Hidden ISPs
by kes
As hackers, we often find ourselves on the fringes of society, doing things differently than the way they've been done because we find better ways, or just for the lolz.
Despite being in a golden age of online content, Internet access has stagnated. I don't think I need to go into the details of how all of the major ISPs have taken billions of dollars to expand Internet access and then sat on their hands, or how even cable companies are imposing data caps on wired connections while offering no technical backing, simply saying it's a business decision. And there's nothing most individuals can do about it.
After a recent move, I was finding myself searching for a new ISP. I am fortunate enough to have a local Wireless ISP (WISP) in my area. While most would consider the speed slow (10 Mbps), I enjoyed supporting a small, local company and the lack of data caps that came with it.
Unfortunately, after a site survey I found I could not get service at my location. So I was left searching for alternatives, which is how I found out about the following companies providing Internet service through the Sprint cell network.
Most mobile 4G hotspot plans you will find have data caps and will either charge you based on your overages or throttle your data. Neither of those is a good option, but these companies have found a loophole. Most of them seem to operate based on a contract that was made with a company called Clearwire that gave these companies access to their WiMAX network unthrottled or capped. Clearwire was later acquired by Sprint for its spectrum and later decommissioned the WiMAX network. Nevertheless, they still honor the old Clearwire contracts (though some of them claim it can change at any time) on Sprint's current 4G infrastructure. What this means for the less bandwidth-hogging hackers out there is that if you have good Sprint 4G coverage, you could potentially replace your home Internet with one of the plans and not have to worry about data caps or throttling (though 4G speeds can vary more than wired infrastructure). These are some of the notes on the companies that I found on my search. I am not affiliated with any of these companies.
Calyx Institute (www.calyxinstitute.org)
This org is focused on providing privacy and cybersecurity education and will probably excite most readers, if not for the wireless Internet, for their other projects. This includes running (as of this writing) 13 Tor nodes, hosting the Canary Watch (RIP) project, and the founder being the first person to successfully fight a National Security Letter. They also accept Bitcoin, and hint that if you give them a fake name, they may have no way of knowing. The downside is that this org is the only one that does not offer returns, so if you get a hotspot and the Sprint service in your area sucks, you just made a generous donation with only warm feelings instead of a working Internet hotspot. The price is $500 a year, which is equivalent to $42 a month for the first year and then $400 a year (about $33 a month) for subsequent years. For the price, you get a Franklin R850 hotspot, a year's worth of service, some stickers, and a t-shirt.
4G Community (www.4gcommunity.org)
This org seems to focus on providing to educational and health care entities, so a little less exciting than Calyx, but it does have some pros. This is also the org I chose to try because of the return policy. If notified in seven days, the equipment can be returned for a refund minus an activation fee. Another benefit is that there are two levels of membership: select and premium. The select membership can be purchased for $325 a year ($27 a month), $214 for six months, or $154 for three months. Those all come with renewable options in annual, semi-annual, or bi-monthly. The renewals are roughly the same price per month, minus $100. The premium membership comes with a (presumably) nicer ZTE Pocket Wi-Fi hotspot and a slightly higher price tag, $398 for a year, $278 for six months, or $217 for three months. All with similar reductions for renewals.
This is the new org on the block, with not many reviews backing it, and some on Reddit going so far as to claim it's "sketchy." I personally did not order from them, but if anyone at FreeData.io reads 2600, maybe they could throw some discount codes in the advertisements section to generate some good will. This org does have the longest evaluation period at 14 days, though at least one person has claimed to have not gotten a refund for some time. They do offer the widest array of hotspot options, including the Netgear Gateway 6100D, which has external 4G antennas (to help with 4G signal) and 4 gigabit Ethernet ports. All that does come with a cost - the Ultra plan, which includes the 6100D, is $679 for the initial signup, and then $250 a year after. The Premium, which includes the same ZTE Pocket Wi-Fi hotspot as the 4G community premium membership, is $500 for the first year and $250 after. The Basic membership includes a Franklin R850 for $370 a year and $250 after.
There are some limitations for these services. If you enjoy playing online games or do anything that requires a good ping time or low latency, you will probably have some issues with these services. If you do not live in an area that has good Sprint coverage, you will have a bad time. Most of these services will not let you connect more than ten devices at once. However, if you travel frequently to areas that don't have free Wi-Fi, or if you don't trust the free Wi-Fi, these can also serve their intended purposes well.
As for my experience... I decided to try 4G Community because of their reputation and return policy. After receiving the device, I eagerly ran a speed test and was very disappointed. Despite being in a solid 4G coverage area for Sprint, I got a speed of 0.23 Mbps down. After some testing, I became hopeful once again after getting one as high as 6 Mbps, only to be dismayed when the next one ran at a similar speed to the first. I determined at that point I would bite the bullet, get cable Internet, and live to fight another day.
Hopefully, you found my story useful and informative. If any of you get one of these services and disconnect from the large ISPs, then writing this would prove to have been worth my time.