GL: AIR CARDS

[Jeffrey Siegel]

There will probably be two types of responses to this request about Air
Cards:

1. Our Verizon card worked great.

2. Out AT&T card worked great.


Most others will have issues.  Verizon people love their products.  AT&T
people love their products.

We had an account on both systems for a full Fall and Winter season of
cruising (Maine to the Keys) because I wanted to know which would be best.
I can't give any input about the West Coast (of the US or Florida) but I
have a pretty good idea about the experience you'll have on the East Coast.

The bottom line is that both Verizon and AT&T are pretty equivalent.  There
is one spot in NC that has no cellular signals at all.  We have a powerful
antenna and amp on our arch and couldn't get anything out there on the
Pungo-Alligator Canal!  It lasted for about 20 nm.  There is also an issue
in downeast Maine with Verizon digital service.  It has been slow to get out
there.  It is only reliable along the coast through Brunswick/Portland
(although that might change this Summer).

So my advice is that, Verizon, AT&T...it doesn't matter.

We eventually dropped our Verizon account.  The reasons were:

- AT&T's rollover minutes mean that we never go over our small 600 minute
plan.  We rarely use our phones at home but use them often while cruising.
I know that this doesn't relate to Air Cards but I have more to say about
that below.  Also, AT&T is free when calling another AT&T cell phone.  It
made more sense to put my wife and me on AT&T so those calls don't even
count.

- AT&T's GSM technology means that the digital (and voice for phone)
connection will work outside the US.  We've used it in Europe, the
Caribbean, Bahamas, and Mexico without any problem (except for roaming
charges!).  There is some support for Verizon in Canada but my experience of
talking to a lot of people about it is that GSM is more reliable there.


The real question is, why use an Air Card?  A much better solution is to get
a higher-end mobile phone that can handle email, simple web browsing, and
other applications (tides, chart plotting, etc).  You can connect any of
these phones to your PC/Mac when you want to get online with the larger
screen.  Amplify the phone and you now have a better communications tool for
voice AND data.  We've had excellent internet connections using our phone
when offshore by 20 nm because of the amp and antenna.

Plus, you can turn the digital option on the phone whenever you want - it's
pro-rated by the day.  When you go cruising, turn it on.  Come home, turn it
off (it still acts like a voice phone).  And you only have one account to
deal with.

What you'll find is that you don't turn on your laptop as often when you get
all your email on the phone itself (wherever you are).  Want the latest NOAA
marine forecast?  I have a favorite on my phone that displays the text that
is being broadcast over VHF.  I never wait for the section I'm interested in
to "come around" on the radio any longer.  And I can get it when we're
onshore at a restaurant.

So my advice is to not worry much about AT&T or Verizon.  Really examine
instead why you think you need the Air Card and another account...


==================================
Jeffrey Siegel
M/V aCappella
DeFever 53PH
W1ACA/WDB4350
Castine, Maine

www.activecaptain.com
Content, Communications, Community

 
 
 

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