I'm confused by the seemingly endless internet access options and need some help.
What is the lowest initial and monthly cost, highest speed wireless broadband available?
is it ev-do? or something like it?
aircards probably aren't fast enough, I've heard? and wifi isn't widely enough available, I sometimes boondock.
I'm a part-timer easing into fulltime, if that makes a difference.
I see where, village idiot standing in the pond commercial, some are offering the card for free, after rebate, and about 50-70$ a month
this is the best deal I've run onto so far, is there anything faster and cheaper? any new technology about to come on the market?
a one year contract would be tolerable, but I don't want a 2 yr contract if I can avoid it.
I don't think I can afford satellite internet. I don't want to set up the dish and the in-motion, on-roof version is too expensive for me.
I would also like the service to be portable with my laptop so I can have broadband if I take it with me. Partly why a plug-in card, like ev-do uses, seems a good idea.
I would like broadband while driving down the highway, for passengers, but it's not mandatory.
I'm in florida at the moment, but will need coverage in most of USA and possibly Canada and Mexico.
If you want broadband while driving, an aircard is about your only option.
There are about three ways to get high speed internet. I've listed them in order of cost, however the $ I've posted may be a bit outdated. I'm sure those using one of the described systems can provide more up=to-date costs.
1. WiFi. This is a short distance service provided by many campgrounds, motels/hotels, coffee houses, libraries, etc. Speed depends on the type of connection the supplier of the WiFi connection has to the internet. Although I have never seen it, it could be a dial up connection, but is usually a cable or DSL modem, or a satellite connection. Some WiFi connections are provided free, others require a hourly, daily weekly or monthly charge. Although there are WiFi suppliers that offer subscription service, the subscriptions only work for their sites. Since there are many suppliers, it is unlikely you will be able to use a subscription everywhere. Cost is anywhere from free to a few dollars per day.
2. Aircard - Available from most major cell providers, they operate at close to cable/DSL speeds near large cities that have high speed service, and closer to fast dial up in almost any area the cell provider covers. Cards are specific to the system you use, ie Verison cards won't work on AT&T systems. Cost runs about $60.00 per month if you already have a cell phone on the same service & closer to $80.00 if it is stand alone.
3. Satellite - Works almost anywhere you can see the southern sky, although if you move far enough north or south you may need to change satellites. Cost is anywhere from around $3000 for a manual system to around $5000 for an automatic rooftop system, plus around $90.00 per month for the service.
There have been many discussions of internet services on this forum - you might do a search using WiFi, Satellite Internet, or Aircard to find previous posts.
I'm confused by the seemingly endless internet access options and need some help.
What is the lowest initial and monthly cost, highest speed wireless broadband available?
is it ev-do? or something like it?
aircards probably aren't fast enough, I've heard? and wifi isn't widely enough available, I sometimes boondock. There are many areas of the US where you will not have a signal for an aircard.
I'm a part-timer easing into fulltime, if that makes a difference.
I see where, village idiot standing in the pond commercial, some are offering the card for free, after rebate, and about 50-70$ a month
this is the best deal I've run onto so far, is there anything faster and cheaper? any new technology about to come on the market?
a one year contract would be tolerable, but I don't want a 2 yr contract if I can avoid it.
I don't think I can afford satellite internet. I don't want to set up the dish and the in-motion, on-roof version is too expensive for me. The tripod system will cost about $1300 plus $60 or $70 a month, depending on your requirements.
I would also like the service to be portable with my laptop so I can have broadband if I take it with me. Partly why a plug-in card, like ev-do uses, seems a good idea.
I would like broadband while driving down the highway, for passengers, but it's not mandatory.
I'm in florida at the moment, but will need coverage in most of USA and possibly Canada and Mexico. Your American air card will not give you service in Mexico or Canada, only in the 50 US states.
Thanks, jim
Bob & Betsy - USN Ret'd '78 & FL LEO Ret'd '03 FMCA #F203528 '05 HR Endeavor, 40PRQ w/400 Cummins - With -'05 GMC Sierra SLT, CC Z-71, the pusher '07 Arctic Cat 500A & Wilderness Kayak, riding in the pusher - Our Current Location
I should have mentioned that I primarily use Linux, but have vista and will use it if forced to. So, if the internet service requires windows software or driver to work it's device or connect to it's service, then I'm mostly out of luck. Which is why I'd like to avoid all services that require windows, unless there is a Linux workaround.
wifi is good, I use it occasionally. it's good for email, usenet, rss, forums, text browsing and similar text uses, but I'd prefer much faster for fast browsing of graphical websites, file transfers, streaming audio or video and someday, hopefully, voip. So, I'll use wifi, but would like an additional method to connect for when I'm not near a hotspot.
I would get the satellite, just can't afford it at the moment. must come down much more in price first.
I've read many of the threads, but am still a little confused by all the details and conflicting opinions. Is an aircard the same as ev-do? I thought evdo was the newest fastest option.
Texan,
"There are many areas of the US where you will not have a signal for an aircard"
what do you mean by "many"? is there any authoritative sites that show you the true coverage of aircards? If I go to the mecca of rving, quarzsite, will the aircard get anything there? What about state and national parks?
"Your American air card will not give you service in Mexico or Canada, only in the 50 US states."
so what do you recommend other than satellite? It seems strange that aircards don't work in Canada. do you mean the usa aircard service doesn't work in canada? surely canada has aircards of some type.
Dave,
thanks for the linux link, I'll take a look at it. I had a feeling Linux would show up somewhere.
Mrwizard,
so evdo is a type of aircard, and as fast as satellite in some cases. I think that's probably what I'll go with for now. Sprint is sounding pretty good due to price and Linux support.
Krassh,
I downloaded the pdf, thanks
I need something now, so wimax will have to wait.
Thanks everyone for the fast answers. This should help a lot of folks.
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