"Millenicom is adding an Unlimited 3G/4G Plan that will work over the Sprint footprint starting February 1st. They are using the Franklin U600 (USB device with 4 external antenna ports). Pricing stays the same as their regular Unlimited Plan at $69.99/month with the normal $99.99 device purchase fee, $49.99 activation fee and $15.00 shipping fee. Customers currently using the Unlimited Plan can upgrade to 3G/4G by purchasing the new device (the activation fee is only $19.99 for current customers), they should check their address with the coverage locator on the Millenicom website to see if their location can get 4G service. Millenicom will be able to activate Sprint 3G/4G devices on their BYOD Plan for the same $69.99 rate."
RVRon said
05:14 PM Jan 31, 2012
Sounds like a pretty good deal. I'm waiting to see what Sprint does to my "Unlimited" account when my contract is up in April. If they slap that 5 GB limit on my I'm outta there!
Neil and Connie said
02:00 AM Feb 1, 2012
We're getting there . . .but I'm not sure how much 4G coverage there really is yet so this will only result in faster connections in some areas at first probably. Still . . .since it's a 3G/4G air card you'll get faster network where available and fall back to 3G otherwise.
Good news going forward; I imagine that Millenicom will roll out 4G on their Verizon plans as it comes available as well. At least with the air card it's not battery powered; the serious battery hit that 4G devices take will be a bigger obstacle to adoption than service availability itself. The 4G radio is higher power than 3G IIRC and also has a broader spectrum signal in order to get the higher bandwidth. Both of those combine so that current 4G phones have a hard time lasting through the workday; and I haven't seen any significantly better battery technologies coming down the pike yet.
Technomadia said
07:19 PM Feb 1, 2012
Just keep in mind that the device being offered with this plan is WiMax. Sprint just recently announced they are abandoning their WiMax expansion, and all future 4G installation will be on LTE. This device will not be able to connect to any future 4G expansion on the Sprint network, just what is currently existing. It's sort of a dead-end. If the current Sprint coverage map and 4G offerings are suitable for you - then great. But do not get this assuming that you'll continue to benefit as their 4G expands.
The beauty of Millenicom, no contract - so when Sprint's LTE network starts to look tempting, you have the option to move on as needed.
Millenicom is currently offering a 4G/3G plan on Verizon for a grandfathered in price of $69.99 - it includes 20GB of data a month, 10G of which can be at 4G speeds. We tried it, and the Samsug hotspot device they are shipping with it is pretty unreliable. We had to reboot it every 30 minutes or so, and it doesn't have good transition between 3G and 4G - with no way to pick a preference for the strongest signal. We ended up sending ours back and keeping our Advanced Plan of 3G service. We'll always take reliability over speed.
- Cherie
Max Signal said
07:29 PM Feb 1, 2012
Sprint renewed thier contact with Clear so there will be added Expansion on Clear's 2500 Frequency - all Future Expansion will be LTE as previous was WiMax . Sprint will also be rolling out LTE on their 1900 mhz band.
Max Signal said
08:49 PM Feb 1, 2012
A gentleman from Millenicom just updated the thread on DSLReports and said the device being offered with the package will bee the Sierra Wireless 250U. Here is a link to it off Sierra Wireless Site.
Cut and Paste from DSLReports forum
News from Millenicom ....
From Corporate:
"Millenicom is adding an Unlimited 3G/4G Plan that will work over the Sprint footprint starting February 1st. They are using the Franklin U600 (USB device with 4 external antenna ports). Pricing stays the same as their regular Unlimited Plan at $69.99/month with the normal $99.99 device purchase fee, $49.99 activation fee and $15.00 shipping fee. Customers currently using the Unlimited Plan can upgrade to 3G/4G by purchasing the new device (the activation fee is only $19.99 for current customers), they should check their address with the coverage locator on the Millenicom website to see if their location can get 4G service. Millenicom will be able to activate Sprint 3G/4G devices on their BYOD Plan for the same $69.99 rate."
Sounds like a pretty good deal. I'm waiting to see what Sprint does to my "Unlimited" account when my contract is up in April. If they slap that 5 GB limit on my I'm outta there!
Good news going forward; I imagine that Millenicom will roll out 4G on their Verizon plans as it comes available as well. At least with the air card it's not battery powered; the serious battery hit that 4G devices take will be a bigger obstacle to adoption than service availability itself. The 4G radio is higher power than 3G IIRC and also has a broader spectrum signal in order to get the higher bandwidth. Both of those combine so that current 4G phones have a hard time lasting through the workday; and I haven't seen any significantly better battery technologies coming down the pike yet.
The beauty of Millenicom, no contract - so when Sprint's LTE network starts to look tempting, you have the option to move on as needed.
Millenicom is currently offering a 4G/3G plan on Verizon for a grandfathered in price of $69.99 - it includes 20GB of data a month, 10G of which can be at 4G speeds. We tried it, and the Samsug hotspot device they are shipping with it is pretty unreliable. We had to reboot it every 30 minutes or so, and it doesn't have good transition between 3G and 4G - with no way to pick a preference for the strongest signal. We ended up sending ours back and keeping our Advanced Plan of 3G service. We'll always take reliability over speed.
- Cherie
Sprint renewed thier contact with Clear so there will be added Expansion on Clear's 2500 Frequency - all Future Expansion will be LTE as previous was WiMax . Sprint will also be rolling out LTE on their 1900 mhz band.
A gentleman from Millenicom just updated the thread on DSLReports and said the device being offered with the package will bee the Sierra Wireless 250U. Here is a link to it off Sierra Wireless Site.
http://www.sierrawireless.com/productsandservices/AirCard/USBModems/aircard_250U.aspx