[ale] Metropcs 4G LTE vs AT&T DSL (ot)

[Mike Harrison]

On Sun, 5 Feb 2012, jesse james wrote:
> Does anyone know if one of the MetroPCS 4G LTE phones could be 
> replacement for basic dsl. I was thinking of getting rid of my dsl and 
> getting a Samsung Indulge($200) and just tethering my laptop to it.

I'm using 2/2.5/3/3.5 g on a Nokia N900, Using T-Mobile and AT&T in 
the USA, Claro, Vodaphone, Digicell.. elsewhere.

I tether my laptop via USB or it acting as a WiFi access point quite a 
bit, it works when nothing else does. In some places, at some times, it 
absolutely rocks. Other times, not so much. Especially not for latency
sensitive things like SSH. Sometimes I get the strangest errors, often
using git via ssh, or scp. It works pretty well for normal e-mail, web 
browsing, and reasonable sized file transfers. Big transfers often get 
reset. I have viewed small videos.. when I am patient. T-Mobile
has been very good to me in Chattanooga and Atlanta, not great in rural 
places.

My first answer:

    Having a phone and service that you can tether to well or use as a WiFi AP
    is an absolute essential for anyone in the IT world. It's not as
    important as air to breath, but it is close.  Buy the phone and the
    service it requires if at all possible.

The second part:

    After trying it for a few days, with your usage patterns, only you can
    decide if you no longer need the DSL line.


I'm typing this via SSH into Pine, from a far far way away, over a Claro 
connection. This morning, it is susprisingly fast. Sometimes.. The latency
is insane.