Millenicom Update

[belfert]

Millenicom has a flat billing model.  The bill is $59.95.  Period.  No roaming charges (unless you go international), no taxes (they pay the taxes out of the $59.95), no over bandwidth charges (since they impose no limit).  They have used a combination of Sprint/Nextel and Verizon/Alltel backbones (Sprint

I didn't notice the part of your post about no limits the first time.  Do they have the no limits on bandwidth in writing?  I'm skeptical mainly because both Sprint and Verizon now have a 5GB per month limit.  Millenicom also has a 5GB limit on prepaid accounts.  I'll have to call Monday I guess.

With the no limits I might consider replacing my DSL with their service even though it would get used at home of the time.

I used to run an ISP and we originally offered "unlimited" usage on dialup accounts.  (Users had to be at their computer and actively using their connection or idle timeouts applied.)  We eventually had to cut back to 200 hours a month because a few percentage of folks were using 20% of all dialup time.  One person was connecting every day at around 5 am and not disconnecting until midnight or so!  I know nobody is actively using their computer that much without running programs to fool the idle timer.

[rv_safetyman]

Jack and others, I thought I would bring this to the top again and see what your experience has been over the past year.

Since this was last active, I have heard that Millenicom now has a bandwidth limit as well.  Is that the case, and is it an issue?

Jack, since you have been all over for the past month or so, I would like to know how your reception has been.  

Have others tried the service?

Jim

[HighTechRedneck]

I'm still using them too.  Coverage has been excellent.  Overall I am satisfied and I really like not having a contract.

But they have a serious problem with communicating with customers.  Things change and  you don't find out until it happens.

The things happening are out of their control - they are just a reseller, Verizon and Sprint control what is available and what is allowed (i.e. bandwidth caps).  Verizon got upset at some of the "kids" running bit torrents and heavy video usage, racking up 50-100GB+/month and put their foot down.  Initially Millenicom tried to mitigate the damage and tell people to keep it under 10GB/month.  But apparently that didn't work or Verizon didn't go for that either once their attention was aroused.  So it got capped at 5GB/month.

Millenicom apparently worked a deal with Sprint to offer a new "unlimited" plan for an extra $10/month and is not offering any new accounts at the $59.99 rate on Sprint.  So they now offer 5GB on Verizon (where Verizon has coverage) for $59.99 or Sprint with unlimited (within reason I am sure) where Sprint has coverage, for $69.99.  The are also part of the rollout of WiMax.  They are offering a pretty good plan with that in the limited markets where it is available.  But unless I am mistaken, it isn't intended for mobile access at this time.  The person signs up for coverage in a single market.  But in that area they get something like 7Mbps download speed with no bandwidth limits.

I am on Millenicom's Sprint based unlimited plan.  My connection speed varies between 400Kbps - 1.3Mbps depending on the tower and how/how many people are using it.  For example the tower I am on right now must have either one of those heavy users on it or several regular users in the evening/night.  Resulting in a speed report like this even with a strong signal:



Note, somebody is uploading heavily on the tower right now to get the upload speed down so bad.  Also, the reference to the city is just where the number it "dialed' into is at.  I am in Chattanooga, TN but the number it dialed into was in Jacksonville, FL.  I have used some the methods posted on the Internet to try different dial in locations and found no significant difference.  The bottleneck is usually the local tower.

Another benefit of Millenicom (besides no contract) is the taxes (or lack of).  Whereas the other carriers add all kinds of taxes to their plans, the rates at Millenicom include the taxes.  So on a $59.99 plan, that is exactly what you pay.

And even now, when you call customer support, you get somebody that is U.S. based and speaks English as their first language.  I'm not prejudiced about languages, but I speak one language for practical purposes and bits of a couple others.  If I need support, I want somebody that can understand me clearly and that I can understand them clearly.

Further in praise of their support personnel, when you call them and it turns out to be a problem with the backbone provider (i.e. Verizon) they don't just give you another number to call and say bye.  They conference call the other support with you and they stay on the line.

So in conclusion, I am happy with it.

[belfert]

What advantages does Millenicom bring if it is now capped at 5GB like everyone else?  Why not go directly to Verizon instead?

[HighTechRedneck]

What advantages does Millenicom bring if it is now capped at 5GB like everyone else?  Why not go directly to Verizon instead?

Verizon, Sprint, and most others = 2 year contract and rate + taxes.

Verizon or Sprint via Millencom = No contract and taxes are included in rate.

And in the event someone is has credit issues in their recent past,  a loaded credit report that they would rather not have one more contract bill entered on, or an unresolved squabble over billing with a wireless carrier, the others require a credit check and add your account to your credit report.  Millenicom doesn't.

[Dreamscape]

The last time I checked it is not available in Abilene TX. So I'm stuck with going with Verizon when the time comes.

[JackConrad]

      We have used our Millenicom air card, plugged into our CTR-500 router in Fl, AL, TN, KY, IL, IN, & MI so far on this trip.  We have had a little slower speeds in a couple areas, but never without a signal. We also have a permanent mount antenna on the roof and we added an amplifier to increase speeds a few weeks ago, but even without the amplifier, we have never been unable to get on line. We are finding more cell towers are coming online giving better reception and higher speeds.  Jack (a very satisfied Mellinicom user)

[HighTechRedneck]

The last time I checked it is not available in Abilene TX. So I'm stuck with going with Verizon when the time comes.

If you are in the Verizon coverage area, you can get it through Millenicom.  If at first they say no, look up your location on the Verizon data coverage map to make sure and then call them up and have them look closer.  That would still leave you with the 5GB cap, but you would have the other benefits of M'com.

[Ed Hackenbruch]

Well we had one for almost a year and were happy with it until we had a problem with it that they could not fix during almost a month of trying.  Our card got shut down and they could not get it to reactivate. They kept saying it was fixed but it would not work each time we tried it so i finally got tired of calling back and forth and went out and got a Verizon air card. So far so good for the last 4 months.