[ale] Linux supported air card works!

[Jim Lynch]

I have been using a Verizon aircard for a while now with mixed results.  
It suffered from frequent disconnects, poor performance and occasional 
drops.  While it wasn't great, it worked better than nothing.  A couple 
of months ago I was speaking with a customer service rep about my 
frustration with the frequently disconnects and she suggested I sign up 
for the "Broadband" service which was faster and didn't cost any more.  
Oh and incidentally I could get a new pcmcia aircard which would take 
advantage of the faster service if I wanted.  I was unimpressed with the 
new "Broadband" service I upgraded to wrt speed, bit it was a bit more 
reliable, not a lot however.

I recently traveled to Orlando and found I had left the aircard at 
home.  I needed internet access while there and decided to check out the 
new aircard the lady mentioned.  I went to a Verizon store and talked 
with the guy there.  English was his second language, as it was for all 
the clerks in that store (Kissimmee).  I was the only one speaking 
English in the entire place.  But I regress.

So he didn't seem to think that I'd see much improvement in speed and 
asked another clerk about it and they agreed.  They said something about 
Rev A being a bit faster.  I have no idea what Rev A is.

But since I needed access and the cost was $50 with a $50 rebate for an 
extended 2 year contract, I decided that wasn't a problem. 

I have to tell you that was the best $50/2 year commitment I ever made.  
I was able to connect and communicate at very respectable speeds all 
week with no drops, no problems what so ever.

I subsequently took the laptop to my boat which is located at a marina 
on St. Simons Island and where communications is usually seriously 
compromised.  It again performed flawlessly and with far better speed 
than at any time before.  Nary a disconnect.

As  a note,  I chose Verizon for both my wireless data connection and my 
cell phone provider because I do use the boat to cruise up and down the 
coast.  Cruisers in that area report that Verizon has the best coverage 
of that area.  I don't necessarily think their customer service is 
exceptional or even very good.  But coverage is pretty important, IMHO. 
I do have both VHF and HF onboard so I have multiple communications 
backup, but safety at sea can never be too much.

Oh and thanks to (I think) Jim Kinney for the original pointer to the 
wvdial parameters that made it work on Linux.

Jim.