Cingular's 3G network is a sham!
Written: May 26 '07 (Updated May 26 '07)
|
Product Rating:
|
|
| Local Coverage: |
 |
|
| Plan Flexibility: |
 |
|
| Customer Service: |
 |
|
|
Pros: slightly better than the older EDGE network
Cons: Cingular doesn't let its customers use the 3G HSDPA network to anywhere near its potential.
The Bottom Line: Don't sign up for Cingular if your primary reason is to use their 3G HSDPA network.
|
|
|
| multiverse's Full Review: Cingular Mobile Phone Service in San Francisco/San... |
The mobile phone data and voice technology used by Cingular (AT&T) is also known as HSDPA or 3G GSM. This so-called third-generation of the GSM global network is fast in theory, but Cingular doesn't let its customers use it to anywhere near its potential.
Cingular is forthcoming about how fast their new broadband data plans are. They offer speeds which approach that of low-grade DSL or cable internet service. They sell phones that claim to display streaming video, play MP3s, and all kinds of other cool internet techy gadgets. They say you can even share the internet connection to your laptop! And they offer plans with so-called "unlimited data". None of this is really true.
I am here to tell you it is a sham! All of their wireless broadband plans are useless! Few people find out about how useless their internet service really is until after getting locked into their minimum 2-year contract. I will summarize the shortcomings here:
* You cannot use any peer-to-peer file sharing progams or networks. That means no Napster, BearShare, Limewire, or anything similar. You are prohibited from accessing any of the underlying networks these types of programs use, like eDonkey or Gnutella.
* You cannot freely share or download music in MP3, WMA, or WAV format.
* You cannot upload or watch video on YouTube. You cannot watch TV of any kind. Sorry SlingBox.
* You cannot play online games. (No Unreal Tournament, Rainbow Six, Quake, or Warcraft. You couldn't play these very well even if they let you, because although Cingular's broadband speed is moderate, the latency is terrible.)
* You cannot upload your photo albums to Kodak EasyShare, the best photo sharing website on the internet.
* No bit torrents. You cannot download movies from the internet, or any large files for that matter.
* You cannot use Cingular's wireless broadband service for voice-over-internet (VOIP). You cannot use Skype over Cingular's network.
All of the above functionality could theoretically work over Cingular's HSDPA network, but they artificially prohibit their customers from using any of it. Maybe they're just selfish.
The most ridiculous imposition by Cingular on its customers is this: if you want to connect your laptop to your PDA phone for internet sharing, you cannot do so without paying Cingular an extra monthly fee. Even if you buy the wires yourself, or even if you use a wireless connection like BlueTooth, you must pay above and beyond what you already pay for their so-called "unlimited data" plan. The extra money still doesn't let you do anything fun on the internet.
I suggest you read the very fine print on Cingular's website to see how their sales pitches misrepresent their actual service. Go to the page below and click on "Plan Terms". It's hidden way down at the bottom, and they didn't even bother to format the text. I guess they don't want anyone to read it:
http://www.cingular.com/cell-phone-service//cell-phone-plans/data-connect-plans.jsp
I have not checked similar limitations for the EV-DO CDMA 2000 network used by some other carriers, so read the fine print on the Verizon Wireless and Sprint websites, too.
Recommended:
No
Amount Paid (US$): 79
|
|
|
|
Epinions.com ID:
multiverse
|
|
Reviews written: 3
Trusted by: 0 members
|
|
|
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.