Looking for a national ISP for wireless and PDAs (e.g., PalmPilot)

Hi.

Are there any good wireless internet service providers (ISPs) that
are national in U.S.A.? I am having problems finding any reviews on
these ISPs to decide based on the prices, quality, support, etc. I
looked at computers.com and didn't find any. Not all cities have
free wireless services so it is better off to subscribe to a wireless
ISP to use almost anywhere in U.S.A.

Thank you in advance.
--
"Remember, ants are only waiting for you to die..." --unknown
/\___/\
/ /\ /\ \ Ant @ The Ant Farm: http://antfarm.ma.cx
| |o o| | E-mail: (E-Mail Removed)NT or (E-Mail Removed)NT
\ _ / Remove ANT if replying by e-mail from a newsgroup.
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<(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:
> Are there any good wireless internet service providers (ISPs) that
> are national in U.S.A.?

I don't believe there are any. Verizon has some hotspots in a few major
cities, but even here in NYC, their coverage is quite limited.

A cellular data service is probably the only option for national coverage.
Most of the major carriers (Verizon, Sprint, ATT, T-Mobile, etc) offer
decent data plans.

> Not all cities have
> free wireless services so it is better off to subscribe to a wireless
> ISP to use almost anywhere in U.S.A.

I don't think any major US cities offer free 802.11 wireless on any
significant scale.

-Mike

In alt.comp.sys.palmtops El Senor <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:
> <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:
> > Are there any good wireless internet service providers (ISPs) that
> > are national in U.S.A.?

> I don't believe there are any. Verizon has some hotspots in a few major
> cities, but even here in NYC, their coverage is quite limited.

> A cellular data service is probably the only option for national coverage.
> Most of the major carriers (Verizon, Sprint, ATT, T-Mobile, etc) offer
> decent data plans.

Are there any reviews on the different phone companies and their wireless
services? Also, does any cellular phones work assuming you get a special
modem?


> > Not all cities have
> > free wireless services so it is better off to subscribe to a wireless
> > ISP to use almost anywhere in U.S.A.

> I don't think any major US cities offer free 802.11 wireless on any
> significant scale.

Yeah, a lot of them require money.
--
"Remember, ants are only waiting for you to die..." --unknown
/\___/\
/ /\ /\ \ Ant @ The Ant Farm: http://antfarm.ma.cx
| |o o| | E-mail: (E-Mail Removed)NT or (E-Mail Removed)NT
\ _ / Remove ANT if replying by e-mail from a newsgroup.
( )

try sprint.

On Thu, 23 Oct 2003 20:15:30 -0500, (E-Mail Removed) wrote:

>Hi.
>
>Are there any good wireless internet service providers (ISPs) that
>are national in U.S.A.? I am having problems finding any reviews on
>these ISPs to decide based on the prices, quality, support, etc. I
>looked at computers.com and didn't find any. Not all cities have
>free wireless services so it is better off to subscribe to a wireless
>ISP to use almost anywhere in U.S.A.
>
>Thank you in advance.

In alt.comp.sys.palmtop.pilot Plato <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:
> try sprint.

How is Sprint compared to other phone companies? I need reviews.


> On Thu, 23 Oct 2003 20:15:30 -0500, (E-Mail Removed) wrote:

> >Hi.
> >
> >Are there any good wireless internet service providers (ISPs) that
> >are national in U.S.A.? I am having problems finding any reviews on
> >these ISPs to decide based on the prices, quality, support, etc. I
> >looked at computers.com and didn't find any. Not all cities have
> >free wireless services so it is better off to subscribe to a wireless
> >ISP to use almost anywhere in U.S.A.
> >
> >Thank you in advance.
--
"Remember, ants are only waiting for you to die..." --unknown
/\___/\
/ /\ /\ \ Ant @ The Ant Farm: http://antfarm.ma.cx
| |o o| | E-mail: (E-Mail Removed)NT or (E-Mail Removed)NT
\ _ / Remove ANT if replying by e-mail from a newsgroup.
( )

<(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:
> Are there any reviews on the different phone companies and their wireless
> services? Also, does any cellular phones work assuming you get a special
> modem?

You'd probably receive many more responses in any of the alt.cellular.*
newsgroups, but here's what I know.

Basically, your options are CDMA/1xRTT, which gives a 58kbps connection,
and GSM/GPRS, which gives a 28kbps connection. Verizon and Sprint offer
1xRTT, while ATT, Cingular, T-Mobile, and probably a few others offer
GPRS. I think Verizon charges around $80 / month for unlimited data
while Sprint is more like $60 / month.

Verizon has by far the largest nationwide coverage. ATT is the largest GSM
provider, but I believe their coverage is still not so great. However,
coverage varies significantly from area to area, so you'll probably want to
ask about those specific cities or states you'll be visiting.

Not all phones support 1xRTT/GPRS; generally, the ones that do are more
expensive. You won't need a modem unless you want to access the internet
without having to carry a phone around, since most data phones offer a
serial port through which you can hook up your PDA or laptop. Some also use
infrared or bluetooth to communicate wirelessly.

-Mike

In alt.comp.sys.palmtops.pilot El Senor <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:
> <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:
> > Are there any reviews on the different phone companies and their wireless
> > services? Also, does any cellular phones work assuming you get a special
> > modem?

> You'd probably receive many more responses in any of the alt.cellular.*
> newsgroups, but here's what I know.

Thanks! I will ask there too!


> Basically, your options are CDMA/1xRTT, which gives a 58kbps connection,
> and GSM/GPRS, which gives a 28kbps connection. Verizon and Sprint offer
> 1xRTT, while ATT, Cingular, T-Mobile, and probably a few others offer
> GPRS. I think Verizon charges around $80 / month for unlimited data
> while Sprint is more like $60 / month.

> Verizon has by far the largest nationwide coverage. ATT is the largest GSM
> provider, but I believe their coverage is still not so great. However,
> coverage varies significantly from area to area, so you'll probably want to
> ask about those specific cities or states you'll be visiting.

> Not all phones support 1xRTT/GPRS; generally, the ones that do are more
> expensive. You won't need a modem unless you want to access the internet
> without having to carry a phone around, since most data phones offer a
> serial port through which you can hook up your PDA or laptop. Some also use
> infrared or bluetooth to communicate wirelessly.

Yeah, the basic idea was to use a cellular phone (the current Cingular one
would be better instead of a new phone) and Palm Pilot.

Thank you in advance.
--
"Remember, ants are only waiting for you to die..." --unknown
/\___/\
/ /\ /\ \ Ant @ The Ant Farm: http://antfarm.ma.cx
| |o o| | E-mail: (E-Mail Removed)NT or (E-Mail Removed)NT
\ _ / Remove ANT if replying by e-mail from a newsgroup.
( )

http://www.comparingisps.com/price.htm

"Plato" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:(E-Mail Removed)...
> try sprint.
>
> On Thu, 23 Oct 2003 20:15:30 -0500, (E-Mail Removed) wrote:
>
> >Hi.
> >
> >Are there any good wireless internet service providers (ISPs) that
> >are national in U.S.A.? I am having problems finding any reviews on
> >these ISPs to decide based on the prices, quality, support, etc. I
> >looked at computers.com and didn't find any. Not all cities have
> >free wireless services so it is better off to subscribe to a wireless
> >ISP to use almost anywhere in U.S.A.
> >
> >Thank you in advance.
>

In article <yZydnXbAZLav4AWiRVn-(E-Mail Removed)>, (E-Mail Removed)
wrote:

> Hi.
>
> Are there any good wireless internet service providers (ISPs) that
> are national in U.S.A.? I am having problems finding any reviews on
> these ISPs to decide based on the prices, quality, support, etc. I
> looked at computers.com and didn't find any. Not all cities have
> free wireless services so it is better off to subscribe to a wireless
> ISP to use almost anywhere in U.S.A.
>
> Thank you in advance.


No try palm.net.

Buy yourself a Palm VIIx or i705 and then activiate it.
--
If you do not like my "opinions" then please put me on
filter to save us both time.

In article <(E-Mail Removed) m>, Spider Eyes <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:
>In article <yZydnXbAZLav4AWiRVn-(E-Mail Removed)>, (E-Mail Removed)
>wrote:
>
>> Hi.
>>
>> Are there any good wireless internet service providers (ISPs) that
>> are national in U.S.A.? I am having problems finding any reviews on
>> these ISPs to decide based on the prices, quality, support, etc. I
>> looked at computers.com and didn't find any. Not all cities have
>> free wireless services so it is better off to subscribe to a wireless
>> ISP to use almost anywhere in U.S.A.
>>
>> Thank you in advance.
>
>
>No try palm.net.
>
>Buy yourself a Palm VIIx or i705 and then activiate it.

Several of the Cell phone companies would be worth looking into, Cingular
after the AT&T buyout is complete, Verizon are a couple that come to mind.
Let's see there is also Sprint.