who uses Mobile Broadband cards and what brands....

I am using my roommate's Sprint Mobile Broadband card

I use Sprint Mobile Broadband as well, living out of range of DSL or digital cable. Pings are on the order of 130 ms or higher, and bandwidth is hugely variable. I typically get about 200 - 256K upload and between 800 - 2000K download speeds, with 1000 - 1200 K being typical.

It also works in places without high-speed digital cellular service, but the download speeds are on the order of ~100K, which still comfortably beats dial-up.

I also have a router which will connect to the broadband card, so I'm not tied to just a laptop. And Sprint offers genuine unlimited usage (really handy for watching new BSG episodes online and for other streaming video applications.)

I have a question for you....

I tried to FTP to my website last night through the Mobile Broadband and it would not let me connect. To make sure the settings are right, I connected at home through the network and it connected fine.

Do you FTP from your Sprint account?