Can a 4G Network Smart Phone Plan Provide Internet Connection to a Desktop PC?

[jdanniel]

Hi everyone.
I'm not really sure where to ask this question, so I hope you don't mind if I post it here. It has to do with smart phones.

I'll try to keep this brief, but please permit me to include enough detail to get an informed response.

I am shopping for both a smart phone and a carrier. It will most likely be Verizon. I don't know which phone I'd purchase yet.

I visited a local Verizon store, and the salesman told me there is no data usage if I use a smart phone with a wireless router. He said if a smart phone runs off WiFi, it doesn't count towards my data usage.

Is this true?

I have a wireless router connected to my desktop PC to run my wireless printer, and to feed my Google Nexus 7. (So yes, I am a current Android user.)

The salesman said this is different. The wireless router he's talking about is for the 4G network. It would feed up to ten peripherals, including the smart phone.

When he found out I'm using Comcast as my ISP, he said, "It would also feed your desktop PC." He offered to throw the wireless router--which he said would be portable--in with the contract.
This is important to me. Is this true? If I get a smart phone and a contract for 4G service, would it be able to run my desktop PC?

Even more importantly, would the 4G service equal my Comcast service speed, which is 50 mbps (I'm using Comcast's so-called "Burst" plan.)

To me, it doesn't sound right. Could a wireless 4G network equal or surpass a wired connection? If it can?if it DOES?then I'd seriously consider dropping Comcast and going purely with Verizon.

Instead of costing $175 per month for Comcast plus Verizon's monthly fees, it might cost only $100-$100 (depending on the data plan I'd choose).

Or is what he said too good to be true? Thank you for any feedback you care to provide.
Jd

 

[B. Diddy]

A smartphone can access the internet in two ways: via mobile data (using 3G/4G), or via Wifi from a wifi hotspot/router.

1. Mobile data is through the wireless provider--in your case, Verizon. As you probably know, data plans are now tiered in price, since they have done away with unlimited data plans. The bigger data plans obviously cost more, and if you go over your monthly data allotment, you pay extra (which can be a lot, depending on how much you go over). Download speeds on 4G vary, but run around 5-6 MBPS, while 3G is often <1 MBPS (which is pretty darn slow). Your desktop could connect to the internet by using your phone as a hotspot, or by buying a 4G router from Verizon, but since desktops typically use more data than phones, you'd be at more risk of going over your data allotment. If you use your phone as a hotspot, the connection might not be as fast as using a router, so you might be disappointed with the speed.

2. Your wifi router is typically connected to your whatever your ISP provides--so in other words, Comcast cable or AT&T U-verse or whatever. Routers are designed to do only one thing--transmit a signal quickly and efficiently--so your wifi connection to the internet will be as fast as your ISP provides. In the case of Comcast cable, you have the hella fast plan, so Verizon's data speed will be nowhere close. If you use your phone to connect to the internet via your home wifi router, you are connecting using Comcast, not Verizon, and therefore aren't using up your Verizon data allotment. However, if you turn on 4G at home instead of wifi and access the internet, then you are using up your Verizon data allotment.

 

[jdanniel]

I can't imagine a wireless connection that would equal a wired one, especially when I have a high-end connection plan with Comcast.

I cannot justify having a Comcast internet connection for roughly 75 bucks a month AND spend 100 bucks or more for a smart phone. I just don't need a smart phone all that badly. Not at this point in time.

So, thank you for the information.