Feature: Calling on Sprint's 3G Network

Recently Sprint has been heavily advertising its PCS Vision network, which wirelessly connects notebooks to the Internet. So I decided to give the 3G network a try, going online with my Dell Inspiron notebook from various cafés in San Francisco.

After some initial setup hassle, I found the Sprint PCS Vision network to be easy to use, reliable, and reasonably fast. It is slightly expensive, but probably worth the money if you regularly need wireless access. Before I detail my experiences using the network, let's first recap a few wireless networking basics.

Wireless Networking 101

3G is an abbreviation for third-generation wireless data and voice networks. In essence, 3G refers to a cell phone network that's been souped up to transmit data, including e-mail and Web browsing, at faster speeds than earlier cellular networks, in addition to handling voice traffic.

Sprint PCS Vision is reportedly the largest national 3G network currently available, according to Suzanne Lammers, group manager of Sprint's PCS media relations. Unlike other 3G network providers, this 3G service is available nearly everywhere Sprint's Nationwide PCS cellular network is offered in the United States, Lammers says.

3G network technology promises speeds up to 2 megabits per second, though current networks are more likely to offer speeds averaging 50 to 70 kilobits per second, with bursts up to 144 kbps. So in most cases the speeds you'll get on a 3G network are a bit better than what you'd experience with a 56-kbps dial-up modem, but are noticeably slower than a DSL or cable modem connection or a wireless connection to a T-1 network that provides up to 1.544 mbps (which is what you'd get at, say, a corner Starbucks).

For more about 3G networks, see "Mobile Computing: The Newest Wireless Technology."

First, a Little Hang-Up

And now, after that brief refresher course, we return to our regularly scheduled programming.

After the aforementioned setup difficulty, Sprint PCS Vision worked well in my tests. I installed and configured the connection software (Wireless Connection Manager) and the Novatel Merlin PCS Connection Card, a PC Card wireless modem, on my notebook. I made my first wireless connection within minutes, checking out Web pages and receiving e-mail.

I ran into trouble when I tried to send e-mail from Microsoft Outlook Express, however, consistently receiving "server not responding" error messages. I spoke to three different members of Sprint's tech support team and received three different responses:

The first tech support staffer conjectured that the modem wasn't capable of sending and receiving messages from e-mail clients such as Outlook Express. His solution: Check messages through a Web site, such as Yahoo or my ISP's site, instead.

The second support staffer was stumped altogether.

The third nailed the problem, explaining that as an antispam measure, the outgoing mail servers of some ISPs won't allow users to send e-mail through them without first being authenticated. My Outlook Express e-mail account settings hadn't been set up to facilitate authentication, and my ISP's outgoing mail servers wouldn't let me send messages without that authentication.

To fix the problem, I had to go into Outlook Express and change my account's SMTP authentication information so that my ISP's outgoing mail servers would allow me to send e-mail while connected to the Internet on Sprint's network. After adding the necessary authentication information, sending e-mail from Outlook Express was no longer a problem.

Speedy Enough

In my decidedly unscientific tests, data transmission on Sprint's PCS Vision network seemed a bit faster than 56-kbps dial-up but noticeably slower than what my DSL connection delivers. For typical Web surfing and e-mailing, though, the speeds were sufficient.

The network coverage was fine, too. I used PCS Vision in four different locations in San Francisco and had no trouble getting or keeping a connection at any of them.

But What About Wi-Fi?

Sprint PCS Vision equipment and service is expensive. The PC Card modem I used is $250; a CompactFlash version (PCS Connection Card CF2031) is $230; and the Sierra Wireless AirCard 550 is $350. Monthly service plans begin at $40 for 20MB of data sent and received and go up to $100 for unlimited usage.

Compare those figures to $30 per month for unlimited T-Mobile Wi-Fi (802.11b) service at Starbucks and other locales, and a logical question arises. With all the Wi-Fi hot spots around--providing cheaper, faster Internet access--do you really need a 3G service like Sprint's?

If you need to go online several times a week while out in the field, and you can't regularly predict where you'll be when that need arises, then yes, Sprint's network probably makes sense for you. Otherwise, the corner Starbucks or other 802.11 access points may suffice.

For a Qualcomm executive's take on the 3G vs. Wi-Fi discussion, see the Wireless section in this newsletter.

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