Thread: "Hot Spot" versus DSL ?

So I got my first cell phone .... a motorola droid 'smart' phone and I love it. Now I'm thinking of dumping my land line and wondering if I should let the DSL go too and get a 'hot spot' to access my tower and laptop at home ? Anyone have the hot spot only ? How does it compare to DSL ?

Hot spot?

Does that have something to do with razor burn?

The "hotspot" you refer to is usually used for internet in places such as coffee shops, resturants and airports. That is just a few.

I believe what you are discussing is about internet that is used at home but has the ability to become mobile. If that's true than you would have Verizon as your Internet Service Provider (ISP) but you would have a USB device for laptops that allows you to connect on a 3G or 4G network for internet without the hassle of looking for a "hotspot". Some have the ability to recognize that you are at home and will jump on the Wi-Fi setup at the house to avoid 4G speeds and possible charges. However, Verizon has a very nice fiber optic internet service for newer subdivisions / apartment complexes with stellar speeds. The home internet speeds from DSL, cable or fiber will always be faster than 3G or 4G networks. Also, when using "hotspots" there is usually a large amount of traffic on there from other users thus the bandwidth is reduced slowing everyone down.

That's what it sounds like you are trying to do but if you can be more specific or link to the generic plan as a reference it would be easier to help.

In general there are companies that are doing similar things you might be referring to. Such as, T-Mobile has a home setup that allows users to chat on a mobile device but when they are closer to home it jumps to the VoIP systems to avoid cell tower congestion and possible charges. Other companies in TV are trying the same such as you can watch TV on your mobile device but when you are in range of your home you can simply "slide" the video to the TV and avoid 4G congestion and possible charges. Other companies try the same with satellite or 4G internet on home Wi-Fi. When you are using the internet at home and leave the range of your Wi-Fi the satellite or 4G networks take over with little to no loss of internet service.

I think Jimmy's talking about using his DROID as a wifi hotspot, which is an option Verizon has. It connects to their network and broadcasts a signal.

The biggest factor would be if you have a good 4G signal where you would primarily use it.
Contrary to ads, 4G is fast, but not as fast as you can get via DSL, though for most things I doubt you'd notice a substantial difference.
3G will get you by, but it's slow by most people's standards. I connect on Verizon 3G at home, primarily because the only other option is dial up. Even 3G is waaay faster than dial up.

In summary, look into it if it's a substantial cost savings, you have 4G where you live, and you can get by on less than 5 gigs of data per month.

I told you you'll ditch the landline once you have cellular phone. And yeah, as far as the internet access goes it depends on what you're using your internet for i.e. how much bandwidth and total data per month you're using, as your verizon 'hot spot' will come with limits on both that are lower than the limits on the DSL you're using.
You can always try it and see what happens.

Thanks for the replies. I guess for now I'm going to keep the DSL. I had thought about getting a tablet with a hot spot built in and running my tower with that at home. If it isn't equal to the DSL I'd as soon stay with what I have. The landline is going to be history shortly. Verizon is my cell phone provider so the hot spot would have been through them along with one of their data plans. Bellsouth has a new thing called Uverse in which the data is provided with fiber optic and there is some sort of plan I can get that will cut my bill for DSL in half. I'm going to go with that. Thanks again for the information.

Jimmy , look for yesterday USA program it's a free program that streams music and radio dramas from back in the day .


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I am here: http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=31.182658,121.542284

Originally Posted by JimmyHAD

Thanks for the replies. I guess for now I'm going to keep the DSL. I had thought about getting a tablet with a hot spot built in and running my tower with that at home. If it isn't equal to the DSL I'd as soon stay with what I have. The landline is going to be history shortly. Verizon is my cell phone provider so the hot spot would have been through them along with one of their data plans. Bellsouth has a new thing called Uverse in which the data is provided with fiber optic and there is some sort of plan I can get that will cut my bill for DSL in half. I'm going to go with that. Thanks again for the information.

If you have ADSL now then most of the Uverse tiers should be significantly faster. You will be dealing with AT&T/BellSouth, but it sounds like you might already have them for your current connection anyway.

A Verizon 4G (LTE) hotspot would probably be a bit faster than ADSL as well provided you have LTE service, but make sure you check the data caps with Verizon; I think they're 2GB or 5GB/mo. for residential. If your phone is 3G and doesn't support LTE, or if you just don't have LTE service in your area, then I wouldn't use it to replace your current connection.

IIRC Verizon also tacks on a fee to activate the hotspot feature on your phone, although there are people working on apps that reportedly let you use hotspot and USB tether without needing to pay your carrier extra.

Originally Posted by commiecat

A Verizon 4G (LTE) hotspot would probably be a bit faster than ADSL as well provided you have LTE service, but make sure you check the data caps with Verizon; I think they're 2GB or 5GB/mo. for residential. If your phone is 3G and doesn't support LTE, or if you just don't have LTE service in your area, then I wouldn't use it to replace your current connection.

I

I've had AT&T/BellSouth for years now. No complaints save the price. I went with Verizon when I bought the Razr 4GLTE. I love the device. My first cell phone and I took to it like a duck to water.

OTOH, it is not without problems. Primarily the most hyped feature, the 4GLTE. When trying to go on line I would frequently get a pop-up telling me I have 'no data connection.' The phone is supposed to receive the 4G signal , in a 4G area, and when it cannot it is supposed to revert to 3G while continuing to seek 4G. I live and work in 4G covered areas BTW. So that is what it is supposed to do but it doesn't work that well IME.

Talking to the salesman who sold the phone to me at the Verizon store, and to tech support on the phone, all I got was reassurance that the phone was not defective and a song and dance. I had to go onto Motorola Razr forum and do a word search for "connection" to find out the truth. If you leave the phone in 4G connectivity is intermittent. If you want to be "on" all of the time you have to go into settings and change the device to 3G. Sort of defeats the purpose of paying the high $ for the device. Add to that, it doesn't always transition to 3G when it is supposed to, so you cannot get on, or if you are on, you get kicked off until it gets back to connectivity. Also the battery runs down because the device is continually seeking 4G. At least that is what I've read on the Razr forum. So far battery life has been good for me , but I'm not using it for internet access very much.

Verizon, like Microsoft and others, apparently has the end user pay the $ and do the R&D. They've put this 4GLTE out before it is 'ready for prime time.' Annoying but that's life in the big city. Thanks for the input BTW. I've decided to go with the AT&T U-Verse DSL and forget about the hot spot. I expect Verizon will get their 4G act together eventually. In the meanwhile, I'm happy with the device, so it can only get better.