Posted on 09/10/2011 9:13:43 AM PDT by ErnBatavia
I'm a techno-dinosaur who's way behind the curve....we have a laptop,HP, Win7 which works just fine on the home wireless network.
What I'm wonderin' is if there is even such a thing:
Some sort of prepaid USB plug in card that would allow us to get on the internet during power outages, while driving or traveling, or at some locale that doesn't offer wireless - in other words, we'd like to be able to fire up anywhere we get cellphone service.
Preference would be a non-expiring 'number of minutes' thingie, kind of like a prepaid phone calling card. I know that simply buying a high-tech smart phone would solve this dilemma, but I really don't want to go that route, if at all possible.
So - is there such stuff around, and can anyone steer me in a certain direction?
Techie ping....
Yep. Cellular air card. Check with your cellular phone carrier.
Do a Google search on “prepaid wireless card”. There are any number of plans out there. It would be in addition to your current provider.
You can get a netstick with a monthly plan from any cell phone provider... or go pay as you go. If you want to hook up more than one device, look for a portable 3G modem..it will send out it’s own wireless signal using a simcard.
I use a Verizon USB wireless.
Verizon and Virgin Mobile offer a cell tower wireless hot spot (mifi). Both also offer a USB “modem” for the same purpose. So does Cricket, I believe. The service comes with a monthly charge, typically, and some sort of bandwidth limit. Some carriers allow you to buy a time period at a time, let the account lie dormant for a while, and then purchase time again. I’ve used Virgin Mobile’s and it works pretty well.
most major carriers have broadband access available. you could get an aircard off of ebay and set it up as month-to-month (no contract). shop around for a lower than posted rate plan. most of the advertised rate plans are around $50 a month for 5 gigs. Ask them if they have a smaller plan “off sheet” as most will. Check coverage maps to make sure its available in your area.
I'll keep on digging.
USB Dongle will work...
On the same theme (well almost) - I have a Toshiba laptop with a built-in WiFi antenna. Is there a USB type antenna that would extend the range or am I stuck with the internal antenna only?
air card might be what you want. be warned, phone companies have very tight data limits, and whopping charges if you go over.
also, the couple I’ve tried install a googlymungous amount of “free” crapware on your computer. you’ll have a lot of cleanup to do.
Sprint offers a Hot-Spot service that sets up a wireless network via your cellphone. You can have Sprint set it up when needed and then remove it when not. It costs less than $1 a day. I use it when on the road at hotels that charge $8 a day and more for internet connection.
I have a USB stick that cost 60 euro for 3 months of use with a limit of 1000mb per month. If I exceed that limit I can purchase more mb. It works anywhere cell service is available.
We use the Verizon mobile unit. It works almost everywhere. Just like cell phone coverage, there are a few places going down the road or in the boonies where there isn’t a signal. But, we got it mostly because we like to have internet when we go to our cabin at the lake, which doesn’t have DSL, or AT&T coverage (our wireless provider), but does have a Verizon signal. It’s pretty reliable, and serves as a wireless hotspot for up to five computers at a time, although the speed suffers significantly with more users.
We pay 70 bucks a month for it—seems a bit pricey, but it’s all we had to choose from that worked at the lake, and this way we get to use it virtually anywhere, instead of having a dedicated service just at the lake.
Hope this helps!
You would be surprised at how wide spread free wifi sites have become.
If you know your route you can even plan your stops by looking at websites that tell you where the free wifi sites are located in towns along your route. Nearly all motels now have free wifi in the rooms. Many if not most chain restaurants have free wifi.
I’ll second that. We have the Sprint HTC EVO and use the hotspot quite often. We turn it on when we go on vacation and off when we are home. About $1 a day and it can power up to 8 wireless devices. We drove from SoCal to Sedona, AZ a few years ago and had the hotspot working the entire way so wifey could futz with her laptop all the way. Then we used it in the room instead of their $10-12 a day charge.
bfl
Check these guys out: http://www.datajack.com
They piggyback on the Sprint 3G network but require no contract — just $50/month for 5GB. You buy the dongle for $70.
If you don’t use it, you can let it lapse without penalty. When you need it again, just pay for another month and they turn it on within a short period (they say “hours” but I think it’s less than that).
This is my sole internet access when I’m at my place in the boonies. For what Mrs. Tick I do (FReep, email, work access) both the bandwidth cap (five gigabytes is actually a lot if you don’t do full-length movie downloads, lots of streaming video, music, etc) nor the speeds (typically 70 to 100 Kb up, usually close to 1 megabyte down) are adequate. In the year I have been using it, I have never gone over 3GB and that much only once.
It is CRITICAL, though, that you carefully examine the Sprint 3G coverage map and ensure that where YOU will be using it has good coverage. http://coverage.sprint.com/IMPACT.jsp?INTNAV=ATG:FT:Cov and switch to the 3G tab. Zoom in on where you will be using. The coverage map is quite detailed, so zoom right down to your street and check (unless it’s obvious it’ll be solid orange).
One other thing: you can buy a router from Cradlepoint that lets you plug this device in, plus your cable or DSL, and if you lose your primary internet it fails over automatically to the 3G. Here’s the router: http://www.cradlepoint.com/products/mbr900-our-most-affordable-3g4g-ready-mobile-broadband-n-router
A good on-line vendor with lots of good application notes and stuff is http://www.3gstore.com. I have used them and found their support and reliability to be top-notch. DataJack support and customer service is also very good, in my experience.
Good luck, and FRegards
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