I currently use a razr v3c. For the past month I've been tethering with tmobile's 5.99 web plan but I found it pretty slow. I decided to try out their unlimited internet add-on for 19.99. I switched my connection to internet2 from wap. However, I found it to run at the exact same speed. Has anyone tried this? Is it because bluetooth can only handle a slower speed? Is it because the razr v3c only has so fast of a connection with gprs? Would a razr v3xx with EDGE make all the difference? I guess I'm considering either going back to the 5.99 plan or buying a v3xx. Thanks for the help

Anyone? I've searched the forum thoroughly with no answer.

T-Mobile's "unlimited internet" is not a faster speed. It's "all internet access, with unlimited data volume".


Their "unlimited web" service, I think, blocks non-email and non-web ports (so, I think you get access to ports 25, 110, 143, 993, 995, 80, and https (443?), with every other port being filtered). With unlimited internet, I think they don't block any ports.

So, with unlimited web, you can't just ssh to any machine, or use most MMORPGs, without setting up some network proxy magic of your own (subverting your agreement with T-Mobile, and opening you up to having your contract terminated; AT&T and Verizon do that if you subvert their plans, I don't know if T-Mobile does or not). If you want all of those other kinds of things, without breaking your agreements, you have to step up to "Unlimited Internet". If you dont' need those other things, then you're probably just fine on "Unlimited Web".

If you get a non-unlimited service, they don't give you slower speed, they give you "5MB/month" or something along those lines (5MB/mo is actually an AT&T plan, I think, I don't recall what it is that T-mobile's non-unlimited limits are). And then they charge you extra money if you go over your limit.

Thanks alot john. Very helpful. So is edge alot faster than gprs?

The GSM family of data rates (maximum theoretical) is:

GPRS is 80kbps download, 40kbps upload (T-mobile*)
EDGE is 474kbps download, 474kbps upload (AT&T and Cingular)
HSDPA is 14,400kbps download, 384kbps upload
HSUPA is 14,400kbps download, 5,760 kbps upload

(* T-mobile is supposed to be upgrading in the near future, but I don't know if they're going to EDGE or skipping straight to HSDPA or HSUPA ... at this point, it'd make more sense to leap straight to HSUPA in my opinion)

The CDMA family (Verizon and Sprint) has EVDO. EVDO varies on download speeds from 2,500kbps to 4,900kbps, and upload speeds from 153kbps to 1,800kbps (depending on which revision of EVDO you get).

Compared to WiMAX which is 70,000kbps download and upload. Which is why it'd be insane for Sprint to abandon WiMAX at this point.

So, anyway, as you can see, T-mobile is the slowest. My gf likes to say "T-mobile has the best plans, and the worst phones and data rates". And Sprint has the best data rates, but the worst plans.