This is the 2008 Review. Click here for the 2009 Verizon Mobile Broadband Review.
Overall
Verizon Mobile Broadband’s strong points are its award winning reliability and customer service. With expanding coverage thanks to an Alltel acquisition, they are positioned to rival sprint in that arena as well. Cost and speed are about industry standards. With relatively no major faults, Verizon is one of the best companies for wireless broadband at this time.
*N.B. If you’re one of the few serious people considering Verizon Mobile Broadband, then take the free “Wireless Broadband Exposed” E-course. You’ll learn what most people miss out on. I poured my heart & soul into delivering only the best so you can cut through the blubber out there.
Pros: The price for Verizon Mobile Broadband plans are similar to what other carriers are providing. Also, it’s pretty handy to either get a broadband card or a laptop that has it built in to conserve on battery life.
Cons: A 5GB cap may be restrictive for some users. Furthermore, Verizon Mobile Broadband terms of service are restrictive for bandwidth intensive uses (i.e. gaming, BitTorrent, P2P).
Pros: The Verizon Mobile Broadband network is fully EVDO Revision A. That’s faster speeds ranging from 600 Kbps – 1.4 Mbps downloading and 500 Kbps – 800 Kbps uploading. That kind of speed makes VoIP calls possible.
Cons: In areas where mobile broadband isn’t available you’ll be on the much slower 1xRTT NationalAccess. That’s dialup speed. Who wants to pay $60 a month for dialup?
One final downside is that Verizon may limit your speed below 3G standards if you go over a 5GB usage cap in addition to overage charges.
Coverage
Pros: Good coverage in urban areas. If you connect in a mobile broadband network area, you’re getting the highest speed. Now that they are merging with Alltel, that means they are in more places. Verizon Wireless Mobile Broadband now covers 80% of the U.S. population.
Cons: Coverage maps can give you an estimate at best of where coverage is.
Pros: Verizon Mobile Broadband is run on “America’s Most Reliable Network“. They test their network and other carriers to make sure they can say that. So far, it’s held true. Plans to merge with Alltel may only enhance this.
Cons: Besides the regular plights of any cell phone company, there are not major cons here.
Pros: Verizon Customer Service is an industry leader. They have the highest customer satisfaction rating for data services (with large and small businesses). They rank right up there with Alltel for the top customer service. They hold the #1 spot.
Cons: None really. If I had to nitpick, it’d be a rogue rep or two that could ruin your day if you bump into them. After all, they hide in the call centers oh so well.
Check out individual Verizon aircards here or see the aircard battle royale.
To jump to how Verizon Wireless Broadband compares to other providers, check out the carrier comparison. If you already know Verizon is for you, here’s the Top 4 places I recommend to get an Aircard. Read on for the full review…
Need more info? Check out the rest of the mobile broadband reviews.