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AnchorDesk

Patrick Houston
How I stay online from...everywhere

Patrick Houston
Editorial Director, AnchorDesk
Wednesday, February 12, 2003
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Just a few days ago, car problems left me cooling my heels while waiting for a late train into work. With nearly 45 minutes to kill, I repaired to a nearby coffee shop--which was not  a Starbucks, a distinction that will become important in a minute.

I ordered a decaf, got out my laptop, and connected to the Internet, our company VPN, and my e-mail. I did this wirelessly. Not impressed? Then try this: After I left Cafe Not-Starbucks, walked to the station, and boarded the train, I remained constantly connected to the Net, surfing the Web, IM'ing colleagues, and reading corporate e-mail during my 55-minute trip into San Francisco--even through three tunnels!

WE HERE AT AnchorDesk have extolled high-speed wireless Wi-Fi hot spots, those 802.11b access points available at every Starbucks, hundreds of hotels, and several airports. But you can't connect via Wi-Fi from a train, plane, or automobile, at least not yet.

But just because Wi-Fi can't doesn't mean you can't. I did. How, you ask? For the past two weeks, I've been test-driving Verizon's Express Network, its new third-generation--or 3G--voice and data service. (So far, Verizon and Sprint are the only U.S. telcos to offer 3G.)

My conclusion: The service is fast, reliable, and ubiquitous enough to merit serious consideration as a mobile connectivity option for hard-core business users and road warriors. The big question: How much will it cost?

The setup process was largely painless but not without glitches. I had to install a Sierra Wireless AirCard 555 and Fourelle's Venturi compression software, but I had to do it not once, but twice. (Some of the drivers have yet to be certified by Microsoft as Windows XP-compatible, and the resulting Windows warning message threw me.) Plus, the setup CD came with an older version of Venturi, which continually generated an irksome post-installation upgrade reminder--and interruption. Grrrr.

But, still, I was connected to the Internet within 45 minutes of starting the whole process.

At which point, Verizon's Express Network immediately endeared itself to me: My existing VPN client worked with the service, as is. This hasn't always been our experience at AnchorDesk. I consider VPN connectivity crucial to a successful wireless experience, for which accessing corporate e-mail systems is as much of a killer app as it is in the hard-wired world.

Once connected, I checked the service for speed, coverage, and reliability. My findings:
  • Speed. Qualcomm's CDMA2000 1XRTT networks are certified to deliver speeds as high as 144kbps, the minimum for receiving the 3G designation. (For a briefing on 3G technology, see my recent primer.) To its credit, Verizon doesn't over-promise, saying instead to expect 40 to 60kbps. And that's about what I got. I clocked the network on three different bandwidth speedometers, including ZDNet's own. My average: 45.8kbps, with a high of 82kbps and a low of 17kbps. Qualitatively speaking, I seldom encountered a conventional Web page that subjected me to an unacceptable wait. I wouldn't want to watch streaming video wirelessly, but routine Web surfing worked well enough.

  • Coverage. Verizon's Express Network is available to all but about 20 percent of its 28 million customers. With a few exceptions (including my old hometown of Minneapolis, Minn.), it extends to most major metropolitan areas. My house in the heart of the San Francisco Bay Area happens to occupy a dead spot, but I don't need the service there. Otherwise, I found coverage to be excellent in my day-to-day whereabouts.

  • Reliability. I was surprised--to the point of amazement--that my laptop was able to hold on so well to Express Network during my daily train commute, which takes me through several overpasses and tunnels. Sure, it dropped from time to time in the tunnels, but that's to be expected. One day, I spent several hours on the network, working from my local library, and the connection stayed steady.
There's one other consideration that I can't, to be frank, adequately assess, and that's cost. I received the Sierra Wireless card and an Express Network account for a free trial courtesy of Qualcomm, the company that developed the CDMA2000 1XRTT technology on which Verizon's network is based. I asked Verizon to estimate how much my usage would have cost, but they said my account bypassed their billing processes, so they couldn't readily offer me that information.

WHAT I CAN TELL YOU is this: Verizon offers three plans. You can pay by the minute, by the megabyte, or by the month (all-you-can-eat for $99.99). But, as you'll see if you visit the Verizon Web site, it's extremely difficult to figure out how much these three options will cost in actual usage, especially because they mix voice minutes in with data. Plus, all three require a two- or three-year contract. My advice: Read the fine print carefully.

Because I don't know the cost, I don't know if I could make a solid ROI case for 3G to my boss. As a consumer, I know I couldn't make it to my wife. That said, I'm impressed that I could subject Express Network to the same demands to which I subject my high-speed, wired connections at work and home--and it worked. Any service that lets you perform bread-and-butter computing tasks at speeds close to 56kbps, from a moving train and so many other places, is worth considering.

What do you think? How much would you pay for a wireless data service that delivered dial-up speeds from virtually anywhere you can make a cell-phone call? TalkBack to me! 

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