Rural internet via wireless carrier. Sprint?

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Right now, Dad has Verizon for his wireless internet. He's off contract with them, so he can move away from them. I think his Verizon hotspot device got snapped by lightning last week. I'm not upset, as it was an insufferable piece of rubbish. He bought it, so I had to live with it.

Given if this was 2 years ago, I would only go back to Verizon. However, it seems to me that carriers such as Sprint are finally emerging, and are becoming serious players.

He's 3 miles outside of a city of 130,000 population... and Sprint claims that they can deliver 4G without a problem. Sprint is $30 for 10GB/month with full carryover on the data. He's not a heavy user, so 10GB/mo should be more than sufficient. Right now, he gets 4GB from Verizon for $50. He won't travel with the hotspot either. If it works good at his house, it's good.

They have a new hotspot called the Coolpad Surf, which could also use the new 600MHz band if that would become available in the area. The device would be free if you hang around for 24 months, or a $144 to buy it.

Spring will give 30 days to try it out, and will take it back within the 30 days. There's a Sprint store less than 5 miles away, so it wouldn't even have to be shipped back.

Are there other players/possibilities that I'm overlooking? 10G for $30/month, a free* device, overnight shipping, and a 30 day try out is awful tempting.
 
We live in a rural area and have a very poor dsl service. It stays up as much as it stays down. When it is working, it is slow. I have put in our 5th work order in a years time. I let them know that this is their last chance to get things right. In the meantime, I have been checking around. I called an antenna/Dish installation company. He advised me to check out GotW3. GotW3 is similar to having a WiFi hotshot like Verizon. You buy the equipment and it's a flat monthly fee with NO contract. I am thinking very seriously about going to their platform. Here's the link. https://gotw3.com/
 
Since he's not streaming Netflix or other data consumers I'd say what you're proposing is much better than what he had. It's either going to work or not. If it does he's saved some money. This should bridge him until 5G becomes available, if it ever does, at his location.
 
My parents live just outside of town in a rural area that has no other options than dial-up, satellite, or cellular. Back in the 3G days they used to have an unlimited Version hotspot that they used for their internet, then Verizon did away with the unlimited plans on 4G when they wanted to upgrade. Moved them over to my Sprint account that has unlimited data and setup a tethering program on their phones so they can plug them into their laptops and get internet. Works great since Sprint has good coverage in the area we live in, they get up to 50 Mb connections out there these days. I had to do this to get around the extra costs per month Sprint wanted for tethering but in your case it sounds like you can just get the hotspot and use it.

As long as Sprint has good service in your area it should work. Maybe also check out Tmobile, they seem to have reasonable costs for stuff like this as well. I looked into Tmobile at one point but their service isn't very good where I live so they aren't much of an option. Verizon and ATT are way to expensive for hotspots or tethering that I've found, even now that they have their "unlimited" plans back again.
 
I have a WISP (wireless service provider) in my rural location.
It doesn't use a cell tower like a hot spot does... which is good, because the nearest cell tower is about 20 miles away!

The "radio" (it's what the company calls it, not me) is mounted on a rural water storage tower about 6 miles away.
I have a small (12"-13" ish) dish mounted about 30 feet up on a Rohn 20G tower to hit that "radio" line-of-sight.

A LAN cable supplies power up the tower to that dish, and signal down to the Modem (which is then plugged into my wireless WiFi router)

It works great - range is supposed to be about 30 miles? according to their website, which has graphic maps online that show signal coverage (valleys aren't so lucky)
 
I helped manage a local WISP for a while. We used all Ubiquiti hardware. See if there's anything like that around you - it should be fairly inexpensive and while the peak speeds might not be the greatest it beats using a 4g lte hotspot and getting throttled after you use 10gb or 20gb of data even with "unlimited" plans
 
Get an ATT iPad plan, $35/mo, unlimited deprioritized data, and move the SIM to a hotspot. You can buy a used hotspot for about $60, or a latest tech Netgear Nighthawk for <$100 used. The Nighthawk has an ethernet port so you can attached it to any wireless access point that you [censored].
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted by mrsilv04
Sprint is $30 for 10GB/month with full carryover on the data. He's not a heavy user, so 10GB/mo should be more than sufficient. Right now, he gets 4GB from Verizon for $50.
Data usage caps would be one of my concerns but it sounds like he'll manage with 10gb just fine.
 
Originally Posted by NO2
Get an ATT iPad plan, $35/mo, unlimited deprioritized data, and move the SIM to a hotspot. You can buy a used hotspot for about $60, or a latest tech Netgear Nighthawk for div>


This is what I use.
 
I am currently using TMobile's 55+ plan that provides unlimited data and calling for $70 per month for two people. My son is the other party, and we got in when it was $60 a month. For an additional $15 per month you can add I think 15GB of hotspot data at full speed, though you do get some hotspot data included at the base price. It is my sole source of Internet and I am typing on a laptop tethered to my phone right now. It all depends on coverage, but this is the best deal going for unlimited data if TMobile is good where you are. Only one person on the plan has to be over 55.
 
I'm in the same boat. Live in rural east central Illinois and have used over the air wifi/Ethernet and now on a 4G Verizon hot spot. It sucks when the cut my speeds down to 3G after 15G or about three weeks into the billing cycle.

I've had trouble with the over the air wifi/Ethernet and left that for Verizon a few years ago. But looking to go back to a new local one if they can provide me with good signal.

So many promises over the years.....
 
You need to check your local reception and see what works. Sprint and TMo would likely be better deals than Verizon if receptions are good enough.
 
I've had Sprint for almost a decade and I'm thinking of switching now that my contract with them has ended. I barely have signal anywhere around downtown Chicago whether I'm at ground level or on the 18th floor of a building. Signal while taking the train home is just as horrible with huge dead spots - bad enough that I got a Verizon hotspot from work in case I do need to work on the run. I don't even have full 4G LTE signal when I'm at home.
 
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