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December 28, 2006 09:47 PM

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napa dan

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Joined: 12/28/2006

Verizon Wireless in Napa told me that I was not allowed to use the slingbox on their network. They said "streaming video" uses too much data transfer bandwidth and slows down other users. They said, " in our contract you have unlimited access, not unlimited usage of data transfers" what a load!  They warned me that if I was transfering too much data (no oned could tell me what too much data was...) that I would be given a warning letter and if it continued then I would be kicked off the network and still be responsible for early termination fees.....

They basically talked me out of buying a new phone.

Has anyone else been confronted with this problem?

Does anyone know how much data is transfered when using the slingbox to a mobile phone / pda?

Discussion:    Add a Comment | Comments 1-20 of 23 | Latest Comment | 1 2 Next »

December 28, 2006 10:04 PM

Screw it my man. You have just proven for all on this board why Verizon Wireless(not to be confused with Verizon itself) sucks a donkey's arse.

Go to Sprint, they will not terminate you for using your slingbox. In fact I'll bet at least ONE employee at the store has a slingbox!

Actually you should wait for the PPC-6800 to come out then get that as it is EVDO Revision A upgardable.  

A shortcut has to be a challenge, because if it was easy, then it would just be the way.

December 28, 2006 10:17 PM

I think that this is a case where asking for forgiveness is better than asking permission.  If you ask them if you can use SB they're not going to say yes...and the fine print of your contract is so nebulous that you are probably ok using it without asking.


Thoughts?

mmmmm....pie pants!

December 30, 2006 12:22 AM

Or you can take a look at T mobile.  I just switched from Cingular to Tmobile and bought the t mobile DASH and the slingbox works great and they wont kick you off the network.  Check it out.  Tmobile, get their unlimted plan its like 29.99 or 39.99 and it includes their network, Wii fi and Tmobile Hotspots.

 

 

"Let's put the women and children to bed and go hunting for supper!!" GO 9ers ...

December 30, 2006 1:45 PM

Slingbox IS ALLOWED on Cingular. As per their contract the slingbox is approved for data transfer. BUT - as even with their own form of video data transfer, they do reserve the right to limit how much in a time period is used.  There is no set amount - and it is determined on how much in a period of time - not how much overall. So if four hours continuous everyday you used the slingbox, that might raise a red flag. But using it everyday for an hour or so, than later an hour or so etc.... would not be a problem. What Cingular is trying to prevent is leaving something like the slingbox on for hours at a time. Cousin owns a Cingular store - those are the facts. An additional thing is how much you spend per month with Cingular. Someone with a $100 per month bill paying on time will be given more leeway than someone with a $45 per month bill who is late sometimes.

 

January 7, 2007 2:23 AM

I have "VERIZON" wireless with the unlimited plan and I use it to watch my sling box for about 3 to 4 hours each day every day and they have not said a thing to me. In fact when I went to my local Verizon Wireless store here in New Jersey I told the sales man what phone I wanted (6700) and what I was going to use it for. He told me that four other employee's in the store use it for the same thing. I asked him if there was any limitations on usage and he said NO and turned around and asked another employee if he herd of any. Well, I have been slinging for 3 or 4 sometimes more hours a day for months now and have not had ANY issues at all. I have had verizon wireless for many years now and I only added wireless Internet about 4 months ago and when I added it they didn't ask me to sign anything at all. If I get any letters from them in the future I will be sure to post.     Johnnnnny

January 7, 2007 3:11 PM

Hey Johhnny, why don't you go read your TOS...

A shortcut has to be a challenge, because if it was easy, then it would just be the way.

January 7, 2007 4:00 PM

I currently have Verizon with the "unlimited" data plan, and the TOS expressly forbids streaming anything.  You can use an unlimited amount of data, but only for the applications they sanction, which are basically email and browsing on your phone. 

I've done a lot of reading on this and here is a very short summary of what I've found.  They don't actually monitor what type of data your using, only how much, and if you use "too" much, they assume that your doing it by streaming, and hence violating the TOS.  I've  found two different references to how much is too much: one series of posts stated 10 gigs per month, another series state 5 gigs per month.  In regards to the early termination fee, you wouldn't be charged that if they terminate you, and those who have received termination letters uniformly stated that they received only one, stating that they were off the network - no warning (which if correct just seems stupid on Verizon's part).  The only response I found from Verizon directly stated something to the effect that 5 gigs per month was some number of times more than the average (iirc I think they said 10 times) and therefore they felt comfortable that you can only get to that level by "mis-using" the service, or in other words Slinging!

I use my phone every month for both Slinging and casual data tethering, but I do keep an eye on the total usage and keep it under 5 gigs to be safe.  I had switched to Verizon from Sprint, but I agree with the comment above - wait for the 6800 and go with Sprint (unless they change their policies).

January 21, 2007 3:20 PM

Any problems with Sprint?

March 28, 2007 2:14 AM

I guess Alltel isnt in many areas, cause they werent mentioned even once in this old thread. As of two weeks ago its still verizon's policy to prohibit streaming on their network. With my painfully slow existing laptop data services provided by sprintpcs 3-G vision, and sprint's "power vision" not being available in my area (and no dates when to expect it), I went about specifically asking, first Verizon, then Alltel, who both offer evdo in my area, if I could sling on their network. Alltel had no problems with my idea. Im still pretty new to sling and evdo, but hopefully Ill be upgradeing soon and will be able to watch my hd channels in native resolution on Alltel's evdo rev b network, or whoever offers it in my area first...

 

!!All Hail Sling In HD!!

Was going to provide a link to the latest on this faster evdo...but cut and paste is not allowed, which seems really strange.

 

 

 

 

 

April 1, 2007 9:06 PM

I agree with Kstew, especially if you have an unlimited data plan.  Ask for forgiveness rather than permission.

SlingboxPro; DirecTv HD DVR; Samsung Tivo SD; HP DV9910us Pavillion Laptop; Iphone 3GS, Comcast Cable Highspeed

April 1, 2007 9:15 PM

Here is verizons agreement... "The Unlimited Data Plans and Features MAY NOT be used for any other purpose. Examples of prohibited uses include, without limitation, the following: (i) continuous uploading, downloading or streaming of audio or video programming or games; (ii) server devices or host computer applications, including, but not limited to, Web camera posts or broadcasts, automatic data feeds, automated machine-to-machine connections or peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing; or (iii) as a substitute or backup for private lines or dedicated data connections. This means, by way of example only, that checking email, surfing the Internet, downloading legally acquired songs, and/or visiting corporate intranets is permitted, but downloading movies using P2P file sharing services and/or redirecting television signals for viewing on laptops is prohibited. A person engaged in prohibited uses, continuously for one hour, could typically use 100 to 200 MBs, or, if engaged in prohibited uses for 10 hours a day, 7 days a week, could use more than 5 GBs in a month."

April 1, 2007 9:26 PM

Verizon Wireless allows "Unlimited" data packages, however, it is only 5GB/month. Good luck.

Jake

April 6, 2007 9:12 PM

jfitzpa503 said: Verizon Wireless allows "Unlimited" data packages, however, it is only 5GB/month. Good luck.

It's amazing that there hasn't been a class action suit about this yet. But I'm sure there will be. Remember when modem companies were sued because 56K modem cannot actually provide 56Kbps throughput, even theoretically ? And then PC companies like Dell, Gateway, Sony, NEC were sued because 15" monitors actually only had a 14.5" viewable display image. This unlimited data crap from VZW is much more misleading than those other examples...

April 7, 2007 9:31 AM

The fact is that being that Verizon owns their network they can really do whatever they want. Unlimited is simply a marketing term. It is somewhat misleading, but if you strictly adhere to their TOS and use only the apps they deem OK, then you really will have "unlimited" usage because you'll never get close to 5 Gigs!

The problem is that with a wireless cell phone based network like this, if EVERYONE started streaming, the network would come to a crawl so fast it wouldn't be funny. It's just a technological fact. Wireless is a shared resource and they don't want a single group of users monopolizing it. Every wireless internet provider has some rules like this.

The hypocritical thing is that if you have a VCast phone, you can stream as much data as you want via THEIR service. Funny thing is, the wireless congestion facts in the paragraph above still apply!

Bottom line: NEVER EVER NEVER EVER EVER EVER ask your phone company (or ISP for that matter) if you can or cannot do something on their network. Just do it and beg forgiveness if you run afoul of them. I use Verizon as it is forced on me as the company pays my bill so I keep usage reasonable and no problems. But Verizon is one of the most evil companies in America. Look what they are trying to do to Vonage...

Slinging w/ Catcher, ProHD, Pro, Solo, AV, and a Classic. Two TivoHDs, Roku Photobridge and a Roku Soundbridge, AppleTV, and Vudu.www.na9d.net Follow me on Twitter

April 8, 2007 11:08 AM

The funny thing is TV on mobile devices is getting red hot.  For Verizon to say they disapprove streaming video is disingenuous.  It can be translated to mean they disapprove streaming video that was not purchased from them.

May 8, 2007 2:52 PM

I'm not planning on watching TV all day on my Treo, but maybe a couple hours every Saturday during football season.  I am wondering if anybody has ideas on exactly how much I could watch before I used up my Verizon "Unlimited" limit.

For example does watching the sling player on my treo for 1 hour use 100MB?  Does anyone know the ratio?

 Thanks,

Casey

May 9, 2007 2:40 AM

At roughly 200Kbps, it would be about 88MB in an hour, give or take. It could be 100MB, easily.

-MegaZone, GizmoLovers.com
Slingbox PRO-HD w/TiVo Series3, Slingbox SOLO w/TiVo Pioneer DVR-810H, SPM Treo 680, SP WinXP
(Former Sling Media Beta Program Manager.)

May 9, 2007 1:31 PM

MegaZone said: 

"At roughly 200Kbps, it would be about 88MB in an hour, give or take. It could be 100MB, easily."

If my arithmetic is right, that comes out to about 50 hours a month before you hit the 5GB limit, correct? And of course, that assumes no other on-line usage of your phone.

Carl

May 9, 2007 5:41 PM

Correct, 100MB/hour is 51.2 hours to hit 5GB. This is all with a lot of slop, of course - higher bitrates mean less time to hit it.

-MegaZone, GizmoLovers.com
Slingbox PRO-HD w/TiVo Series3, Slingbox SOLO w/TiVo Pioneer DVR-810H, SPM Treo 680, SP WinXP
(Former Sling Media Beta Program Manager.)

May 23, 2007 11:59 AM

is there a way to check data usage on the phone? I am under a corporate account so I never see the data usage, bills etc. I have a Treo 700p with Verizon.

thanks

Discussion:    Add a Comment | Back to Top | Comments 1-20 of 23 | Latest Comment | 1 2 Next »

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