Straight talk zte z288l hotspot experience
Anyone have experience with the new straight talk Verizon 4g lte hotspot. Thanks
Forum Discussion
I've been researching these since they were announced and have posted threads on HowardForums among others. I now have also talked with several who have purchased either the Verizon or the AT&T version.
My conclusion is that they are in fact "throttled" ...not a soft-cap throttle as a Straight Talk smartphone plan has but a general transparent throttle.
Explanation:
General transparent throttle-- Both the Verizon and the AT&T versions of the Straight Talk 4G LTE hotspots are not delivering true or full 4G LTE speeds but are providing substantially lower speeds. For instance, our Millenicom 4620LE JetPack (now being paid through Verizon) averages 20 Mbps down and about 10-15 Mbps up with a ping below 50 ms. However, all the reports I've heard about the Straight Talk 4G LTE Hotspot on Verizon (the Z288L), is at maximum about 4 Mbps down and about 2 Mbps up ...but with still relatively good ping times at below 50 ms. The AT&T model is reported to be even worse. The one person I talk to that had the Z289G was getting less than 2 Mbps down, if they could even get reception. They were frustrated.
Soft-cap throttle-- The soft-cap throttle does not apply to these hotspots as you are paying for a predetermined amount of data. There is no soft-cap. However, Straight Talk's smartphone plan (their $45 Unlimited Plan) has a soft-cap at 3.0 GB where once you use 3.0 GB of data, your speeds can get throttled down to 2G speeds until the start of the next 30-day cycle. But again, this soft-cap throttle obviously does not apply to the hotspots.
My conclusion is that they are in fact "throttled" ...not a soft-cap throttle as a Straight Talk smartphone plan has but a general transparent throttle.
Explanation:
General transparent throttle-- Both the Verizon and the AT&T versions of the Straight Talk 4G LTE hotspots are not delivering true or full 4G LTE speeds but are providing substantially lower speeds. For instance, our Millenicom 4620LE JetPack (now being paid through Verizon) averages 20 Mbps down and about 10-15 Mbps up with a ping below 50 ms. However, all the reports I've heard about the Straight Talk 4G LTE Hotspot on Verizon (the Z288L), is at maximum about 4 Mbps down and about 2 Mbps up ...but with still relatively good ping times at below 50 ms. The AT&T model is reported to be even worse. The one person I talk to that had the Z289G was getting less than 2 Mbps down, if they could even get reception. They were frustrated.
Soft-cap throttle-- The soft-cap throttle does not apply to these hotspots as you are paying for a predetermined amount of data. There is no soft-cap. However, Straight Talk's smartphone plan (their $45 Unlimited Plan) has a soft-cap at 3.0 GB where once you use 3.0 GB of data, your speeds can get throttled down to 2G speeds until the start of the next 30-day cycle. But again, this soft-cap throttle obviously does not apply to the hotspots.
