🚀 go-pugleaf

The best speed I saw from the external GT, connected via USB was pretty
close to 80kbs. The Merlin pc card in the exact same spot was something
around 110 kbs. Latency was always >300 ms (so online gaming wouldn't have
worked well) and transfer speeds were pretty bursty. It would swing up and
down in speed 20 kbs in the course of a minute or two. They promise >up< to
128kbs, so I was inacurate about that being a promise not kept.

"Steve Strike" <stevestrike@worldnet.att.net> wrote in message
news:ydFP6.504$kh4.41144@bgtnsc04-news.ops.worldnet.att.net...
> Wow, that's too bad.  So what were the promised speeds and what did you
> actually get?
>
> "dan" <ihatewwc@hotmail.com> wrote in message
> news:p7FP6.549432$Sv5.11440782@news.easynews.com...
> > File under: Wireless Web Connect:  Wireless Internet, Ricochet, Novatel,
> > Metricom
> >
> > I think I just canceled my Ricochet wireless service with Wireless Web
> > Connect. But you know what? I'm not sure.
> >
> > I started in September of  2000 with the stand alone Ricochet modem. It
> > wasn't too useful because of its bulk, nor as fast as promised, but when
I
> > needed it, worked. Sometime around the new year, I saw and bought a
> Novatel
> > Merlin PC card at a Fry's Electronics. It was quite cool. I could stick
it
> > in my laptop, or my Compaq iPAQ Pocket PC and life was good... Until the
> > card burned out. I went to sleep one night with it playing music from
the
> > BBC, the next day the card was dead. Both the laptop and the iPAQ said
it
> > was an unknown card, and in fact putting it the laptop tended to make
the
> > laptop hang.
> >
> > I called Novatel and after around thirty minutes of the tech telling me
> > "that's very interesting... now lets have you do this... now restart the
> > laptop" my laptop stopped booting. I sighed, told him I'd call back when
I
> > got my laptop running again, then thought better of it. I  called my
> > Wireless Web Connect representative. I told him the story and told him
> since
> > I wasn't happy with my Novatel experience I'd like to order a Sierra
> > Aircard. He said he could only take orders for new clients, but if I
> called
> > WWC's sales line they should be able to help me out. [By the way, the
> sales
> > rep is a nice guy. I'm not cheesed at him in the slightest.] I called
> sales
> > and since they were not answering the phones directly, I left a message
> > detailing what I needed and asked them to call me back. No call.
> >
> > I sidelined everything for a couple of months until I realized I was
going
> > to be traveling again. I called the WWC customer service line on May 8,
> and
> > after only ten minutes or so on hold,  got to tell a customer service
> > representative (CSR) what I needed. She understood, and said it was in
> > stock, I'd need to pay $300 for a new card... and probably $30 for an
> > activation fee. I complained about the activation fee and she said she'd
> > check with someone about it. I said "fine, ship it standard. And since
it
> > will be a few days, can we turn my old modem back on?" She did do that.
> The
> > modem never arrived.
> >
> > On May 18 I called back and talked to CSR #2. She couldn't find an
order.
> > She could see the re-activation of my old modem. She could see who CSR
#1
> > was, and she could see the serial number of my dead Novatel modem. She
> > thought I may be able to get the Aircard as a warranty replacement for
the
> > Novatel, but if she couldn't, she'd have to charge me for it. She didn't
> > mention the $30 activation fee, so I thought I was doing good. This time
I
> > wanted it shipped FedEx. It was to arrive Monday May 21. The modem never
> > arrived.
> >
> > I called May 24, talked to a third CSR, who initially, could find no
> record
> > of an order being placed. I'm on hold a while. He comes back online
> > apologizes and says he'll personally ship the modem May 25, and I'll
have
> it
> > on Saturday May 26. I was in the process of telling him to cancel my
> account
> > when what he said sunk in.... I'd have the modem in a day and a half. I
> > agreed and sincerely thanked him.
> >
> > Guess what. Today May 25, customer service rep #2 calls. She doesn't
sound
> > quite as nice today. She apologizes for the problems, attributes it to
me
> > buying the Novatel modem from Fry's and says. "I'm sorry, but what you
> will
> > *have* to do is..." I lost it. I didn't swear at her, what I said
> was"Cancel
> > my account, this isn't worth it. Cancel my account." Then I hung up. Bet
> you
> > guys $50 she didn't cancel my account. Based on my experience with them,
> > I'll be calling them for months, trying to stop them from billing me.
> >
> > My advice is stay away, far away from Wireless Web Connect. It seems
like
> > something is terribly wrong there. This whole stupid train wreck of a
> story
> > took place over seven different phone calls and two months of time. If
I'd
> > been trying to weasel a better modem out of them without paying for it
I'd
> > feel better somehow, like cosmic justice had been served.  But I was
> asking
> > them to take my money, if necessary, just please sell me something that
> they
> > all said they had in stock,  and send it to me.
> >
> > Good Luck. You've been warned.
> >
> >
> >
>
>