Internet air cards and OTR

[SPACEAGE7000]

I recently finished training and im set to begin my solo OTR career sometime within the next 2 weeks and I've been looking at air cards and service providers out there.
I would really like to hear the pros and cons of air cards and overall coverage of the companies from the guys who live on the road.
Any and all replies would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

[GMAN]

Air cards run off of cell towers. If you have a cell phone signal you should have an air card signal. I have used a Sprint air card for several years. I have had a signal pretty much everywhere I have traveled. An air card gives you the flexibility of being able to get on the internet most anywhere you go. Sprint, Verizon, AT & T and T-Mobile all have air cards. T-Mobile is the least expensive as far as I know. The other three cost about the same per month. I spend about $60/month plus sales tax.

[Malaki86]

I don't know how I managed before I got my aircard (Sprint also). The places with no service are far and few between. The closer you are to a city, the better your speed is on average.

[coastie]

I use verizon and I rarely have no service.

[dobry4u]

I use my phone as a modem instead of a separate air card. I have unlimited everything for 99 a month with Sprint.

[Malaki86]

I tried that. The problem was that a) the phone wasn't being recharged while in use and b) I couldn't use the phone while connected to the 'net.

[JR OTR]

I started with the sprint PAM plan (Phone As Modem) but gave up on it eventually. Your connection speed is limited by the processor in your cell phone, which is usually designed to be more efficient than quick. Plus the potential issue with missing calls if your phone can't take calls and keep the internet link active at the same time.

I've used the sprint air card for almost two years now. I got one of the old PCMCIA kinds and subsequently grabbed a router that you can plug the card in to then go out to one or more devices (eg laptops) simultaneously.

Sprint has good coverage in most places I've been except for the northern mountain states (Montana, Idaho, Wyoming). In most places you will have at least dial-up speed and more often than not you'll have the equivalent of slow broadband. I'm currently in the boonies in Oklahoma and I've got broadband here for some reason.

Jim

[boneebone]

I've had a Sprint aircard for several years now, and I have not had any problems with service, $59.99 for unlimited KBs, the new plans they have now have a cap on the KB's

[Flashmann]

I use ATTs aircard......Supposedly it can connect at up to 3 MGs....Best I've had is 1.8,which is plenty fast......I only go to Utah,Colorado,Wyoming,New Mexico,Kansas,Oklahoma,Arkansas,Texas and Louisiana......There are dead spots,where I have no cell service,but I have service in 99% of the places I stop long enough to get online.....Unlimited service at $40 per month,because of a discount we get through my wifes job.....

[BHG0069]

I use the Sprint Card $60 a month unlimited usage. I never leave home without it.

[bikerboy]

I use a Bell canada air card, cost 100 a month for 1 GB north america wide! and 3 bucks per MB over 1 GB

i know i pay alot but i think thats the cheapest i will find for internet anywhere in canada or usa, since i spend about half my week in canada and half in usa every week.

[tweety bird]

I use ATTs aircard......Supposedly it can connect at up to 3 MGs....Best I've had is 1.8,which is plenty fast......I only go to Utah,Colorado,Wyoming,New Mexico,Kansas,Oklahoma,Arkansas,Texas and Louisiana......There are dead spots,where I have no cell service,but I have service in 99% of the places I stop long enough to get online.....Unlimited service at $40 per month,because of a discount we get through my wifes job.....

Oh... now you're bragging! That's a great rate!

I've had a Sprint card for well over a year and love it. You should be able to be online while rolling- of course, you can't really use the internet while rolling if you're the one driving

My husband does the majority of the driving and I like to sit in the jump seat and go online. If we had to be parked for that, I'd be really upset!

[Malaki86]

My system stays online while moving. Of course, the only thing it does "online" is to send out my current location from the gps to a tracking system. My dad got REALLY bored after he retired, so he sits at the computer and basically watches me drive (or at least my exact location on Google Earth).

[devildice]

I use verizon and I rarely have no service.

Same here.....I have had my Verizon card for over a year now and think there was only one time I couldn't get connected.

[DieselBoss]

We tested Verizon, Sprint, ATT, and T-Mobile.

There were big differences between the TYPE of card (i.e. Express Slot, PCMCIA, and USB) as far as signal strength and speed. The USB is the easiest to install because everyone has multiple USB ports, but these units stick up or out of your laptop in such a way that it is easier to break them than the slot cards.

Be careful with Windows Vista! We have multiple cases where some versions of the software that comes with the ATT and Sprint cards actually crashed and corrupted Vista whereby it had to be reloaded from scratch. In every case this was with the USB versions that have the software drivers preloaded into the card itself - not on an accompanying CD. I am sure that these companies have heard this and may have already fixed it on newer versions, but it is worth mentioning.

The Express slot cards were the nicest. They don't stick out very far and are very fast. This is the "thinner" slot on the side of your laptop. Older laptops have PCMCIA slots which are wider than the newer express slots. There are still the wider air cards available from the various providers.

As far as coverage we found that Verizon and Sprint had considerably better coverage than did ATT and T-Mobile. And when they were operating, the Verizon and Sprint also tended to have faster data speeds with Verizon having a slight edge in coverage and data transfer speeds overall.

Finally, if you are considering a new laptop, be aware that some laptop brands are now offering to have a BUILT-IN cellular card now. That option currently adds 1 - 2 hundred dollars to the laptop price tag.

[trux]

I had a Sprint phone and air card, there were a lot of holes in their service, especially up north in Wisconsin, etc. Lima, OH, no phone no internet, Elwood, IL, (just south of Chicago), no phone no internet. Cherokee, IA, stuck there a day and a half, no phone no internet. West of Lincoln, NE, forget it. Eastern mountains, zilch.

Now I've got Verizon, in 4 months I've only found one spot I didn't have phone service or internet. But I'm now limited to 5 Gigs a month which is about 166 MB a day, so ya can't watch a lot of video or listen to internet radio all day.

No one has mentioned this: with a USB air card you can get an extension cable so you can set it up in the windshield area for better reception.

[rkeck]

Not sure what service your cell phone is with but, consider upgrading to a 3g phone and tether to your laptop. I'm with AT&T and have a BlackjackII and unlimited PDA data plan ($30 month) and the speeds are adequate, and in 3G, speeds are great. I've dropped my wifi plans and always have service unless I'm in the middle of nowhere.

P.S. you don't need to get a tethering plan ($60 at ATT) to use your cell as modem. There are workarounds.