9.2 Some Cellular Carriers

9.2 Some Cellular Carriers

There are major cellular carriers around the world; This section looks at some of the major U.S. providers. Of the ones described here, we have hands-on experience with Sprint, Verizon Wireless, AT&T Wireless, and T-Mobile .

To connect to the Internet using a GPRS carrier, you must specify an Access Point Name (APN), which is the name of a gateway on the carrier's network that gets you on the Internet. After that, dial *99#***1# to connect. APNs for networks not listed here can be found in a variety of places online, but your best bet is to contact your cellular provider. Opera Software maintains a list of user -submitted carriers and APNs at http://www.opera.com/products/smartphone/docs/connect/.

All plans and prices listed in the following sections are accurate as of this writing, but are subject to change.

9.2.1 AT&T Wireless

AT&T Wireless (http://www.attwireless.com) offers GSM service with GPRS under a variety of plans. Its consumer-oriented mMode plan tops out at 8 megabytes of data per month for $19.99, with additional megabytes costing about six dollars each.

mMode plans must be accompanied by a voice plan. However, AT&T Wireless offers standalone Mobile Internet data plans starting at $29.99 for 10 megabytes (about three dollars per additional megabyte), going up to $79.99 a month for unlimited data (you can also add these plans to service with an existing voice plan). In late 2003, AT&T rolled out support for EDGE on its North American network.

AT&T Wireless uses a GPRS APN named proxy , which also works with its EDGE data service. You can set your APN with the following AT command sequence:

 AT+CGDCONT=1,"IP","proxy" 

AT&T Wireless maintains online support forums at http://forums.attwireless.com/attws that are valuable more for the community discussion than for the actual tech support that goes on there. Check out the mMode and GSM(TM)/GPRS/EDGE General Discussion forums for insights into AT&T Wireless' data services.

At the time of this writing, Cingular has just purchased AT&T Wireless, and it is expected to merge its network with AT&T's by the end of 2004. Whether that changes any of the AT&T Wireless- related instructions in this chapter remains to be seen. For more information, consult this book's errata at http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/lnxunwired.

9.2.2 T-Mobile

T-Mobile (http://www.t-mobile.com), formerly VoiceStream, offers GSM and GPRS in a number of markets across the globe. Its unlimited (T-Mobile Internet Unlimited) data plans are available as an add-on to voice service or as separate plans. You can add unlimited GPRS data for $19.99 a month with a qualifying voice plan ($29.99 and higher). Otherwise, unlimited GPRS data is $29.99 a month.

Don't confuse T-Mobile's t-zones plan with its T-Mobile Internet Unlimited plan. The $4.99 and $9.99 a month t-zones plans are designed for users who use the Internet exclusively from their handset, and some users have reported that services such as SSH (and practically anything that isn't HTTP, SMTP, or POP3) don't work with these plans.

As of late 2003, T-Mobile had not rolled out EDGE in any of the markets we tested .

T-Mobile uses two different APNs: internet2.voicestream.com and internet3.voicestream.com . internet2.voicestream.com gives you a private network IP address, which may cause headaches with VPN connections, and internet3.voicestream.com gives you a public IP address, which may cause headaches when people to try break into your machine. If you want to use internet3.voicestream.com , you must be on the T-Mobile Internet Unlimited VPN plan, which costs the same as T-Mobile Internet Unlimited. If you aren't sure which plan you are on, contact T-Mobile customer service to find out. You can set your APN with one of the following AT command sequences:

 AT+CGDCONT=1,"IP","internet2.voicestream.com" AT+CGDCONT=1,"IP","internet3.voicestream.com" 

9.2.3 Cingular Wireless

Cingular Wireless (http://www.cingular.com) is also a GSM/GPRS provider. Its Wireless Internet Express pricing plans are similar to AT&T's mMode and Mobile Internet plans: for $24.99 a month, you can get 10 megabytes of data, and each additional megabyte is about four dollars. Its unlimited plan is $74.99 per month.

As of late 2003, Cingular Wireless had rolled out trial EDGE support in one market (Indianapolis).

Cingular Wireless uses a GPRS APN named isp.cingular . You can set your APN with the following AT command sequence:

 AT+CGDCONT=1,"IP","isp.cingular" 

9.2.4 Verizon Wireless

Verizon Wireless (http://www.verizonwireless.com) offers CDMA service with 1xRTT and 1xEV-DO for data. Its advertised data plans are available as add-ons to a voice plan or as standalone data plans. Although it is not advertised on its site, many users have reported that the America's Choice voice plan minutes can be used for data; but many users have reported that Verizon does not permit this, so unless you get something in writing that indicates your plan allows this, we suggest that you use an add-on data plan.

Verizon Wireless has a number of data plans. Its NationalAccess plan lets you pay by the minute. This means that you're paying even when your network connection is idle. However, it also has plans that let you pay by the megabyte, starting at 20 megabytes for $40 a month with each additional megabyte for about four dollars. You can go up from there to unlimited data for $79.99 a month.

Verizon Wireless' 1xRTT service is available across its national network. As of late 2003, 1xEV-DO trials were underway in San Diego and Washington, DC.

An APN is not required for 1xRTT or 1xEV-DO; you can generally just dial #777 to make the connection. For more details, see "CDMA Phone with Data Cable" and "CDMA PC Card" later in this chapter.

9.2.5 Sprint

Sprint PCS (http://www.pcsvision.com) offers CDMA cellular service. It offers unlimited 1xRTT data service, which it calls PCS Vision, as an add-on to a voice plan for $15 a month. However, there are reports that say that these plans are not intended for users who want to connect a laptop to their cell phone, and that Sprint may charge users who use the service in this way as much as $10 a megabyte.

However, Sprint does offer by-the-megabyte plans starting from $40 a month for 20 megabytes, going up to $100 for 300 megabytes. Additional megabytes are two dollars each under all their megabyte plans. Although Sprint had offered an unlimited data plan for $80 a month in the past, it is not advertising such a plan at the time of this writing.

As of late 2003, Sprint was reported to be testing 1xEV-DO, but it was not marketing it or selling 1xEV-DO cards or phones.