Millenicom- internet service. January 08, 2018, 05:25:34 pm They are back.Question is, for how long.Home – Millenicom
Re: Millenicom- internet service. Reply #1 – January 08, 2018, 05:37:04 pm I couldn't find the carrier they use on their website. However, doing a search for one of the jetpacks they offer only pulls up T-Mobile.Jim
Re: Millenicom- internet service. Reply #2 – January 08, 2018, 06:46:43 pm "I couldn't find the carrier they use on their website. However, doing a search for one of the jetpacks they offer only pulls up T-Mobile."Came up as Sprint when I looked at that page! Maybe it has to do with the zip code. Virtual hugs, Judie
Re: Millenicom- internet service. Reply #3 – January 08, 2018, 09:29:41 pm Would anyone even remotely trust this after the history? MVNOs are always a risky choice.
Re: Millenicom- internet service. Reply #4 – January 08, 2018, 09:48:38 pm We used their Ultimate LTE plan for a couple months this past summer. They shipped us a T-Mobile SIM for each iPhone, to Canada. We suspended our Verizon accounts during that time. (The Verizon plans in Canada were terrible, very limited.) The cool thing was that with the Millenicom SIM, we had unlimited LTE data *any* place there was *any* type of coverage in Canada. That is because T-Mobile had a deal with the Canadian cell phone companies to roam on their networks. We could use the phones as hotspots. I had a voice and text plan included, too. The whole thing worked out quite well, and Dennis with Millenicom provided excellent support. I would do it again the next time we return to Canada.Check with Dennis by calling the toll-free number (800) 996-1285 to see if anything has changed with the Ultimate LTE plan before signing up. There is no contract, so if you are unhappy with it or decide to go with another carrier, you can just let them know that you no longer want the service.If you are 55+, you may find that T-Mobile's senior plan is a better deal in the U.S. However, T-Mobile coverage in the U.S. isn't nearly as good as Verizon or AT&T. I am now back to using my Verizon plan for both phone and Jetpack, while in the U.S.
Re: Millenicom- internet service. Reply #5 – January 09, 2018, 11:56:22 am "Would anyone even remotely trust this after the history?"Amen. For those who aren't familiar with the company's past, Millenicom portrayed itself as a major internet reseller offering a killer deal: lots of Verizon bandwidth for about half what Verizon was charging. Many of us used them for a couple of years... until Verizon decided to stop letting Millenicom resell their service. All of Millenicom's users were cut off with virtually no warning (although Verizon, after much prodding, eventually offered a half-hearted one-year discount). You can see why those of us who went through this don't trust Millenicom.Nevertheless, Jan's experience shows that they can be a useful resource when traveling in Canada. But in the US, where Millenicom apparently offers Sprint or T-Mobile service... well, those two carriers have by far the poorest cell coverage outside of major metro areas. (Verizon is best, with AT&T coming in second.) Needless to say, it doesn't matter how cheap the bandwidth is if you can't get a cell signal in order to use it. 1 Likes
Re: Millenicom- internet service. Reply #6 – January 09, 2018, 07:41:49 pm Okay I wasn't going to reply, but perhaps you should check your facts and get out of the past.Yes, I was Millenicom customer for two years before their contract was pulled by Verizon. (They were making too much money and Verizon wanted to get their hands on it. Give them a break, it wasn't their fault for being successful. But leaving Verizon turned out to be a blessing.I first heard about the "new" Millenicom on an international travel website to whch I belong. People were raving about the their WiFi connections with this service in India, Africa, Europe, and most of the rest of the world. I bought it two years ago in Alaska and the first summer wasn't so good. But last summer it was sensational, and I'm thrilled. I've heard it's great in Canada, and since I'm in Mexico every winter, I can tell you that the speeds rival any wired WiFi in almost anywhere where you can get free service. Yes, they do have GSM connections from T-Mobile which is used all over the world (more modern system). Verizon is the old-fashioned CDMA that is ONLY used in the United States, but Verizon has invested a fortune in it so can never go global. Yes, they do have towers that can reach some remote parks, m-a-y-b-e.T-Mobile instead invested their resources with reciprocal agreements worldwide, and are expanding every day. If you count them out, you are making a huge mistake. Most places in the U.S., Alaska included, Canada, Mexico, and abroad, the connections are often faster than the ones you can buy with direct wired service. And now their new device can offer unlimited LTE for only $70/month. What's not to like?YMMV. It sure does for me! Besides you get a human response email from them in seconds, instead of spending hours on the phone with Verizon. (voice of experience)
Re: Millenicom- internet service. Reply #7 – January 10, 2018, 12:03:54 pm "Yes, they do have GSM connections from T-Mobile which is used all over the world (more modern system). Verizon is the old-fashioned CDMA that is ONLY used in the United States..."Both systems can deliver good, high-speed internet connections. Both systems are supported by most cell phones sold in the US. Choice of technology isn't an issue. What is an issue is who has the most cell towers in the areas where one plans to travel. If you can't get a signal, it doesn't matter what technology your carrier is using."What's not to like?"Coverage. In the US, T-Mobile's coverage is pretty sparse outside of cities, especially in the West. Verizon's is much better, as these coverage maps show. (Sprint's is even worse.) From what you and Jan have said, Millenicom's service can be very useful outside the US, and that's great. If I were traveling the world, I might give Millenicom a try.But inside the US, in the places where most of us travel in our RVs, the chances of getting a Verizon signal are good, while the chances of getting a Sprint signal are much less so. Again, compare the coverage maps. Verizon has towers just about everywhere (and my experience traveling confirms that). But there are whole states where T-Mobile has no presence at all. So for RVers in the US, Millenicom doesn't look like the best choice.
Re: Millenicom- internet service. Reply #8 – January 10, 2018, 12:43:42 pm Millenicom and the school district were completely different entities that had nothing to do with each other. The school offering was originally intended to provide internet access to families in the district that would otherwise been unable to connect their students from home. They greatly underestimated the impact of making this available to the general public.The school district offering arose after Verizon shut down the unlimited offering from Millenicom, and people were searching for cheap alternatives. Word leaked out among RVers about this tiny school district, and the sudden demand greatly overwhelmed their planned service. It was quickly withdrawn for anyone who wasn't a resident of the district. The district was a customer of a company I used to work for (mobile device management and web filtering, not telephony) so I followed the story closely. At the time, the government was dishing out funds under E-rate to issue every student with a device, usually iPads, Chromebooks, etc. There were other short-lived plans from other mvnos around that time, also not affiliated with Millenicom, that shared equally dismal fates. If the RV crowd stumbles across a 'too good to be true' offering like that, it quickly goes viral thanks to blogs such as Technomadia and CheapRVLiving. If catering to RVers was not part of the business plan, that was enough to shut the service down in a hurry.I recall that the fallout from these services being unable to deliver was hard on the Technomadia people in particular, as people blamed the bloggers personally for the fiasco instead of the resellers, to the point of harassment and threats. ETA: the district was Huntsville City Schools. The name was Omnilinx. Here's Technomadia's post about it: Millenicom Reborn? – Unlimited Verizon Data Plans for .75/month from...And the epitaph:Is the OmniLynx Verizon Unlimited Data Plan Ride Over Already? – Mobile...
Re: Millenicom- internet service. Reply #9 – January 10, 2018, 01:08:00 pm Quote from: thefuofus - January 10, 2018, 12:43:42 pmMillenicom and the school district were completely different entities that had nothing to do with each other. Exactly.Millenicom originally was an MVNO for Verizon and Sprint, and the plug was pulled by the networks, VZW in particular, rather abruptly, leaving folks scrambling for Internet service. VZW did honor some Millenicom contracts for a while.Omnilynx was a separate company affiliated with the Huntsville schools that was also operating as an MVNO for Verizon (outside of their contract terms), and the plug was pulled by Verizon when they were found to be in violation of the MVNO contract.Going with an MVNO can be risky, especially if the terms they offer aren't the standard ones the actual network has. There are contracts between the two entities and if the network decides the MVNO isn't holding up their end of the bargain, they can shut down service pretty quickly.
Re: Millenicom- internet service. Reply #10 – January 10, 2018, 01:19:21 pm Thanks for filling in the details, fu and Michelle. Looks as if my understanding of the relationship between Millenicom and the private school was inaccurate, and I've edited my posts to remove the wrong information. But what Michelle said still goes: "if the network decides the MVNO isn't holding up their end of the bargain, they can shut down service pretty quickly." This happened to Millenicom; to Omnilynx, which only lasted a couple of months; and more recently to the FMCA RVing club's internet deal, which was cancelled by Verizon before it could go into operation.With any of these cellular internet service resellers, you're taking a chance. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
Re: Millenicom- internet service. Reply #11 – January 10, 2018, 01:19:32 pm Also, I've had a prepaid T-mobile data plan since forever, and this time last year, their service outside metro areas and interstate highways wasn't good, I'm now seeing 4g service in previously dead areas. FWIW it's noticeably faster for uploads and downloads than my DSL connection at Jojoba Hills, and apart from occasional congestion I'm getting the same fast throughput at Slab City from the tower in Calpatria a few miles south. A big contrast from last couple years where we were lucky to get a voice connection due to an equipment problem T-mobile knew about but were not in any hurry to fix. We'll see how it performs in Quartzsite next week. The LTVAs south of town were pretty much without a signal at all. In town my T-mo hotspot worked fine.I see Page Plus has a newish 'truly unlimited' voice / text / data plan for $55/month. I asked if I could use a compatible mi-fi for that plan rather than a phone, and customer service and a supervisor both said yes, but their terms of service kinda say no. So it's a great deal if you can get away with it. The mifi 7730l goes for around $100 online and is somewhat compatible with ATT and T-mo on 4g, fully compatible on Verizon 4g.
Re: Millenicom- internet service. Reply #12 – January 10, 2018, 02:52:11 pm "VZW did honor some Millenicom contracts for a while."That's right and I'm one who took advantage of it. I'm still with Verizon using the original Millenicom dongle.
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