NextG data speed

[miky]

Phone on NextG with a data plan.

Here are the deals (prices per month):
My ADSL2+ costs me $39.95 for 12Gb (6GB peak and 6GB after midnight). I usually use around 3GB.
I can get an iPhone4 with 6GB and $400 of calls (http://apcmag.com/Content.aspx?id=6080) for $78.50

Question: Do I then really need my ADSL2+ at $39.95?
Presumably I can connect my computer to the internet via the phone... Bluetooth?

If I dump myADSL2+
iPhone4 with 6GB = $78.50 - 39.95 = $38.55
For $38.55 that's less than what ADSL2+ costs me and I get an iPhone4 with $400 worth of calls and 6GB of data.

Using one of those check your speed sites I get:
Your line speed is 3.56 Mbps
Your download speed is 445 KB/s
Actually, I checked this with several sites and all gave around 3.6Mbps.

If you got this far :)
This is the big question:
Does anyone run a computer via a phone on NextG?
If so, what data speed do you get?

All comments are welcome.

If I can get close to 3.6Mbps then I could dump the copper connection?

Mike

[warren9981]

If you want to connect to the internet using your iPhone you will have to pay an additional fee usually. This connection is called "Tethering". With Optus I think it costs an additional $10.00 per month.

[Captain_Rightfoot]

If you want to connect to the internet using your iPhone you will have to pay an additional fee usually. This connection is called "Tethering". With Optus I think it costs an additional $10.00 per month.

Hmmm... I'm with Telstra and they don't charge me for tethering.

While away recently I used the tethering function to provide our internet. It wasn't cable speed, but it was very adequate. No hassle to set up on a mac.

[abaddonxi]

Linked article says tethering is okay.



Nope, no way can I make this work for me. :twisted::twisted:

Even with the premium for out of metro adsl2+ it'd still cost too much.

Damn.

[Tombie]

Nowhere near as fast...

And works the phone (any phone) harder and hotter... Will eventually reduce life of unit.

[mikehzz]

I'm with vodafone and no extra for tethering. I have iPad on telstra and speed is ok but I wouldn't like either to be my main connection. Slower and flakier. Also remember that they count the data in both directions on 3G and only downloads on copper. Tethering is not that reliable but better than no connection at all in my opinion. Mike

[richard4u2]

as i move around a lot and most of my connections are out of town away from a tower the speeds vary from 37 kbs to 180 kbs :( thats nextg

[abaddonxi]

<snip>
All comments are welcome.

<snip>

Oh, and :twisted: to you.

I spent half the night trying to work out if it was doable.:D

[simonmelb]

Hi Mike,

I happen to work for Telstra in the wireless group so here's my recommendation:

Yes, the iPhone 4 device is capable of being used as a tethered modem and deliver download throughput in excess of 3.6 Mbps. The average throughput for file transfers in a test environment is slighlty less than this in a test lab. Peak transfer speeds are well above 3.6 Mpbs.

Out in the real world of course actual transfer speeds depend on your distance from surrounding base stations and the number of other users sharing those base stations using wireless data at the time.

So before you ditch your ADSL and commite to an iPhone, see if you can get a friend to test the actual NextG data speeds in the areas where you want to use the iPhone (at home, down the coffee shop, work etc) during a few different times of the day. This doesn't neccessarily have to be with an iPhone (but would be better). Any recent NextG device connected to a laptop doing a file download will give you a very good indication on how it will perform. For the test, do a file transfer from a known fast site which you normally use on your ADSL service, or used Speedtest.net (there's also an iPhone app of the same).

Hope this helps.

[Rosco]

.....................


G'day Simon ... or anyone else in the know ;)

Along simillar lines, but slightly different tack.

I want to hook up our laptop to the net via Next G. But only for occasional use when out and about. No need for the phone bit, merely an internet connection. What's my best option? Occasional use then re-charge when required seems to be the way to go, but it's bloody expensive.

Any alternatives ??

[PhilipA]

I found the cheapest way is to have a cheap Telstra Next G phone, in my case a ZTE. This now costs $15 per month out of contract including $15 of calls.
Originally AFAIR it cost $20 per month and zero up front, and included a wired in car kit.
When I want to travel I call Telstra (NB not Bigpond) and buy a data pack for $79 for 6gigs now, used to be less gigs. On the day I arrive home I cancel the pack. The packs are monthly and are prorated so for say 10 days you are charged half and get half the gigs. The only hassle is I use webmail to ensure friends and relatives are not sending bulk size emails.
I don't know ifthe economics have changed since then but I have found it great.
Regards Philip A
PS now it is 6 gigs I think that I could stop doing the webmail bit , but it used to be only 2 gigs AFAIR.

[waynep]

We got a Bigpond Next G Express card modem last year when we went away for 3 months. We disconnected the home ADSL intending to go ADSL2 when we got back.

But since we got back we have stuck with the NextG for out sole home internet access ( only the two of us ). We don't need WiFi because we can use the laptop in any room, or anywhere really.

I am not sure if the direct Express card slot is any faster than a connected phone via USB. The advantage of the Express card is that an external antenna can be connected to it, but only certain laptops have the Express card slot. ( we have a Dell )

For what we need it is fine - runs ABC IView full screen video fine..

Not cheap, but we're not paying for any other internet service.

[Lotz-A-Landies]

I'm with Vodafone for my phone, but have a Telstra pre-pay SIM and Telstra NextG modem (orange Maxxon modem) which I use for remote areas (which for Vodafone, means anything more than 5 klicks off any Highway or West of Dubbo). Sometimes I tether the phone and use the Telstra SIM. However I am informed that Telstra throttle the modem speeds for pre-pay.

Does anyone know if this is true?

[simonmelb]

However I am informed that Telstra throttle the modem speeds for pre-pay.

Does anyone know if this is true?

I just checked with the Product Manager here at Telstra. No this is not true - there is no throttling for Pre-Paid wireless broadband.

Speed is a function of the device type you are using, distance from the surrounding NextG base stations and other users sharing these base stations.

Telstra currently sells 2 speeds of Pre-paid wireless brodband modems, 3.6Mbps and 7.2Mbps, priced form $79. There are faster ones available on postpaid I belive - up to 21Mpbs (which I have :) )

As PhilipA has correctly pointed out the option of using your NextG phone as a tethered modem with a data pack is probably the cheapest option as you're only paying for one device, and the data reates are slightly cheaper. On PrePaid wireless broadband $80 gets you 4GB and expires in 30 days, compared to the $79 for 6GB postpaid data pack.

Before you buy a NextG phone for such use be sure to check it's data speed (some are 3.6Mbps, some are 7.2 Mbps) and that it's software supports your laptop's OS.

[richard4u2]

with a data pack you will also need an internet account ??

[simonmelb]

with a data pack you will also need an internet account ??

No - just a postpaid NextG mobile phone on a plan of your choice, like the one PhilipA mentions.

When we go bush next year, thats what I plan to do, and use Gmail as my main contact method.

[tony66_au]

I live in an area without ADSL and Ive been using the next g system for a while and Ive made a few observations.

I use 2 devices, the original unit is a Telstra T6 phone with Join me software.

The second device is one of the white prepaid internet USB sticks.

I use both of these devices with my eMac and my Windows 7 notebook.

The speed depends on a few things, reception, weather conditions and cell congestion.

I also have experience with the home base units.

The devices get hot, real hot.

As they are USB it depends on the USB connection and a direct connection to the machine is important.

Running the stick or phone via a USB hub will limit the speed.

USB 1.1 allowed a maximum transfer rate of 12Mbits/second. It is now obsolete, but both of its speeds (1.5Mbps & 12Mbps) are being adopted into USB 2.0, and they are now called Original USB officially. Though some manufacturers label their products Full-Speed USB.
Note that this seems a bit deceptive as it's easy to mistake Full-Speed for Hi-Speed.
Be aware that Full Speed USB is only 12Mbits/second where Hi-Speed USB mode is capable of a much faster 480Mbits/second.

In theory this is fast but there will often be hardware restrictions at the board level especially if you use an external hard drive.

Now for the Next G system's, I found out that apart from weather knocking the speed around a bit the actual Phone tower or Cell will also mess about with your speed depending on a few things including cell congestion and the amount of time you have been online and it manifests itself as low speed or hangups where the internet just stops although the hardware seems to be working fine.
This necessitates a reboot of the phone or the ejecting of the USB device and then reconnecting.

It also seems that buying a browse pack for your phone is cheaper than it is to buy a browse pack for your internet stick so obviously telstra has a sinister plan for those of you not toeing the party line.............

it works and for me beats the hell out of dialup but if I had a choice between copper line ADSL and wireless?

Id go copper every time.

[PhilipA]

Yes , I have an Optusnet ADSL2 and it finds my email automatically even via telstra so no need for gmail or changing addresses.
Regards Philip A
re above.
I found a couple of places where the Next G failed completely. The locals are not fazed as they accept it will be out a couple of days until Telstra fixes it. It happened to me in Cloncurry completely and in Alice Springs where it just would not work at any speed, and I suspect someone/government/business was uploading lots of data.
But a bit inconvenient if you have been in the boonies for several days with no contact.
REgards ditto

[Lotz-A-Landies]

I just checked with the Product Manager here at Telstra. No this is not true - there is no throttling for Pre-Paid wireless broadband.

Speed is a function of the device type you are using, distance from the surrounding NextG base stations and other users sharing these base stations.
<snip>Thanks Simon

It was just something the salesgeek in the Telstra shop mentioned. He suggested that the Maxon NextG modem (originally part of a post-pay business package we weren't using) was faster than the available pre-pay modems. I didn't know whether it was throttling or hardware related.

Although the Maxon modem it was a nightmare to reconfigure to the pre-pay, which only took about 7 (lack of) support staff and technicians over 3 days and a battle between Telstra Post-pay, BigPond and Telstra Pre-pay, before the last one sorted it in about 30 seconds.