Readers React: Mobile Broadband, Part 2 Alabama

Last week I shared some feedback from readers regarding their experiences using cellular wireless broadband services from Sprint and other providers. I've got more reader e-mail on the topic this week, so read on.

But first, you may want to read about my own experiences with Sprint's Mobile Broadband service.

"I decided to try Sprint's 30-day free trial offer before it expired. I was able to activate online without talking to anyone. It was no easy task, however. After I went through the whole activation process, the computer failed to connect. It never reached the point where I put in any codes or PIN numbers. It just kept showing an error message telling me to activate by phone.

"Then, miraculously, a couple of days later after a software upgrade, I connected to the Sprint network. I was pretty impressed with the speed. I was thinking about keeping the service when the trial was over until I found a bill in the mail for over $100. I was charged a pro-rated amount for the week I used the service, along with the next month's service and an activation fee.

"I asked myself, 'How is this a 30-day free trial?' Disgusted by typical phone company BS, I decided to call and cancel right away. I wasn't even going to continue to use the two weeks I had remaining in the trial. I called Sprint three times to cancel. Each time I was informed they needed my PIN number (a mysterious 6-to-10-digit number) in order to do anything to my account. I wrote down every number the computer gave me that night when I activated. I've got a phone number, an ESN number, an SKU number, and a serial number, but guess what? No PIN number.

"I was informed by three Sprint customer service reps that the only way to cancel my service was to go to a Sprint store and show ID. They would give me my PIN number and then I would have to call Sprint to cancel. This is beyond ridiculous...I had no idea I was going to have to go through this just to cancel a free trial. I am not a Sprint customer, although I was considering switching from AT&T. Not anymore."
--Christopher Taylor, Austin, Texas

"I have used the Sprint broadband service for close to a year now in Arizona as well as on frequent trips to many other cities. With rare exception, I have true broadband service...I was up and running in under 5 minutes...Sitting on my parents' porch in the rural Connecticut woods about a mile from the freeway between Boston and Hartford, I had 1600-kps download and 800-kps upload speeds, according to Speedtest.net. My parents' DSL line was significantly slower!"
--Bruce Hancock, Scottsdale, Arizona

[Author's note: Out of curiosity, I used Speedtest.net to check my home office DSL connection speeds from AT&T. The verdict: My download speed was 1676 kps and upload speed was 427 kps.]