# Wireless Internet Plans



## mountainlady56 (Feb 13, 2006)

I'm trying to determine a good plan for wireless internet, when traveling. My cell phone coverage is, unfortunately, with Alltel, but I get good reception. I have a laptop, with a wireless card. I hate to buy an adapter to hook my computer up to my cell phone for regular dial up, as it's so slow. Any of you have any recommendations? Or, at least explain the whole concept/deal to me, so I'll know what to look for.
Darlene


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## skippershe (May 22, 2006)

Darlene,
I've been wondering the same thing myself...I'll be looking forward to whatever advice comes from this thread. Guess I need to start with a laptop purchase









Dawn


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## egregg57 (Feb 13, 2006)

sgalady said:


> I'm trying to determine a good plan for wireless internet, when traveling. My cell phone coverage is, unfortunately, with Alltel, but I get good reception. I have a laptop, with a wireless card. I hate to buy an adapter to hook my computer up to my cell phone for regular dial up, as it's so slow. Any of you have any recommendations? Or, at least explain the whole concept/deal to me, so I'll know what to look for.
> Darlene


 When at CG's with WiFi we use that and have good luck. But I think you are talking about more on the road stuff right? My Wife and Bother-In-Law have 3 Verizon Cell Phone stores..(Wireless Zone). All sorts of gadjets. I will give my DBIL a call and see what's what.

Eric


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## Above & Beyond (May 20, 2006)

I have a sprint card for my lap top I am very happy with it the card was free with a 2 year contract and the service is about $60 per month but much better than dial up. If you buy that adapter for your phone you will only use it once you will find out that dial up is fast compared to that!


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## hatcityhosehauler (Feb 13, 2004)

No experience with it, sorry. There is also D-SAT internet, but that is fairly expensive if I'm not mistaken.

Tim


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## 2500Ram (Oct 30, 2005)

I've used the Sprint cards in the past with good luck. Here is a coverage map for the Sprint service. If you sign up for a 2 year contract you get the wireless card free after mail in rebates.

I've also heard good things about Verizon but I've never used them.

Good luck
Bill.


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## luv2camp (Mar 9, 2006)

Hubby used to use a Sprint "air" Card for work. They recently switched to Verizon and he said the speed is WAY better and the coverage was better for him. He works in central upstate Pennsylvania a lot. Cell service there is spotty, at best.

If he didn't have the card for work, we wouldn't bother paying for one since we wouldn't use it that much - we only camp two weekends a month. When the campground provides internet service (free or pay), we'll use our built in wireless card for that. If I were on the road a lot, I'd definitely spring for one of the air-cards that has better service in your area.

Let us know what you end up with!


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## NJMikeC (Mar 29, 2006)

Folks,

I sell cell sites so I could lend some assistance. Buy the air cards from either Verizon or Sprint and get some other WiFI card. The air cards technology is called 1xEVDO and by Christmas Sprint's network will be even faster as they are upgrading their network. Anyhow you should be able to download nearly as fast as DSL or cable to you house. So when you are on the road use the 1xEVDO air card. If you get to the campsite and they have free WiFI then use that , other wise if you have coverage the 1xEVDO card will suit you well. My experience with WiFI at campgrounds is poor.


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## Reverie (Aug 9, 2004)

I share a Verizon AirCard with another guy from work. That was how I managed to work from my TT at TopSail last summer. It works wonderfully. I can even download streaming media most of the time. I understand the Verizon and Sprint cards are very good but in Georgia I THINK the Verizon coverage area is better. I have never tried the Cingular card. It might be worth a shot because Cingular has ever better coverage area in Georgia than Verizon. I think I will have the card with me at Hard Labor next week so come over and take a look at it.

Reverie


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## mountainlady56 (Feb 13, 2006)

Thanks for all the input!! This is one area that I have to admit I'm "puter illiterate" at. I've used the WiFi at a couple of CGs with great success. See you at Hard Labor Creek, Reverie!!








Darlene


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## firemedicinstr (Apr 6, 2005)

Work provides me with a verizon aircard and it works great. I have been stuck in the airport in Atlanta,Orlando and Pittsburgh all worked well.

Once Nextel and Sprint actually finish becoming one company I'll bet the Sprint service will be equal, but not today.

Next week Salt Lake City......................

MK


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## Veek (Jul 2, 2006)

Another option that is improving everyday is Clearwire broadband internet access. With Clearwire you get a wireless modem that can be transported with you. At home you can hook up directly to it or use it with a router for wireless access. The footprint for the modem is approximately 2" wide by 12" tall. When traveling you simply take the modem with you. Whereever Clearwire is offered you have access. As Clearwire becomes more widely available, which is happening everyday, this option will make more sense. The beauty of it is that it costs you nothing more than your home connection. I have their fastest package and it costs me $44/month including taxes. It will be sometime, however, before they catch up to the service areas covered by cell phone networks.


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## kjuhnke (Aug 22, 2006)

If you have a dial-up connection with your existing Internet provider, you _may_ be able to connect your computer to your phone and use it as a wireless dial-up phone.

I had always meant to try it with my Samsung phone from Sprint. Your message finally prompted me to give it a shot. I had to find my cable that came with the phone and drivers on the net from Samsung, but other than that it worked pretty much without a hitch right off the bat.

Where I'm located I don't have access to Sprints "broadband" connectivity, so I was only able to get about 24k throughput, which is just a _tad_ slower than my 5MB DSL connection but it actually worked.

The next time I'm out with my laptop and have "broadband" connectivity on my Sprint phone I'll give it a try and see if I actually get a higher connection speed. Not sure if I will or not, but its nice to know I can at least get an Internet connection, albeit a slow one, anywhere I have cell coverage.

Anyway... for Internet access you don't necessarily need to have a data package with the cellular carrier if you already have a dial-up ISP and are able to connect your computer to your phone via cable or bluetooth.


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## CamperDC (Oct 30, 2003)

The one thing you need to remember about aircards is that they are limited to cell coverage. If you camp in areas where the high speed cell networks are availalbe that is great. However, most of our camping is a bit more remote and we are lucky to have cell coverage for calls much less high speed internet.

Good Luck


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## tripphammer (Oct 3, 2006)

As a retired IT manager I haven't yet been able to leave the laptop and PDA at home. For the laptop I use a Linksys WPC300N for most of my internet access. This card is one of the latest and is backwards compatible with all of the older networks. Heck, now days there are many places that have Wi-Fi access available which negates the expensive on-line time with a cellular provider.

Many major restaurants, campgrounds and many more have Wi-Fi for free. Here's a couple of the sites that will help you find them.

WiFi Free Spot

Wi-Fi Hotspot List

California State Parks

JiWire.com Search site

A couple of the most popular that are getting connected are McDonald's, Perkins, Starbucks (though here they require a fee) and most public libraries.

If you check out your campground through Trailer Life, they tell you if they have a Wi-Fi access.

However, I do use Verizon Wireless's connectivity for browsing and e-mail on my Palm Treo 700 PDA/cellphone.

I am currently setting up a GPS file of all the ones that I have located in my travels that I will provide if others want it.

Take Care,

Tripp


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## mountainlady56 (Feb 13, 2006)

Thanks for all the valuable info, Tripp!! I looked at the free WiFi spots, for GA, where I live, and I guess I'll have to park outside a Krystal's or Denny's.







I mainly stay in COE parks and state parks, where free WiFi isn't available. It's no biggie, however, I really like to connect occasionally, when I'm on the road. Sounds like everybody's chipped in their best advice, and I really appreciate it!!






















Darlene


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## Lmbevard (Mar 18, 2006)

junkman said:


> If you have a dial-up connection with your existing Internet provider, you _may_ be able to connect your computer to your phone and use it as a wireless dial-up phone.
> 
> I had always meant to try it with my Samsung phone from Sprint. Your message finally prompted me to give it a shot. I had to find my cable that came with the phone and drivers on the net from Samsung, but other than that it worked pretty much without a hitch right off the bat.
> 
> ...


I've been trying to find out how to do this for a long time. I have a Motrola Cell phone, so what kind of cord do I need to be able to use dial up on the laptop. Out in the country, we don't have all of the fancy stuff, so it would be great to be able to subscribe to People Pc or something to use at camp and while camping. Thanks for the help.


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## tripphammer (Oct 3, 2006)

Lmbevard said:


> If you have a dial-up connection with your existing Internet provider, you _may_ be able to connect your computer to your phone and use it as a wireless dial-up phone.
> 
> I had always meant to try it with my Samsung phone from Sprint. Your message finally prompted me to give it a shot. I had to find my cable that came with the phone and drivers on the net from Samsung, but other than that it worked pretty much without a hitch right off the bat.
> 
> ...


I've been trying to find out how to do this for a long time. I have a Motrola Cell phone, so what kind of cord do I need to be able to use dial up on the laptop. Out in the country, we don't have all of the fancy stuff, so it would be great to be able to subscribe to People Pc or something to use at camp and while camping. Thanks for the help.
[/quote]

To use your cell phone you will need the data package made for your specific cell phone. Some times you can get them for less money from E-bay or a third-party provider. However I recommend you check with your cellular phone service provider and they can tell you what you specifically need. Sometimes it will be a serial port connection to your PC and use the internal modem. Sometimes they have their own modem connection to work with the specific phone and use an USB connection. It's best to take your laptop in when you are asking what is your specific solution. Also, you might want to call and make an appointment with their data access specialist. Not every salesperson (in fact very few) know much about this issue. Sometimes you'll find that the cost of the data card is cheaper than the cost of the additional minutes if you are using a slow dial-up connection. I always sugget that you ask a lot of questions; go back home and think about it; then go back and ask a bunch more questions before making the final decision. Oh by the way, all of it will change in 6 months anyway.







What do you expect in the cellphone/IT environment?









Take Care,










Tripp


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## SoCalOutback (Dec 18, 2005)

Be careful and read the end user agreement before you decide on the verizon service. Mine was canceled because I used to much bandwisth in one month. According to the user agreement you can not download software, streaming media, or any "large" files. The service is ment for email and web surfing only.

The sprint service does allow any and all downloads so if your going to be downloading you may want to look into their service.



sgalady said:


> I'm trying to determine a good plan for wireless internet, when traveling. My cell phone coverage is, unfortunately, with Alltel, but I get good reception. I have a laptop, with a wireless card. I hate to buy an adapter to hook my computer up to my cell phone for regular dial up, as it's so slow. Any of you have any recommendations? Or, at least explain the whole concept/deal to me, so I'll know what to look for.
> Darlene


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## Txcamper (Apr 3, 2006)

Verizon is good and I have heard good things about Spint.


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## kjuhnke (Aug 22, 2006)

Lmbevard said:


> I've been trying to find out how to do this for a long time. I have a Motrola Cell phone, so what kind of cord do I need to be able to use dial up on the laptop. Out in the country, we don't have all of the fancy stuff, so it would be great to be able to subscribe to People Pc or something to use at camp and while camping. Thanks for the help.


So did you get this figured out?

TrippHammer had some good advice about talking with your service provider. Although I'd be careful as I'm sure they'll want to try and push a Data plan which may not be what you're looking for.

I did some checking and it looks like there is some sort of data cable available for Motorolla phones, although I'm not sure if its phone specific? What model is your Motorolla phone and who is your carrier?


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## LostVTer (Oct 19, 2006)

If you are an SBC Yahoo customer there is FreedomLink....it's $3.00 a month and you have access at McD's, Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf, Airports convention centers, UPS store and others. We use it all the time while traveling.


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