- Joined
- Dec 7, 2012
- Messages
- 3,522
Moving to a new apartment soon, FiOS doesn’t cover the new location. While 100/100 internet has been fun and the cost hasn’t been horrible at $45/month, a new ISP was needed. Personally, I am not too much a fan of the new Spectrum pricing. I thought the TWC service levels were decent, but those are no longer for new customers. I also have fond memories of TWC having lackluster performance when coming used in a congested area… especially an apartment complex where there are multiple tenants.
During a combination of searching the web, paying bills and checking out my AT&T plan, I came across the AT&T Home Base. It is a device made by ZTE, a Z700A that is a 4G LTE hotspot with Wi-Fi, Ethernet and two RJ-11 phone jacks. Since I have AT&T Unlimited Plus, I was able to add this device to my plan under a 2-year contact (device was no charge) for $20 per month, the same price as an additional line. It has voice service with unlimited minutes and unlimited data. Here is how the data works… many folks think it works a few different ways – this is straight from the fine print with easier jargon put in from yours truly. Mobile hotspots, the AT&T Home Base and Connected Car (OBDII powered hotspots) can be added to an AT&T Unlimited Plus plan and have truly unlimited data. Once the line with aforementioned device reaches 22GB of data used per billing cycle, the device may be de-prioritized if being used in an area when and where there is network congestion. Most folks when de-prioritized have still received 8 down and 4 up. Which IMO still isn’t bad. A lot of folks haven’t ever noticed it whether their online services are working fine or a SpeedTest still showed excellent speeds.
TL;DR – after 22GB if there’s a lot of people on the towers using data, you might be slowed down.
AT&T SmartPhones on Unlimited Plus also have the same stipulation, 22GB then de-prioritization. However, if you’re using Mobile Hotspot on an AT&T SmartPhone on Unlimited Plus, you receive 10GB of Hotspot data then are throttled to something unusable… I believe 128Kbps.
This device is working well for us! In my current apartment, where the network equipment is placed, the device is only getting 2 bars of 4G LTE service. I’ve included some SpeedTest screenshots of the 2 bar results. Speeds are good. I tried the device in a full signal area and was getting a 39ms ping response time and 28 down 22 up. Really can’t complain for $20 additional a month. My AT&T bill is about $360 a month – I’ve got myself, my GF, Mom, Dad, my two brothers, my brother’s tablet and now this Home Base. Comes out to be relatively cost effective. I take care of the bill for my parents, they’ve done a lot for me.
I then have this connected directly to my Apple AirPort through ethernet.
During a combination of searching the web, paying bills and checking out my AT&T plan, I came across the AT&T Home Base. It is a device made by ZTE, a Z700A that is a 4G LTE hotspot with Wi-Fi, Ethernet and two RJ-11 phone jacks. Since I have AT&T Unlimited Plus, I was able to add this device to my plan under a 2-year contact (device was no charge) for $20 per month, the same price as an additional line. It has voice service with unlimited minutes and unlimited data. Here is how the data works… many folks think it works a few different ways – this is straight from the fine print with easier jargon put in from yours truly. Mobile hotspots, the AT&T Home Base and Connected Car (OBDII powered hotspots) can be added to an AT&T Unlimited Plus plan and have truly unlimited data. Once the line with aforementioned device reaches 22GB of data used per billing cycle, the device may be de-prioritized if being used in an area when and where there is network congestion. Most folks when de-prioritized have still received 8 down and 4 up. Which IMO still isn’t bad. A lot of folks haven’t ever noticed it whether their online services are working fine or a SpeedTest still showed excellent speeds.
TL;DR – after 22GB if there’s a lot of people on the towers using data, you might be slowed down.
AT&T SmartPhones on Unlimited Plus also have the same stipulation, 22GB then de-prioritization. However, if you’re using Mobile Hotspot on an AT&T SmartPhone on Unlimited Plus, you receive 10GB of Hotspot data then are throttled to something unusable… I believe 128Kbps.
This device is working well for us! In my current apartment, where the network equipment is placed, the device is only getting 2 bars of 4G LTE service. I’ve included some SpeedTest screenshots of the 2 bar results. Speeds are good. I tried the device in a full signal area and was getting a 39ms ping response time and 28 down 22 up. Really can’t complain for $20 additional a month. My AT&T bill is about $360 a month – I’ve got myself, my GF, Mom, Dad, my two brothers, my brother’s tablet and now this Home Base. Comes out to be relatively cost effective. I take care of the bill for my parents, they’ve done a lot for me.
I then have this connected directly to my Apple AirPort through ethernet.