Need advice on using 4g LTE for home internet service.

[wk217]

Please read the entire post before responding.

1) I currently have 2 separate lines w/ unlimited data. One is a Razr, the other is a Razr Maxx. I carry the Razr Maxx with me, I have the Razr at home which I just reactivated from being on vacation suspension)
2) I only have 6mbps DSL available at my home. I do not have access to cable, fiber, etc.
3) I have excellent LTE coverage. I can/have averaged 20mbps downloads and 10+mbps uploads.
4) Currently, my DSL costs me $45/mo + taxes.
5) I recently bought a Sapido RB-1733 router, and have used it the last 4 days with the Razr (rooted) using the mobile hotspot modification.
6) I only have 1/2 of my computers at home connected via the Sapido RB-1733 router as a test. The rest are still on DSL. In the last 4 days, there has been > 10gigs of usage.
7) I am not comfortable continuing as is, as it will likely mean I'll have > 100gb usage in a month.
8) I am now planning on buying a Verizon LTE USB modem (probably the LG one), and seeing if I can get it to work on my Sapido router.

Questions/requests for comments:
1) Has anyone used the LG VL600 USB modem on a Sapido router? Would you guys suggest perhaps a mifi instead?
2) I have read that you CAN and it is within the Terms Of Service to remove sim card from one LTE device and put it into another, AND, that putting a sim card from my Razr which currently has unlimited data into a USB LTE Modem is within the TOS, and will not incurr any additional monthly usage charges (whereas doing it the otherway around would cause you to perhaps be moved into a voice plan?)

Constructive comments only please. Thanks!

 

[Sydman]

Just wanted to say welcome to the forum.

I don't really have an answer for you because I have not used that modem, but I can tell you that if you get one of those modems you might run into trouble.

By activating that modem on your account I would imagine they are going to consider that a change of service and lump you into one of the new "Share" everything plans. Same thing for MIFI I would imagine. Might check with Verizon first to make sure, but yeah if you start using that much data I am sure it will raise a flag.

Best case is they throttle you back, worst case they realize what you are doing and charge you and then change your plan anyway. Good luck with whatever you choose, sorry I could not be more helpful. I am sure someone else who has experience with those will chime in.

 

[heathe1]

Go ahead

I know this is a little old, but just in case you hadn't found the answer, moving your Verizon Wireless SIM card from one 4G LTE capable device to another DOES NOT cause a plan change. Regardless. If you put a SIM from an internet card with a 5GB cap into a phone and start making calls, they will not change your plan, instead, they will charge you per minute, which would get VERY expensive, VERY quickly. Any data used would count against that cap. If you move your SIM card from a phone into any sort of internet device, weather it be a tablet, mobile hotspot (MiFi), USB card, etc, they will not change your plan, and they will honor the truly unlimited data plan, or 2,5,10+GB plan associated with that SIM card.

Verizon definitely isn't out to give us this option, but rather a restriction placed on them when they purchased the C Block 700 MHz band. If it were up to them, they'd be just like AT&T and set their system to auto change your plan when you moved your SIM card.

Don't jump on me for what I'm about to say: I ALWAYS use AT LEAST 50 GB per month. The network can handle it. I live in a rural area in Arkansas, there aren't a lot of people around, and most certainly, not many people that have an LTE capable device. Besides myself and my family, I only know of one other person that has Verizon in this area. Sprint and AT&T are more popular here. And I am a night owl. Most of my data usage is streaming video after 11 p.m. Since they turned on LTE a few months ago, I've consistently used well over 100 GB each month. There has never been an overage charge, and no noticable network management.

I live in an underserved area. If I was in town, I could get DSL or cable internet, with some really nice speeds for a small town, but my options are: mobile broadband, or pay AT&T to run a phone line to my house, pay a monthly bill on a phone line that I would never use besides dialing up...and be stuck in the stone ages with internet that takes 2 weeks to load a text document.

I have the Alltel Smartchoice Smartphone plan w/ 5 lines. My phone, my feller's, my parents, and an extra line, whose SIM card resides in a Novatel 551L, that is in my Cradlepoint router. I had bad luck with the LG card, internet would stop randomly. Some days it was fine, sometimes for 2 or 3 days, then some days, you did good to get 10 minutes use out of it before having to power cycle router multiple times to restore connection. Several router and modem firmware updates later, issues aren't as bad, but still not great. And it didn't report that it was disconnected. The router still thought it was online, the light on the modem was still green and blinking. Since switching to the Novatel, months ago, I haven't had to reboot the router. *knock on wood*

All mobile carriers CAN offer unlimited data. With reasonable network management, throttling only people who use inordinate amounts of data during peak times, traffic shaping, building more towers at lower power to create smaller cells, femto, pico, and micro cells. But why would they do that when they can just penalize you for using it, thus making more money, and not building out their network to support the load of customers, spending less money.