UMTS at Bradley Airport

Okay, I couldn’t resist. I ran a speed test while tethering my laptop near BDL, and the results I got from frontier.net speedtest are:

743kbs download/231 kbs upload

Not bad, and it seemed pretty responsive for cellular internet. I was very happy with it, and finally think that usable internet while mobile may be a reality.

Verizon’s 1XRTT and Cingular’s EDGE networks were okay, but very laggy and slow. I found myself waiting for data more than anything else. I don’t have experience with Verizon or Sprint’s EVDO, but Cingular’s 3G looks promising.

Only disappointment, as I said in a previous post, is that it seems like there is only a microcell around here at the airport for UMTS/HSDPA, and as soon as I get too far away (like RT. 20), I lose the signal, and go back to GPRS/EDGE. Hopefully the buildout will reach where I live soon.

One other nice feature of UMTS is that you can use the data and voice at the same time. I tested this while tethering (making a phone call at the same time). The result: It works. I’m very impressed by this. Now if I’m in the middle of transferring data, a phone call will not interrupt it. Also, if a customer calls me, I can browse for information in real time, and not have to tell them I will call them back.