Road Runner Mobile first launched in Hawaii earlier this year, and, as with Road Runner High Speed Online residential service (launched back in 1997), there were a lot of early adopters. Like those who were "in the know" about broadband technologies (compared to dial-up) in '97, those who are aware of 4G technology today have quickly jumped on the Road Runner Mobile bandwagon.
Road Runner Mobile Works Here!
There are some though, who need and want more information. With any new technology, that's very understandable. This article will attempt to demystify everything Road Runner Mobile for you. I'll break it down - in layman's terms - so that it will hopefully give you the right tools to educate yourself as to what Road Runner Mobile is and see if it's right for you.
What is Road Runner Mobile?
First thing's first. Let's watch the commercial to get warmed up...
In the opening scene, you'll notice a female on the beach propping up some sort of device in her laptop. That is what's known as a mobile device (or wireless card). Simply put, that tiny little device is what connects you to the Internet. It searches the airwaves for the 4G signal (or 3G if 4G is not available) and connects you to it. All you do is plug it in to your standard USB port on your laptop (or mobile device) and you're good to go.
Currently, Oceanic Time Warner Cable offers the Motorola USBw100 or the Franklin U301 with more products and devices on the way (including hub/router-type devices, allowing you to share your 4G connection via WiFi). For more information on our current products, see below or click here.
For a hands-on look at the newest Franklin U301 device, check out this unboxing video:
As the video mentioned, Oceanic Time Warner Cable is currently running a promo that actually allows you to get either card for free with your service (with a 2 year contract). If you're interested in taking advantage of this offer, inquire with them today.
Every install comes with a free copy of the Connection Manager software, which allows you to easily manage all of your wireless Internet connections (4G, 3G, Wi-Fi) with just a few clicks.
Road Runner Mobile Connection Manager Software
You can customize it to do as much or as little as you'd like. For example, you can have it automatically find and connect to:
- the Road Runner Mobile 4G network
- a Road Runner Speed Zone (if you're in a Road Runner Speed Zone hot spot)
- Wi-Fi networks if it finds it (e.g. when you use your computer at home, at work, or where hotspots like Road Runner Speed Zones are available)
You can even set the sequence of what to search for first, or turn them all off and set it to manual mode if you wish. The options are endless. It just depends on how you will be using it.
(Ed's notes: Many netbooks and smaller peripherals these days do not have a CD drive, so you may wish to download them beforehand from the web here. This download should be the latest version of the Connection Manger software, but if there are any updates to it, or any other version(s) you load from the CD, etc., it will automatically download and install it for you as soon as you are connected. You may or may not experience a delay during this initial update.)
Where does Road Runner Mobile Work?
4G, which is short for 4th Generation, is a major upgrade from 3G. In fact, it is up to 10 times as fast as 3G*. For a reference, most mobile phones these days run over 3G. When you open up a browser on your phone and go to a web site, that is running over a 3G network. Imagine that same data going up to 10 times as fast. That's 4G. (For more on 4G, read Kiman Wong's articles here and here).
4G is the latest in cutting edge technology and we are fortunate enough to have it here in Hawaii so early on... even before the "big" cities like New York and Los Angeles. Currently, most areas on Oahu and the main towns of Maui are covered. Our unofficial 9th island: Las Vegas, Nevada is as well, as are cities in Washington, Oregon, Texas, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, and more. Over 35 in fact. For a growing list of 4G cities, please click here. To view a coverage map of ALL areas covered by Road Runner Mobile (4G or otherwise), click here.
Melissa Chang shows that Road Runner Mobile works in Hawaii
In Hawaii?
Perhaps you're more of a visual person and don't wish to read a boring, text based list of locations? Well, you're in luck! Oceanic Time Warner Cable has developed a microsite called AndHere.com that illustrates where exactly Road Runner Mobile works around Oahu (and soon to be Maui). Oceanic Time Warner Cable, as well as some of Hawaii's social media leaders (like Peter Kay, Melissa Chang, and Russ Sumida) take Road Runner Mobile out and about, take photos of where they're at, run some speed tests, and post it for your viewing pleasure. It's a pretty neat way to help us better understand what Road Runner is and where and how you can use it in your everyday life.
AndHere.com
For more on...
* Based on download speed comparison of 3G's 600 kbps vs. 4G's 6 Mbps.
Oceanic Time Warner Cable's Community Website
