Hands-On With Sprint's Mobile Broadband

A media spokesperson for Sprint later told me that "while customer care representatives have been informed of these policies and are trained to follow the procedures for assisting customers with these types of inquiries, we continue to work hard to ensure our representatives receive additional, ongoing education."

I decided to initiate the service on my own and deal with the details later. To begin, I launched Sony's SmartWi Connection Utility, which came preinstalled on my Vaio. The software is designed to step you through the activation process, which you can presumably do online or over the phone. I chose the online option but the process stalled when the software asked me for my Mobile Station ID (MSID) number. I didn't know what the number was, nor could I figure out where to find it.

Note: Sony Vaio customers can't complete the activation process online on their own, a Sprint spokesperson later told me. Sprint's phone reps can handle the programming to provide customers with MSID numbers, she added. Once you have that information, you can use the Sony wizard to complete the activation process.

Frustrated, I took my Vaio and the printed offer to a Sprint store in San Francisco's Castro neighborhood. I waited in line 30 minutes. Finally, I met with Gregg E., a friendly, knowledgeable guy. I showed him the coupon and explained my situation.

I soon realized why I waited 30 minutes: Gregg is extremely popular. That's because, unlike the Sprint telephone service reps I dealt with, he sincerely wanted to help me use his employer's service. Example: When Gregg didn't know the answer to one of my questions, he used his own cell phone to call a colleague at another store to find out. Someone needs to give this man a raise.

Within about 15 minutes, Gregg had me online using Sprint Mobile Broadband. The service worked flawlessly during my travels. It was easy to connect, and the connection was fast where EvDO was available. Not surprisingly, the EvDO network wasn't accessible in remote DeBordieu, though Sprint's slower data network was.

About a week after returning from my trip, I returned to the Sprint store to cancel my service. Gregg wasn't there, unfortunately. The customer service rep I spoke to said I'd have to call Sprint to discontinue my service.

"Why?" I asked. "Are they trying to make it hard for me to drop the service?"

"Pretty much," he replied.

I came home and called Sprint. The phone rep asked me why I wanted to cancel the service. "It costs too much," I explained.

Would I keep the broadband service if he could give it to me for $40 per month instead of $60? No, I replied. "I might be able to give it to you for $30 a month," he continued. I stayed firm, however.

At this point, the Sprint rep said I would only be charged a partial month. I told him I shouldn't be charged at all, because the offer was for a 30-day free trial. He said he was unfamiliar with this offer, and that I'd have to fax it to him to verify, which I did.