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Using 4G tether for home Internet?

Sprint terms of service:

Prohibited Network Uses. To ensure the activities of some users do not impair the ability of our customers to have access to reliable services provided at reasonable costs, you may not use our services in a manner that is unlawful, infringes on intellectual property rights, or harms or unduly interferes with the use of Sprint's network or systems. Sprint reserves the right, without notice or limitation, to limit data throughput speeds or quantities or to deny, terminate, end, modify, disconnect, or suspend service if an individual engages in any of the prohibited voice or data uses detailed below or if Sprint, in its sole discretion, determines action is necessary to protect its wireless networks from harm or degradation. Examples of prohibited voice uses: Sprint voice services are provided solely for live dialogue between, and initiated by, individuals for personal use and as otherwise described in this policy. Sprint services may not be used for any other purposes, including, but not limited to: monitoring services, transmission of broadcasts, transmission of recorded material, telemarketing, autodialed calls, other commercial uses, or other connections that do not consist of uninterrupted live dialogue between individuals. Examples of prohibited data uses: Sprint data services are provided solely for purposes of web surfing, sending and receiving email, photographs and other similar messaging activities, and the non-continuous streaming of videos, downloading of files or on line gaming. Our data services may not be used:

generate excessive amounts of Internet traffic through the continuous, unattended streaming, downloading or uploading of videos or other files
or to operate hosting services including, but not limited to, web or gaming hosting; (ii) to maintain continuous active network connections to the Internet such as through a web camera or machine-to-machine connections that do not involve active participation by a person; (iii) to disrupt email use by others using automated or manual routines, including, but not limited to "auto-responders" or cancel bots or other similar routines; (iv) to transmit or facilitate any unsolicited or unauthorized advertising, telemarketing, promotional materials, "junk mail", unsolicited commercial or bulk email, or fax; (v) for activities adversely affecting the ability of other people or systems to use either Sprint's wireless services or other parties' Internet-based resources, including, but not limited to, "denial of service" (DoS) attacks against another network host or individual user; (vi) for an activity that connects any device to Personal Computers (including without limitation, laptops), or other equipment for the purpose of transmitting wireless data over the network (unless customer is using a plan designated for such usage); or (vi) for any other reason that, in our sole discretion violates our policy of providing service for individual use. Unlimited Use Plans. If you subscribe to rate plans, services or features that are described as unlimited, you should be aware that such "unlimited" plans are subject to these Sprint Prohibited Network Uses.


Most interactive means of communication have these limits, or something similar.

Dream Host, known for their unlimited hosting, states you cant use them for on-line back-up, and to stream something you have to play by their rules.

I worked for a company in the early '90s, when ISDN and DLS was priced about the same as a T1 connection, and a good personal computer cost two grand or more. Main office had unix box with 5 terminals and branch office had 3 terminals multiplex over a 9600 buad modem. This was during the time every business call was metered, whether local or long distance, didn't mater, you still paid by the call. The idea was you have the branch office call the main office to establish the remote terminals, and never hang up. This was against the phone company's ToS so every Monday morning we would come in and find that the remote connection had been DCed.

This is not some new game, and while it may look different because of the hardware, it is pretty much the same, just more new players trying to game the system.
 
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My buddy uses his nexus 4 (he actually signed the contract but bought from Google) and pays about 60 a month after discount, he has indeed replaced his home Internet with it. I would encourage you guys to do the same, at worst they cut your service and you go buy another Internet service. At best you have unlimited calling/home Internet for a small monthly cost.

Return of the Android
 
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My buddy uses his nexus 4 (he actually signed the contract but bought from Google) and pays about 60 a month after discount, he has indeed replaced his home Internet with it. I would encourage you guys to do the same, at worst they cut your service and you go buy another Internet service. At best you have unlimited calling/home Internet for a small monthly cost.

Return of the Android

Greedy people like your friend have created the current mobile market of internet caps. Thanks for doing your part to screw everyone else over.
 
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My buddy uses his nexus 4 (he actually signed the contract but bought from Google) and pays about 60 a month after discount, he has indeed replaced his home Internet with it. I would encourage you guys to do the same, at worst they cut your service and you go buy another Internet service. At best you have unlimited calling/home Internet for a small monthly cost.

Return of the Android

Having your service cut off is not the worst, did you even read my previous post concerning QoS? That's Quality of Service, if you are continuously connected to a tower you are making it difficult or denying someone else who is paying for the same service access, there's no way in hell that a service provider can accommodate this in an affordable manner. Even your pots wire line goes down during emergencies because there's not enough bandwidth to accommodate everyone at the same time.
 
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Greedy people like your friend have created the current mobile market of internet caps. Thanks for doing your part to screw everyone else over.

Not to mention it's a totally unusable solution. True it CAN be done, but why would you want to? So your phone is just sitting there all day hosting your internet connection, draining your battery? I suppose if you are single you could make it work, but it's still pretty inconvenient. If you are cheap then it will hold you over for a time I guess, but I can't see anyone using this solution long term and actually being happy with it.
 
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People that think high data users are greedy must not realize that companies are in business to make money, data caps are a way to make cash.

One person using 150 a month or ten people using 15 a month is the same thing, by some of your logic T-Mobile better not activate anymore smartphones in his area or it might crash the towers in the next 30 sales.

Return of the Android
 
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I'm single but after doing this investigation I don't think it's viable for me...glad I asked around though and did not just up and do it.

I just learned of a wireless in my area with no data caps and very fast, but no tower right where I am...tech said maybe this summer....sucks to live in the sticks sometimes.
 
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People that think high data users are greedy must not realize that companies are in business to make money, data caps are a way to make cash.

One person using 150 a month or ten people using 15 a month is the same thing, by some of your logic T-Mobile better not activate anymore smartphones in his area or it might crash the towers in the next 30 sales.

Return of the Android

Dude, this is not the same. 10 different people connected at different times is not the same as someone being continually connected to a slot on a tower. It doesn't crash the tower, what will happen is that someone else, just like you who is paying for the same service will get a fast busy signal or be pushed to another tower with a weaker signal. This isn't rocket science, air interfaces can only support a finite number of simultaneous connections. While data caps might be a way to make money they also insure that those who are using the most bandwidth pay more than someone who's just trying to get their email. Even your land line isn't designed to have more than 10,000 or so simultaneous connections on a very large switching station. How many people live in your area and then think if everyone thought like this during an emergency. Use the system as it was designed.
 
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Has anyone found anything truly free? How about truly unlimited? I have only found one thing, and it is both free and unlimited, everything else has a cost, tradeoff, limit or impairment.

Ah, the question of 1 customer at $150 or 10 at $15? It is easier to manage one customer than ten, yet at a certin point it is just as easy to manage 50 as it is to manage 100, so I'll take 1000 customers paying me $1500 so I call tell all of them So sorry we are overloaded as i pocket their money. :D

Just think of some of largest parking lots in the world, such as the Washington DC metro area beltway. Between 7am and 7pm on workdays it is tied up and moving slowly because so many people are trying to use it at once. While there still is traffic at three invthe morning there is not nearly as much, so the cars seem to fly by. While it seems as if everyone is on the beltway at the time during the day it is far from the truth.

Cell phones are not much differnt. You have the companies that plan and build the towers, the towers that can accommodate a combination of voice, data, and text. And don't forget the customer - just because you built a better mouse trap does NOT mean we will beat a path to your door. If to many people try using their phones at the same time it will look like a traffic jam, or what I call an oversized parking lot.

So, what is truly free, unlimited? Don't say a freeloader who is connected to the internet through your wifi modem/router. That person is not free to move about, they have to stay within range of the wifi signal. And that data plan with your cell phone is far from free or unlimited, you pay a monthly fee so your data usage may be capped and/or throttled.
 
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Just think of some of largest parking lots in the world, such as the Washington DC metro area beltway. Between 7am and 7pm on workdays it is tied up and moving slowly because so many people are trying to use it at once. While there still is traffic at three invthe morning there is not nearly as much, so the cars seem to fly by. While it seems as if everyone is on the beltway at the time during the day it is far from the truth.

And that's why I have always been a night person! Phhht on that day time crap. lol
 
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Yeah.... Good point, maybe ill just threaten to cancel my cable and see if they lower my cost... If not maybe ill try the tethering route.

It depends, If you have a lot of competition in the area like Warner, Verizon, Charter, Etc then that very well may work. It has worked for me in the past with both Charter and Verizon.. First got the service my Verizon bill was 100 bucks, promised for 2 years...Within a year it's up to 165 bucks. By that time Charter was sending me come back letters with good deals, So I called Verizon up and told them to come pick up their stuff...Told me to hold on and ultimately reset me up with a new, lower plan.

Again, This largely depends on the area...If you do not have a lot of competition, They kind of got you by the balls in a way..

At any rate, Good luck Mate.
 
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Just as an update: i have been using my Verizon lte phone as a home internet replacement for a few days. I could see how this could be challenging to do so full time, but for those of you/us who don't want to pay crazy prices for broadband, it's definitely viable :).

Return of the Android

Hopefully VZW won't send their black ops to you.
 
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What is T3? I'd bet very, very expensive whatever it is.

It was in the early 90s when the remote office I was in was using dial-up to connect to the main office, and multiplex the terminals. In the mid 90s I worked for a company of 50 - 40 engineers plus 10 support staff. They had a T1 line (dedicated 1MB/sec), and they where able to cripple it by having email check every 5 minutes (AOL and the like), a news ticker that would update every 15 minutes, and then hosting their own website and email. Granted, only 1/2 the people abused the internet by staying logged in all day long, yet it was not uncommon for the IT person to complain about so many people camping on-line.

24ISDN, T1, T3, OC8, OC24 are things you just don't see in the average household, as it does come with a price. It is a nice option for a good number of mid-size businesses,, as you can install the proper equipment and run you phone system over it as well. If you where to bring those options to the average home then it would seem to be unlimited internet service, as the husband could watch a movie in the man cave, the wife could watch a cooking show in the kitchen, and jr could be playing WoW/FF11 on-line all at the same time, and still have plenty of bandwidth left over.

Anyone see this (February) month's issue of Maximum PC?

And the answer to the only thing I know that is truely free and unlimited is a parent's love for a child.
 
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30gb and so far so good, i may just cancel home internet and save the 60 a month.

Return of the Android

Good for you?

For $30/mth I can get 784kb/sec DSL, or $50/mth gets me 16 - 20Mb/sec plus digital tv. Cable company is even promoting it as a way to connect everything wirelesly in your own home. They are admitting now days that the internet is not for just one computer and person in the house, it is something for the whole household. They still have in the contract that you can't host your own web site, or abuse the service, yet they are a bit more understanding.

I have not even tried to see what my own use is, yet I can assure you it is a bit high - I am sharing a house with 5 other people, and I am the only one that works outside the house full-time. Two of the people stream music while surfing the net, a third uses it just to conduct business (check bank statements and the like), #4 streams movies (Netflix), #5 plays FPSs, and me, well, a little bit of everything. The nice thing is I don't have to worry that when I leave for work in the morning that I take the only internet connection for the house with me.
 
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Good for you?

For $30/mth I can get 784kb/sec DSL, or $50/mth gets me 16 - 20Mb/sec plus digital tv. Cable company is even promoting it as a way to connect everything wirelesly in your own home. They are admitting now days that the internet is not for just one computer and person in the house, it is something for the whole household. They still have in the contract that you can't host your own web site, or abuse the service, yet they are a bit more understanding.

I have not even tried to see what my own use is, yet I can assure you it is a bit high - I am sharing a house with 5 other people, and I am the only one that works outside the house full-time. Two of the people stream music while surfing the net, a third uses it just to conduct business (check bank statements and the like), #4 streams movies (Netflix), #5 plays FPSs, and me, well, a little bit of everything. The nice thing is I don't have to worry that when I leave for work in the morning that I take the only internet connection for the house with me.

Trust me mate, if i could get tv and high speed for 50, id be all over that. Where I'm at tv and high speed is minimum 150 :(.

Return of the Android
 
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