Stationary Wireless Internet Installations (Stationary EVDO)

If you live in a place where cable, DSL, or FIOS aren't available, but have a good signal on Verizon's wireless network, then stationary EVDO may be the way to escape the dial-up blues.

EVDO stands for "Evolution-Data Optimized," and is a way to use mobile phone frequencies to transmit data. It's used for a wide variety of industrial applications, but is becoming a popular Internet option for people who can't get wired broadband service.

Like most of the services we provide, we actually use EVDO. We use it to access the Internet from our laptops when on the road, and as a backup Internet connection at our office when the DSL connection is down. In all the years we've been using it, we have never been unable to connect from any location where a signal was available. But that doesn't mean it's a perfect solution for everyone. Let's look at the benefits and drawbacks of EVDO.

Benefits of EVDO

Stationary EVDO has a lot of good things going for it. For example:

• If you're fairly close to an EVDO-equipped tower, you can get a good, stable connection without having to purchase costly external antennas.
• EVDO is pretty fast. With a good signal, speeds in the 600 - 900 KB/s range are common, which is about as fast as a mid-level DSL connection.
• EVDO is portable. If you have a laptop, you can pop the EVDO card out of the router and into the laptop and have Internet on the road wherever a signal is available. This would include most of Long Island, Westchester, and NYC, as well as most major cities throughout the United States.
• You can network several computers together and share an EVDO connection by using a special router. Yes, the speed will drop if multiple users are active at the same time. But it's still better than dialup.
• The EVDO router also allows computers using operating systems that EVDO providers usually do not support (such as Linux, UNIX, BSD, and so forth) to access the service via TCP/IP.

Drawbacks of EVDO

EVDO isn't perfect. It does have a few drawbacks, including the following:

• To get decent quality over EVDO without a special antenna, you need to be within a few miles of an EVDO-equipped tower, without any significant obstacles between you and the tower. (This distance can be considerably increased using high-gain directional antennas, but that also increases the cost of the installation.)
• The Terms Of Service for EVDO specifically forbid using it for huge downloads such as music or movies.
• Atmospheric conditions may disrupt the availability of EVDO service or result in reduced speeds from time to time, especially in areas where the signal is marginal to begin with. (We haven't actually had this happen, but it could.)

Nonetheless, for households or small businesses that can't get wired broadband, but who do have a strong signal from an EVDO-equipped tower, EVDO usually is the most dependable and least expensive broadband option.

Typical Costs for Stationary EVDO Internet Installation

We don't like having our time wasted, and we know you don't either. So we'll tell you up front that a stationary EVDO installation can be expensive. Here's how it breaks down:

Equipment: If no external antenna is required, the equipment required for a stationary EVDO averages between $300.00 and $500.00, depending mainly on the distance between the computer(s) and the EVDO router, and the amount of cable required. (Wireless solutions are also available in some situations.)

External Antenna and Cabling: If an external antenna and/or line amplifier is required, then figure on adding another $300.00 - $750.00 to the installation cost, depending on the difficulty of the installation and the amount of cable required.

Labor: For an installation without an external antenna, the labor cost for installation and configuration can vary between $135.00 and $500.00, depending on the number of computers, difficulty of cabling (if necessary), and amount of cable needed.

Monthly Service: As of this writing, EVDO service costs about $60.00 plus tax per month, with a two-year commitment. These fees are paid to the EVDO provider, not to Geek On The Run.

So when all is said and done, a simple stationary EVDO connection to a single computer (or a couple of computers in the same room) that doesn't require an external antenna will cost about $500.00 to set up, and about $60.00 a month plus tax for the service thereafter. More complicated installations will cost more to set up, but the monthly fees will be the same.

What's Involved?

Because of the complexity of evaluating your location for stationary EVDO service, we must make an onsite visit to the location where the service will be installed prior to advising you regarding the feasibility of the service. This visit is not free. It's billed at the standard labor rate for your location.

During this visit we'll check to see whether an EVDO signal of sufficient quality to provide acceptable Internet speed and stability is available at the location, either with or without an external antenna. If so, we'll also provide an estimate for the total cost of the installation.

If the estimate is accepted, we'll assist you in establishing an account with the EVDO provider. We'll also obtain a non-refundable deposit for the cost of the equipment. The balance will be due when the installation is completed.

Once the installation is complete, you should be able to use the service pretty much like any other on-demand broadband service. The router will seamlessly negotiate the connection whenever a connected computer requests an Internet connection.

Is Stationary EVDO worth it?

Maybe. If you can get cable, DSL, or FIOS Internet service, then Stationary EVDO probably isn't worth the up-front cost unless you also use EVDO for Internet service while on the road. On the other hand, if no wired Internet service is available in your location, then Stationary EVDO may provide you with a faster, more stable Internet solution than satellite. So it really depends on what other options are available at your location.

If you're interesting in discussing EVDO service for your home or small business, please contact us for more details.