Millenicom is back

[qwcslvr1]

A

Anyone researched this new offer

$70.  unlimited LTE

millenicom.com

[Big5er]

Your link to the offer is an email address.

And there isn't much to "research", just a little to read.
"Use of the Ultimate Plan with smartphones and tablets allow those devices to stream at LTE speeds. However sharing that connection is limited to 512kbps unless the Premium Streaming feature is added. The Premium Streaming feature is an additional $25/month and allows all connected devices to stream at LTE speeds. This plan will not function with regular hotspots such as our ZTE Z-917. During congestion users over 50GB may experience reduced speeds.

And  

The Ultimate Plan which allows for unlimited LTE data (though in congested areas during high traffic times, using over 50GB of combined data will cause users to be shifted to non-LTE until the traffic eases off) but can only be used with a smartphone, tablet or USB modem for use with laptop and desktop PCs or Mac. More exciting information about the plans is listed below …" 

 

Kinda sounds like what I have already..only more expensive. I think it is also strange that they do not show a coverage "map". You enter an address and they will tell you if you have coverage at that location. What about where you want to travel to? Are you supposed to check the address of every possible place you want to go? Naa....show me a map.

[Lou Schneider]

Millenicom is an Internet reseller - they have a bulk deal with Verixon and resell packages to individual users.  They offered a very attractive unlimited data package on the Verizon network a few years back.  Then Verizon abruptly cancelled their contract, leaving Millinicom's users in the lurch and forcing them to sign up directly with Verizon at the going rate if they wanted to continue using their devices.

I was working for a non-commercial radio station at the time, and had to transfer a half dozen accounts that provided data access to our mountaintop transmitter sites.  Fortunately Verizon gave us an affordable package because we were owned by a government entity.  Others weren't so lucky and wound up paying through the nose.

[Dutch_12078]

Millenicom's "Ultimate LTE" plan is on T-Mobile, and only includes 200mb of roaming data before you're cut off until the end of the cycle or you're back on a T-Mobile tower. Usage over 50GB is subject to deprioritization.

[Bill Joyce]

Interesting.   Since T-Mobile does not have a Mobile Hotspot device on their own plans, I suspect the Ultimate device ($150) is built for AT&T or some other GSM/LTE provider.  I do not expect it to have support for all of T-Mobiles bands, especially the new 600MHZ band that T-Mobile is using to get more coverage area.

[eddie1261]

Doesn't any company's SIM work in any jetpack type device?

[chirakawa]

2 hours ago, eddie1261 said:

Doesn't any company's SIM work in any jetpack type device?

No.

[Dutch_12078]

6 hours ago, Bill Joyce said:

Interesting.   Since T-Mobile does not have a Mobile Hotspot device on their own plans, I suspect the Ultimate device ($150) is built for AT&T or some other GSM/LTE provider.  I do not expect it to have support for all of T-Mobiles bands, especially the new 600MHZ band that T-Mobile is using to get more coverage area.

"The Airesy is customized to include Bands 2, 4, 5, 12 and 17 for use on our Ultimate LTE plan."

http://www.millenicom.com/equipment/#mifi

[Chalkie]

18 hours ago, Bill Joyce said:

 Since T-Mobile does not have a Mobile Hotspot device on their own plans, 

Not true. T-Mobile offers the Alcatel LINKZONE as well as ZTE Falcon hotspots. I briefly looked at them but since our phones are capable of hotspotting I could not see a benefit for us. 

[Bill Joyce]

1 hour ago, Chalkie said:

Not true. T-Mobile offers the Alcatel LINKZONE as well as ZTE Falcon hotspots. I briefly looked at them but since our phones are capable of hotspotting I could not see a benefit for us. 

Interesting, since rvmobileinternet.com said they just have phone plans now.  The Linkzones does support T-Mobile's older bands, 2, 4 and 12, but not the new ones, 66 and 71.  But that is the same as many of their phones, including the newest iPhone.  If you want the new bands you need to get an LG V30 or a Samsung Galaxy 8 Active.  

I know that when I had a T-Mobile phone last year they had no mobile hotspots in the stores and did not mention them.  I got rid of the T-Mobile plan since I kept hitting areas where it did not work or was very slow.  These areas were in WA, OR, and CA.  It worked everywhere I tried it in AZ, but that was not many places before I cancelled.

[Bill Joyce]

15 hours ago, Dutch_12078 said:

"The Airesy is customized to include Bands 2, 4, 5, 12 and 17 for use on our Ultimate LTE plan."

http://www.millenicom.com/equipment/#mifi

T-Mobile is on bands 2, 4, 12, 66, 71 and AT&T is on bands 2, 4, 5, 12, 17.  That means the mobile hotspot is missing bands 66 and 71, while including bands 5 and  17, which means this mobile hotspot is built for AT&T and not T-Mobile.  

 

[Dutch_12078]

4 hours ago, Bill Joyce said:

T-Mobile is on bands 2, 4, 12, 66, 71 and AT&T is on bands 2, 4, 5, 12, 17.  That means the mobile hotspot is missing bands 66 and 71, while including bands 5 and  17, which means this mobile hotspot is built for AT&T and not T-Mobile.  

 

I agree, Bill, it does appear that Millenicom is repurposing an AT&T hotspot for their T-Mobile unlimited plan. RVMobileInternet.com says this about it: 

"Their Ultimate LTE plan is essentially a T-Mobile One plan that they sell to put in selected non-T-Mobile branded data only devices to get unlimited data. However, these plans are subject to network prioritization, and may experienced slowed speeds after 50B of usage in a month when on congested towers.  These plans are similar the same plans that 4G Antenna Shop and Unlimited LTE Advanced is selling for their T-Mobile options."

https://www.rvmobileinternet.com/review-center/millenicom-tmobile-cellular-plans/

[kb0zke]

I got the email, too, so I did a bit of checking. Yes, the Unlimited plan is T-Mobile. The T-Mobile coverage map looks a lot better now than it did a couple of years ago. Since we had just gotten a new router from Verizon a couple of days before, we're not going to switch now. Also, we were Millenicom customers back when they were using Verizon, and that deal left a bit of a bad memory. We'll see what sort of deal they have in a couple of years. I suspect that by then true unlimited will be pretty much the norm.

[Dutch_12078]

T-Mobile's coverage map has gotten a lot better IF your device uses all of the bands T-M is using in their expansion. That includes the 66 and 71 bands that Bill Joyce mentioned. The Millenicom hotspot does not include them...

[Rhyph]

If the Ultimate Plan is the T-Mobile One plan in disguise, which it appears to be, then this is not unlimited data on hotspots (mifi type devices).  T-Mobile only allows 10GB of Hotspot data, unless you purchase their $25 add-on package which I do see is offered by Millenicom as well.  With the add-on, the hotspot data usage is then metered to the 50gb with tower saturation reprioritization.  Millenicom does not explain this very well anywhere I can see, so be careful and I'd ask about this specifically.  Otherwise, I see no cost or feature advantage to going with Millenicom over T-Mobile directly, beyond maybe the hardware itself.  

[docj]

13 hours ago, Rhyph said:

Otherwise, I see no cost or feature advantage to going with Millenicom over T-Mobile directly, beyond maybe the hardware itself.  

Unless I missed something, the options appear to be going with a data-only plan on Millenicom but not having a hotspot device which utilizes all of T-Mobile's bands, or going with T-Mobile directly and using a phone as a hotspot to access as many bands as the particular device can handle.  For equivalent unlimited 4G/LTE hotspot capability both plans appear to cost ~$100/mo.  Sure seems like going directly to T-Mobile is a better deal since you also end up with a voice line which you don't under Millenicom.  That way, if I was in an area with poor Verizon service I could, possibly, forward my Verizon phone to my T-Mobile number.

[Rhyph]

11 hours ago, docj said:

the options appear to be going with a data-only plan on Millenicom but not having a hotspot device which utilizes all of T-Mobile's bands, or going with T-Mobile directly and using a phone as a hotspot to access as many bands as the particular device can handle.  For equivalent unlimited 4G/LTE hotspot capability both plans appear to cost ~$100/mo.  Sure seems like going directly to T-Mobile is a better deal since you also end up with a voice line which you don't under Millenicom.

Yes and the comparison I was making was specifically based on using any device as a hotspot and/or actual hotspot devices.  The 10gb limitation without the add-on is there on hotspot data no matter the device being used or provider of the T-mo service.  For clarity, I was thinking of a data only situation for hotspot usage and a hotspot device, I didn't include thinking about having a usable voice line since a hotspot device won't make use of it.  However all said and correct, you could do a phone device through T-mo, on the One package, plus the $25 add-on for the ~$100 and have more overall with the voice line and a fully featured phone of your favorite flavor.  

[Bill Joyce]

"on the One package, plus the $25 add-on for the ~$100 and have more overall with the voice line and a fully featured phone of your favorite flavor." 

If your flavor is LG or Samsung, since  only one model each of those brands has the new bands to get you the full coverage map.  These are not cheap phones.  So far T-Mobile does not have a cheap phone with the new bands, but that will happen.  I used a $140 LG K10 phone on T-Mobile for about a year and it worked great as a hotspot.  That phone was cheaper than the hotspot Millenicom sells and has the same bands.

[tsudtell]

I have no idea about Millenicom but I have had a lot of experience with Consumer Cellular using AT&T network, also a jet type pack using AT&T network but plan not thru AT&T.  If I was on a AT&T tower no problem but with a shared tower they used, phone worked great but no data.  NONE.  Example would be the rest stop 12 mile out of Tonopah, NV HY 95 or Death Valley Furnace Creek. Good signal but no I-net data. Support on both had no idea and kept having me reboot, try this or that and just waist my time. One guy even gave me a new phone number on the standalone pack while I was in AZ with no luck.

This is not JMHO, it is the facts confirmed by AT&T manager - Again, this was two years ago.

[Dutch_12078]

It's pretty common for MVNO's (Mobile Virtual Network Operator's) like CC to not have access to roaming data in their carrier contract. In some cases, even voice service can't access roaming towers.

[Sparksvonrou]

This went from 4 stars to zero. Don't fall for the deception. We are YoutTubers and purchased their service because they said that a bunch of approved apps, things including YouTube don't use your data. Oh but wait if you use over 50gb they throttle you totally even if you purchase their biggest data package and had 21gb of unused paid data not yet used. In reality, the service isn't just throttled, T-Mobile their carrier, drops you continually from the towers, and you can have 4 bars of signal; have a "internet" indicator, but have zero data on the download link. Oh, it's your equipment is their tech support's response; reset your equipment. Only after that doesn't work then it's throttling. Yes, throttling to zero even in the middle of the night when there sure as the devil isn't congestion, which is the only time your supposed to be throttled. We're moving to "Unlimitedville" since we are willing to pay for our data, but not willing to be led on with deception

[Dutch_12078]

Are you aware of Verizon's $65/mo (w/autopay) unlimited data prepaid no contract hotspot plan? I think I'd try that before paying Unlimitedville $150-$250/mo.

Tablet & Jetpack Plans
(Scroll down page)

[whj469]

I get just about what Big5er notes in the 2nd post above, 50 G then slow down etc from ATT for about $70 per month. It is Wifi that I do take with me when we travel. We are happy with the speed but we don't stream movies.