At 21 Feb 2008 01:06:36 +0000 Steve Sobol wrote:

> > They have a 2G data network.
>
> Exactly. In other words, they don't have a data network. ;)
>
> (I don't consider GPRS to be up to par when ATTWS is already EDGE-ified
> over most of its network and is moving to HDSPA, and when Verizon and
> Sprint offer DSL speeds.)

T-Mo is pretty much "EDGE-ified" across their (native) network as well, but
occasionally it falls down when roaming or in very small markets. (I was
up in the Colorado mountains off route 40 last weekend roaming on "Union
Telephone" which didn't seem to offer either GPRS or EDGE. If the hotel
didn't have free WiFi, I'd probably have had to try CSD as a last resort!)
Supposedly T-Mo's 3G will be up this summer if the Feds ever vacate the
1700 MHz band.

As to the usefulness of EDGE, it depends what you're after, I guess. Is it
sufficient for PC-card use? No, except as a last resort, but for mobile e-
mail and on-phone browser lookups/Google Maps/Windows Live Navigation-type
stuff it's fine, and the price ($6/month) is certainly right.

> Sprint seems to be the best bet for data.

For SERO (free), on-phone ($15) and PC card use ($49 SERO), I'll agree.
For doing a WAP-page 411 lookup on m.411.com? Hell, CSD used to pull that
kind of stuff off fine at 9600-14.4k! (And still can!...)

I've been playing with "1G" again mostly for laughs and nostalgia. PagePlus,
the Verizon MVNO, has free unlimited 14.4kbps Verizon QNC data right now,
probably via a billing system oversight. It's hard to recall these days,
but there was a time when 14.4 was top-of-the-line! I've got an old
Verizon WinMo smartphone I picked up cheap on eBay hooked to PagePlus.
It's my backup phone for when I (very rarely) find myself outside T-Mo's
coverage area. Even with it's lousy 14.4k connection, it automatically
keeps contacts and calendar info synched over-the-air with my "real" T-Mo
Windows Mobile phone via Exchange, and it pulls my IMAP e-mail down hourly.
(The Exchange sync alone is worth it's weight in gold- prior to Page Plus,
I used to use Beyond Wireless TDMA on Cingular as my rural backup, but
still had to lug the T-Mo PDA phone around for access to my
contacts/calendar info that wouldn't sync to an ancient Nokia 5160!)