(Updated 3/28) As I mentioned the other day, I just passed my two year anniversary as a customer of Verizon’s wireless broadband service. I decided to try Sprint’s competing service since it costs $20 less a month (I can’t add a voice line to the same account).
Well, the Sprint Novatel Ovation U720 modem arrived today pre-activated by the fine folks at EVDOInfo.com. Installing the drivers correctly took several tries and the EVDOInfo folks didn’t tell me the slightly weird user name that Sprint assigned me for logging on. The only way to find it was to install the modem on a Windows computer with Sprint’s software and review the settings. After an hour of futzing, and most importantly switching to a new network location called “Novatel” before inputing the modem setting, I got the Sprint modem up and running.
A few tests from the Speakeasy broadband speedometer showed that the Sprint modem is smoking my old Verizon Novatel V620 PC card and even beats my Comcast cable modem on uploads. Here’s the average speeds in kilobits per second, averaging several trials for each:
Sprint download: 1180 kbps
Sprint upload: 607 kbps
Verizon download: 365 kbps
Verizon upload: 109 kbps
Comcast download: 4776 kbps
Comcast upload: 328 kbps
Wild stuff. I’m a little disappointed that the folks at EVDOInfo didn’t include all the stuff I needed to set up my new modem on my Mac, but now all is forgiven.
UPDATE (after EVDOInfo responded)
Well, kudos to the staff at EVDOInfo for quickly spotting my blog post and posting a response in the comments. Unfortunately, the response is factually incorrect. As you can see in the little clip below, the three-page directions they included instructed me to list my Sprint user name and password in the dialog box setting up my modem under Network services. I did initially call them but after waiting on hold for 5 minutes decided to try and fix the problem myself. I don’t blame EVDOInfo for how long it took me to get the settings right but they ought to read their own directions.
In the end, the problem was that their installer program (for unknown reasons) added two listings for the new modem, both identically labeled “Novatel Wireless CDMA.” I tried entering settings in one, then the other but neither worked. It was then that I tried the modem on a Windows computer to get the account name. But having the correct name didn’t help. Eventually, I noticed that the installer had also added a new network location called Novatel. I selected that location, deleted one of the two modem listings and, as Jerry Pournelle likes to say, Bob’s your uncle. He also like to say he does these stupid things so you don’t have to. I no doubt would have solved the problem quicker by waiting on hold for tech support but what fun would that be? I guess I’ve sat on hold too many times only to be told: step one, reinstall Windows.
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