Wireless Internet Provider?

[exhawg]

Just data. My only complaint is that I didn't buy a very good phone last year so I can't make the most out of having the free data.

 

[jlb1705]

jwins i got it all figured out...
buy this
on one of these

and hook up in town...

You going to help me bury the wire?

No need to bury it, just duct tape it to the ground.

I believe it has to be EVDO compatible.

There are "Vision" plans for data, starting at $15. These don't allow you to connect your laptop to the internet (at least not legally).

The "PAM" ($40) plans allow you to do both.

I use PAM with my Sprint phone, but only on rare occasions. I don't have the PAM plan, I just used it with PCS Vision and prayed they didn't catch on and charge me for it. It's really good for when you end up in a hotel where they want to charge you $20/day for internet access.

Sprint is definitely the way to go for wireless broadband. Just make sure you get a PowerVision capable phone - those are the higher speed EVDO phones. Technically any of the Sprint phones are PAM capable - but the lower-end ones are closer to dial-up speeds.

Oh, and you can use Bluetooth in conjunction with PAM so the phone isn't physically tethered to the computer with a data cable.

 

[jwinslow]

I use PAM with my Sprint phone, but only on rare occasions. I don't have the PAM plan, I just used it with PCS Vision and prayed they didn't catch on and charge me for it. It's really good for when you end up in a hotel where they want to charge you $20/day for internet access.

I read up on that, and they've begun to crack down on that. There are a few phones which can be tweaked so Sprint doesn't know, but considering the volume of data I'll use on it... that's a pretty big gamble.

Plus a PAM plan allows me to get unlimited data on my phone and laptop. The PowerVision only allows the former, legally.

Sprint is definitely the way to go for wireless broadband. Just make sure you get a PowerVision capable phone - those are the higher speed EVDO phones. Technically any of the Sprint phones are PAM capable - but the lower-end ones are closer to dial-up speeds.

Are there lower speed evdo phones? I got my motorola e815 summer 2005, and it is evdo compatible.

I was planning on getting a pretty nice PowerVision capable phone for my daily tasks, and using the e815 as the modem (which will get heavy usage at home).

 

[jlb1705]

I read up on that, and they've begun to crack down on that. There are a few phones which can be tweaked so Sprint doesn't know...

Are there lower speed evdo phones? I got my motorola e815 summer 2005, and it is evdo compatible.

There are lower speed phones - technically speaking, they are not EVDO. Those phones can still be used for PAM, however. I was able to do it myself with my previous non-EVDO phone. Sprint would refer to those phones as "Vision" phones as opposed to "PowerVision". Those are typically lower-end phones in their lineup at this point, but some of the phone manufacturers may have put out an otherwise decent phone and neglected that feature (i.e. Sanyo Katana) Technically, such a phone would still work for PAM, but your computer experience would be slower (about 2x dial-up speed, for your reference) and your phone data experience would not be as rich.

 

[bucknut11]

Has anyone had any experience with Alltel's wireless internet?

Also, from what I've seen, all of these cards are built for laptops. Do any of these ISP's make USB/PCI cards for desktops?

 

[Hodge]

You could always just do this:

Although, I think those wireless plans are priced a little steep for a stationary PC. Unless, of course, you really hate your current ISP.