gcninja Posted July 24, 2009 Share Posted July 24, 2009 http://www.lehsys.com/2009/06/im-sorry-wif...-years-to-live/ With the pricing of the tethering and the complications of it, I cant see cellular data overiding wifi anytime soon. Not to mention speeds and availability, I live in a spot where im off network for 60miles, even then its only EVDO and that sucks for tethering. Not every person in the world is going to switch to tetherign either, because not everybody has to travel accross country, even in five years people wont. this article MIGHT have a few points but its overall just WRONG. Your opinions? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cykio Posted July 24, 2009 Share Posted July 24, 2009 yeah looks like alot of BS, everyone is still going to have wifi in their houses/businesses so the phones will just connect to that when within range. wifi allows the owners of the wifi more control with router settings, etc as opposed to just the phone operators deciding everything His analogy of having to buy a cup of coffee to get internet from Sbucks or MacDs was rly pointless cause why would you be in those places in the first place. If you really need internet so much as to buy a cup of coffee everytime then get one of those "‘airband’ cards" (never heard that term but then again i had no name for them) edit* Dial-up hasn't been fully killed off yet even... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barry99705 Posted July 24, 2009 Share Posted July 24, 2009 I'm guessing this guy lives in the middle of (insert big city here), and has never left the city. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CraigHB Posted July 24, 2009 Share Posted July 24, 2009 I mainly use a desktop computer, but I have a laptop I use when traveling. I have my cell phone set up to do dial-up for the laptop via Bluetooth. It works really well as far as dial-up goes, but the speeds aren't really high enough for anything other than email. I rarely use it since I don't travel that much and can almost always get WiFi access when I do. It's pretty much just a last ditch. I would need to see an increase in speeds at least 10 fold before I would consider connectivity through my cell a viable alternative. I don't know where the bottleneck comes from, whether it's the network or the driver, but even if my provider upgraded their network, I imagine I would need a new phone and driver to take advantage of it. Sounds like something that isn't going to happen any time soon, at least for me. Another consideration is the cost, WiFi is usually free. I'm paying $10 a month for unlimited data connectivity through the cell. At this point, it's not really worth it and I'm debating whether or not I should even carry the service. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Sierakowski Posted July 25, 2009 Share Posted July 25, 2009 802.11ad anyone? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Razor512 Posted July 25, 2009 Share Posted July 25, 2009 yep BS, cellphone is the worst for internet, it is slow and theres always a really low cap like 5GB upload+download or less it is also much slower than wifi theres also the problem of extra fees, wifi is popular because it is free wireless especially when your in a city, in which it is hard to find a area with out a open access point and no one wants to pay for 2 internet connections Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
h3%5kr3w Posted July 25, 2009 Share Posted July 25, 2009 I second that hearty bowl of Bs! Sounds almost like AT&T, Sprint,Verizon, and every other major carrier got together and said 'what could we write about on the web to get people to buy more of our services?' Gimme 10mbps down and 2mbps up, no cap, GUARANTEED CONNECTIVITY, with no contract for oh.... $40/month. Then we will talk.. Oh one more thing. CONNECTION SHARING!!! Even if they had the plan I thought up, you would end up paying for ea. extra connection. AT&T doesn't charge me for multiple computers on my connection. Nor do they control what hardware I use to authenticate myself and connect to the web. Neither do most cable services, and though services like fios and u-verse do, it's still in early stages so of course it's only going to use their hardware for the hard push of it. Just like DirecTV (though they have seemed to go backward lately) after the initial 4 years in service, there were all kinds of different sat. boxes around. Hell I have two Phillips Directv boxes. Have used them since I first connected my service like... 6 years ago and they work great. Truthfully I don't care for the new silver and black boxes. BLAH endless rambling yet again!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CraigHB Posted July 25, 2009 Share Posted July 25, 2009 Gimme 10mbps down and 2mbps up, no cap, GUARANTEED CONNECTIVITY, with no contract for oh.... $40/month. Then we will talk.. As far as cell connectivity for the laptop, I think I could get by on a 1Mb connection. This thread prompted me to check the curent offerings from my provider (AT&T), it's been quite a while since I looked. They have HSDPA/UMTS available now which they call their 3G network. It's much faster than the GPRS network I'm currently limited to, but I couldn't find any quotes on actual speed. I'd need to get a new phone, but I qualify for a free upgrade. If the 3G network is fast enough, it might be worth the $10/mo. I'm currently paying for unlimited data access. I'd still use WiFi when available, but it would be nice to have a backup that provides a decent connection speed. In any case, this is the fastest connection they can offer and it sounds like it's still nowhere near speeds you typcially see on a WiFi network. And, there's monthly fees involved. I don't think cell networks are going to displace WiFi any time soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barry99705 Posted July 26, 2009 Share Posted July 26, 2009 As far as cell connectivity for the laptop, I think I could get by on a 1Mb connection. This thread prompted me to check the curent offerings from my provider (AT&T), it's been quite a while since I looked. They have HSDPA/UMTS available now which they call their 3G network. It's much faster than the GPRS network I'm currently limited to, but I couldn't find any quotes on actual speed. I'd need to get a new phone, but I qualify for a free upgrade. If the 3G network is fast enough, it might be worth the $10/mo. I'm currently paying for unlimited data access. I'd still use WiFi when available, but it would be nice to have a backup that provides a decent connection speed. In any case, this is the fastest connection they can offer and it sounds like it's still nowhere near speeds you typcially see on a WiFi network. And, there's monthly fees involved. I don't think cell networks are going to displace WiFi any time soon. You'll get maybe half a meg down. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
X3N Posted July 26, 2009 Share Posted July 26, 2009 i have sprint and i tether my windows mobile phone when i cant get wifi access... it works fine for me and is plenty fast enough. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
h3%5kr3w Posted July 26, 2009 Share Posted July 26, 2009 i have sprint and i tether my windows mobile phone when i cant get wifi access... it works fine for me and is plenty fast enough. I see your point there, but this is about this article saying that 3g and 4g will completely make cable, dsl, fiber and wifi obsolete. If you have a 3g phone and you use it for internet when needed, then sure, but it's definitely not going to replace any land based ethernet any time soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CraigHB Posted July 26, 2009 Share Posted July 26, 2009 I've been doing a bunch of research on this topic because I think I'm going to go ahead and upgrade my phone. Turns out, it should be a simple process. I don't think speed is as much of an issue as I originally thought. The latest 3G phones are seeing rates as high as 1.4 Mb. I do see cost as the major limiting factor until something changes in a big way. I mentioned I'm paying $10 for unlimited data access, but that's not the advertised rate. AT&T will put you on their Data Connect plan if you ask for the ability to "tether" your phone. That plan is $60/mo. over and above any other plans you carry and reverts to a useage fee after 5GB/mo. Other carriers charge fees in that ballpark as well. I think it's pretty much of a rip. I'm using a hack that utilizes AT&T's Media Net to get data connectivity. Media Net is intended solely for internet apps running on the phone, but if you specify the correct APN, most (not all) handsets can tether with it. That feature is $10/mo. with an unlimited text plan or $15/mo. standalone. AT&T states in the terms of service they reserve the right to cancel your data plan if caught using Media Net in this manner, but they don't really police it. I'll take the chance. There's no way I'm going to pay $60 a month for a 1Mb connection. I'm on a a phone/internet/TV promotion with Charter cable and I'm paying like $20 a month for 10/1Mb internet at home right now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dr0p Posted July 26, 2009 Share Posted July 26, 2009 25mbps always vs 6mbps in a good spot... not happenning any time soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
h3%5kr3w Posted July 28, 2009 Share Posted July 28, 2009 Actually I have been having an open forum style discussion with the author of that article, and I have seen his point. It's not about we SHOULD go to the 3g/4g route for all our internetz but that the consensus of rabid spenders (i,e, 3/5ths of the population) will buy into said 3g/4g crap @ fail bus prices because 'it's hot and new'. Go to the link and read my discussion. Turned out pretty well. This guy does see it our way, just that I have to commend him because he can see the idiot spectrum of consumers a mile away. BTW, when I say 'idiot spectrum' I mean the masses of people who just buy it because it's new and they saw a commercial pitching it so they want it, not because they will actually use it (like we would do :P) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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