[PLUG] Mobile broadband experiences?

Derek Loree drl at drloree.com
Thu Oct 8 04:19:37 UTC 2009


On Wed, 2009-10-07 at 15:16 -0700, Paul Heinlein wrote:
> Has anyone in PLUGland purchased and used a mobile broadband account? 
> I'm interested to know your experience with the various vendors and 
> hardware; Linux and Mac support stories are very welcome. I'm also 
> interested to know what your experience has been outside the Portland 
> area, in other metro areas across the country.
> 
I used to have a Verizon broadband card through my work.  After
initializing the card in windows, it worked just fine from my Debian
install (dual boot laptop).  The setup is just like a modem, using some
sort of dialer software.  Google knows the number, username and
password.

The only problem I had was with HP printer software in windows (not the
drivers themselves, but the support software) and an OpenVPN connection
using the Verizon connection software.  Their router would detect some
funky network activity and shut down my connection.  I would boot to
Linux and find that everything would work just fine.

The only place I took the card was to Packwood WA for autocross racing.
Not exactly a booming metropolis, but I did get a signal and was able to
make a connection from several different locations around Packwood.
There wasn't a lot of speed in those connections, but they were stable.
My Verizon phone works in roaming mode in this area, but there were no
extra charges on the broadband card.  As far as I know, Verizon is the
only service in the area, fellow racers often ask to use my phone.  An
Internet connection at the track was a novelty.

Sadly it was a victim of the economy. 

-- 
Derek Loree <drl at drloree.com>




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