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My Internet Connection *PIC*

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rkawakami
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Re: My Internet Connection *PIC*

#151 Post by rkawakami » Wed Nov 22, 2017 3:26 pm

ThinkPad560X wrote:
Wed Nov 22, 2017 1:47 pm
I have Verizon miFi but it is only 5GB cap. I only use it if the internet is running very slow and need to get something done on it. And that runs me $50 a month rather I use it or not. Theirs bills I paid on it with 0.0GB used on it. But don't get anything back if I don't use it, still full $50. I can't get rid of it or it will be $175 termination fee being it is under contract.
At that rate, you will pay the termination fee after 3.5 months. I understand the hesitation to dump the MiFi, although I don't have any early termination fee involved. Right now I have both Verizon and T-Mobile hotspot accounts; I dropped the Sprint and Virgin accounts many months ago. I mainly use the Version box as it has better coverage here at work and at home. Currently the plan is 8GB/$70. The T-Mobile account is 6GB/$35 and generally it has less than 1GB when the bill is due. I tend to use that one as a backup to the Verizon box when that plan starts running out of data and for streaming audio/video using the MusicFreedom and BingeOn features. As far as I know, you can't get a data plan (mobile hotspot, not smartphone) from anyone that's pay-as-you-use-it.
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You have a point...

#152 Post by SurrealMustard » Sun Dec 17, 2017 11:09 am

elray wrote:
Wed Nov 22, 2017 12:51 pm
ThinkPad560X wrote:
Wed Nov 22, 2017 4:30 am
I figured I could talk about this here since this is my internet thread. As normal my internet is junk but mange to check email, watch youtube videos and buy stuff online. And if need to download a 40GB game off steam even though I bought disc it takes a full 3-4 days to download that size. But from what a few people told me the net Neutrality maybe going away and if it does all websites will be their own service like system. Youtube will be a entertainment package, not sure of Steam. email and ebay/amazon will be their own package as well and have to pay for each one on top of the speed you want to have for them. So it sounds like a cable tv subscription with packages. So basically this will probably suck even more for me since I only get 2 option speeds (Dialup or DSL) and my bill climbing a few cents here and there each month and at $90 a month now. If you been following this thread I think I started paying for DSL in 2008 for $67 if I can remember, as that's when I was able to upgrade from dialup in my area.

So if this goes into effect I would be paying for the speed and maybe even the data (claim I have unlimited) plus what website packages I want to pay for. Does this sound what is going to be happening if the FCC gets rid of Net Neutrality?
To date, the "violations" of Network Neutrality, both literal and spiritual - have been competitive moves that benefit the user.
Netflix, for instance, stopped playing games, and took responsibility for its traffic volume, paying to direct-connect with ISPs, rather than expecting customers to pressure ISPs to pay for "Open Connect".

TMobile implemented zero-rating for popular streaming services, both audio and video.
AT&T implemented zero-rating for Directv customers.

Most wired and wireless ISPs implementing caps have either greatly up-sized their bucket/allocations, or implemented tower-specific, congestion-based throttling, otherwise "unlimited" use. All four cellular networks returned to offer near-unlimited hotspot plans.

I don't see any reason for FUD here. I don't see bulk, general-purpose internet access going away, only new, cheaper options appearing.
In your case, if you're faced with per-gigabyte charges (or overages), Steam could "buy out" (zero-rate) 40Gb's/user of super-off-peak transfer.

Transceived bits may be cheap, but their value is non-zero; realizing, recognizing and classifying that value, however infinitesimal, is not a bad thing; it will drive efficiency and innovation.
This is about what I figured. A lot of what I've read has tried to spin this as a really negative thing, but it might just be a case of classic partisan politics at work. I suspect that this week's decision will be either neutral or positive in the long run. If it's not, then we can talk about changing things back, but I wouldn't be surprised if this "Internet apocalypse" thing just turned out to be another nothing burger case of "man-made catastrophic global warming."

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Re: My Internet Connection *PIC*

#153 Post by jdrou » Mon Dec 18, 2017 2:20 pm

rkawakami wrote:
Wed Nov 22, 2017 3:26 pm
As far as I know, you can't get a data plan (mobile hotspot, not smartphone) from anyone that's pay-as-you-use-it.
As I mentioned earlier in this thread (2+ years ago) there is Internet-on-the-Go (http://www.internet-go.com/ ) which works similar to TracFone; you buy X GB of data for a fixed cost and no monthly fees. I think you need to use something like at least 1 MB per month to keep your account active. Pretty sure their 4G is using AT&T network now.
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Re: My Internet Connection *PIC*

#154 Post by ThinkPad560X » Mon Dec 25, 2017 3:02 pm

I've been trying to get online for the past few weeks and the internet has been really bad. When that happens I use my MiFi. Well the MiFi has been failing lately and every time I go to load a page using it, I will get not connected and then refresh and it may load the page. Today I been using the normal DSL home internet and can't even watch 360p videos without stutter and buffering. I am getting 0.61Mbps and 0.44Mbps down. So I gave up for the rest of this week of trying to watch videos. So the home DSL and MiFi are both messing up and so I got no internet really. I am on the DSL right now and I had to reload this site since the page would come up saying No internet connection.

I am guessing if I call them they will tell me my internet is fine on there end and or to reset the modem witch I already have 3 times. But I find it weird that the Verizon MiFi is messing up as well and has been for the past week too. could this have something to do with the NN being gone now? Before I was getting normal fine 1Mbps speeds able to watch 480p videos for the past months and yes I know I can't watch 720p-1080p without buffering or no load. If I do want to watch a video, I have to put it on pause and let it load for however long the video is before I can press play. I usually will post on my thread here if I get problems, so can see when the last one was on here.
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Re: My Internet Connection *PIC*

#155 Post by dr_st » Mon Dec 25, 2017 5:33 pm

ThinkPad560X wrote:
Mon Dec 25, 2017 3:02 pm
I've been trying to get online for the past few weeks and the internet has been really bad. When that happens I use my MiFi. Well the MiFi has been failing lately and every time I go to load a page using it, I will get not connected and then refresh and it may load the page. Today I been using the normal DSL home internet and can't even watch 360p videos without stutter and buffering. I am getting 0.61Mbps and 0.44Mbps down. So I gave up for the rest of this week of trying to watch videos. So the home DSL and MiFi are both messing up and so I got no internet really. I am on the DSL right now and I had to reload this site since the page would come up saying No internet connection.
Is this consistent across multiple computers? If you only use one computer - it can be its network card going south. It can also be the modem/router. Given your remote location, it's indeed more likely that the problem is on the ISP end, but other possibilities exist.
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Re: My Internet Connection *PIC*

#156 Post by ThinkPad560X » Mon Dec 25, 2017 6:12 pm

No its on all computers internet running slow.
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Re: My Internet Connection *PIC*

#157 Post by rkawakami » Mon Dec 25, 2017 6:27 pm

jdrou wrote:
Mon Dec 18, 2017 2:20 pm
rkawakami wrote:
Wed Nov 22, 2017 3:26 pm
As far as I know, you can't get a data plan (mobile hotspot, not smartphone) from anyone that's pay-as-you-use-it.
As I mentioned earlier in this thread (2+ years ago) there is Internet-on-the-Go (http://www.internet-go.com/ ) which works similar to TracFone; you buy X GB of data for a fixed cost and no monthly fees. I think you need to use something like at least 1 MB per month to keep your account active. Pretty sure their 4G is using AT&T network now.
internet-go.com comes close to what I meant in that it offers a "bucket" of data with 1GB ($15), 2GB ($20) or 5GB ($40) price points, with no apparent time limit to use up the data. My intention when I said "pay-as-you-use-it" was more like charging per MB and invoicing you each month based upon the amount of data you have consumed in the billing cycle. It has always seemed silly to me why using MORE data would cost LESS per MB. It's like if you only filled up your car with 2 gallons of gas and the cost is $10, but if you put in 10 gallons then it's only $30. I understand the marketing principle that buying some things in quantity can be cheaper overall, but like gasoline, I don't see how this applies to wireless data.

Looking at the "fine print" of their terms and conditions, I don't think it's a service for me: http://www.internet-go.com/terms-and-conditions
Changes to the Agreement

IOTG reserves the right, from time to time, with or without notice to you, to change any part of the Terms and Conditions of Service, including but not limited to, ...

Refund Policy
AMOUNTS PAID FOR SERVICE CHARGES ARE NON-REFUNDABLE. IF YOUR SERVICE IS TERMINATED FOR ANY REASON AND YOU HAVE A POSITIVE BALANCE IN YOUR SERVICE ACCOUNT, YOU WILL NOT BE ENTITLED TO RECEIVE ANY REFUND.

INTENDED USE OF MBB SERVICE (FAIR USE). MBB Service and any related data services are provided solely for purposes of web browsing, messaging, and similar activities. You are responsible for all data activity from and to your device regardless of who initiates the activity. You may not use the MBB Service: (1) with server devices or host computer applications, including, but not limited to, Web camera posts or broadcasts, automatic data feeds, automated machine-to-machine connections or peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing or other systems that drive continuous heavy traffic or data sessions; (2) with continuous data streams or high traffic B. services; ...
As far as their coverage map goes, it seems a little spotty when compared to AT&T, Verizon or even Sprint.

http://www.internet-go.com/coverage-map
Ray Kawakami
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Re: My Internet Connection *PIC*

#158 Post by jdrou » Thu Dec 28, 2017 1:13 pm

Yeah, some of those terms are annoying.
I don't understand why carriers don't want you using large amounts of data when you're paying by the GB. As long as the network is not congested it seems like they should encourage heavy use.
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Re: My Internet Connection *PIC*

#159 Post by rkawakami » Thu Dec 28, 2017 5:08 pm

So this may not be pertinent to the OP's location, but I bit the bullet on my AT&T cell service and switched over from a plan with 1000 nationwide minutes a month (with rollover), unlimited texting and a jumbled assortment of data plans on five lines (two grandfathered iPhone unlimited data and 2GB and 3GB). I've seen the ads for AT&T's Unlimited plans over the last couple of months and was interested if I could save some money, while increasing our data allotment. Short story: it looks like I'll be saving about $50-$60 per month by switching to their Unlimited Plus plan. Currently pay about $330 for those five lines and the estimate for the new plan is $270-$280 when all of the taxes and fees are included (auto-pay and paperless billing discounts applied).

The plan offers up to 22GB full speed (4G/LTE) data access PER LINE. In addition to that, up to 10GB full speed access is available per line for hotspot/tethering usage. If you exceed the hotspot allotment, then the speed "will be slowed to a max of 128Kbps". It's not entirely clear if they will also throttled the regular data to the same 128Kbps speed; they only say "the rest of the cycle AT&T may slow data speeds on that line during periods of network congestion".

I just checked the hotspot feature here at work. I have four bars (out of five) of signal strength. This is amazing to me:

Image

Unlimited Plus includes unlimited calling, texting and data (no overage fees if you exceed the 22GB/10GB bucket; just possibly slower data until the next billing cycle begins). Mexico/Canada roaming is covered. If you have U-verse or DirecTV you also can get HBO for free. This doesn't apply to me since I've had Dish for years and already have HBO on the account. The one downside to this plan is that for a multi-line account it works out to a base cost of $50/line but if you only want one line, then the cost is $90/mo (with auto-pay and paperless discount, but no taxes/fees included).
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X22 X24 X31 X41 X41T X60 X60s X61 X61s X200 X200s X300 X301 Z60m Z61t Z61p 560 560Z 600 600E 600X T21 T22 T23 T41 T60p T410 T420 T520 W500 W520 R50 A21p A22p A31 A31p
NOTE: All links to PC-Doctor software hosted by me are dead. Files removed 8/28/12 by manufacturer's demand.

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