What Is Wireless Internet? Really.

Hi.

This may sound like a dumb question to you guys but I'm serious. Is
wireless internet ONLY for going online at Starbucks and MacDonalds or is
there wireless internet service available for homes?

I have a really crappy phone line with dialup and would like to find out
what my alternatives are. I found some satellite providers but it's pretty
expensive. Is there a limited range on wireless? If residential wireless
is available who are the providers? I've done a lot of searching and have
only found the WISP service for being in an immediate area.

Thanks.

Taking a moment's reflection, Ulysses mused:
|
| This may sound like a dumb question to you guys but I'm serious. Is
| wireless internet ONLY for going online at Starbucks and MacDonalds or is
| there wireless internet service available for homes?

Most "in home" wireless is, like mine, a wireless receiver (access
point) connected to my cable broadband internet connection. So, while I
have a wireless internet connection for my laptops all through the house, I
am really only using my existing cable connection. This can also be done
with DSL.

| I have a really crappy phone line with dialup and would like to find out
| what my alternatives are. I found some satellite providers but it's
| pretty expensive. Is there a limited range on wireless? If residential
| wireless is available who are the providers? I've done a lot of
| searching and have only found the WISP service for being in an immediate
| area.

If you cannot get cable or DSL in your area, then a WISP is your only
remaining option for wireless. A WISP sets up access points over an area,
and you connect to these from your home. However, a WISP must be operating
in your area (obviously) before you can use them. So, check for
cable/DSL/or WISP services in your area.

"mhicaoidh" <®êmõvé_mhic_aoidh@hotÑîXmailSPäM.com> wrote in message
news:IrU7e.18649$GJ.14447@attbi_s71...
> Taking a moment's reflection, Ulysses mused:
> |
> | This may sound like a dumb question to you guys but I'm serious. Is
> | wireless internet ONLY for going online at Starbucks and MacDonalds or
is
> | there wireless internet service available for homes?
>
> Most "in home" wireless is, like mine, a wireless receiver (access
> point) connected to my cable broadband internet connection. So, while I
> have a wireless internet connection for my laptops all through the house,
I
> am really only using my existing cable connection. This can also be done
> with DSL.
>
> | I have a really crappy phone line with dialup and would like to find out
> | what my alternatives are. I found some satellite providers but it's
> | pretty expensive. Is there a limited range on wireless? If residential
> | wireless is available who are the providers? I've done a lot of
> | searching and have only found the WISP service for being in an immediate
> | area.
>
> If you cannot get cable or DSL in your area, then a WISP is your only
> remaining option for wireless. A WISP sets up access points over an area,
> and you connect to these from your home. However, a WISP must be
operating
> in your area (obviously) before you can use them. So, check for
> cable/DSL/or WISP services in your area.

Thanks. No, there is no cable TV or DSL in my area. I can't seem to find a
WISP provider either. Do you know if any of the big cellular phone
companies are WISPs? I've checked many web sites such as Sprint and
Cingular but I think they are refering to a modem connected to a cell phone.

mhicaoidh wrote:

>Taking a moment's reflection, Ulysses mused:
>|
>| This may sound like a dumb question to you guys but I'm serious. Is
>| wireless internet ONLY for going online at Starbucks and MacDonalds or is
>| there wireless internet service available for homes?
>
> Most "in home" wireless is, like mine, a wireless receiver (access
>point) connected to my cable broadband internet connection. So, while I
>have a wireless internet connection for my laptops all through the house, I
>am really only using my existing cable connection. This can also be done
>with DSL.
>
>| I have a really crappy phone line with dialup and would like to find out
>| what my alternatives are. I found some satellite providers but it's
>| pretty expensive. Is there a limited range on wireless? If residential
>| wireless is available who are the providers? I've done a lot of
>| searching and have only found the WISP service for being in an immediate
>| area.
>
> If you cannot get cable or DSL in your area, then a WISP is your only
>remaining option for wireless. A WISP sets up access points over an area,
>and you connect to these from your home. However, a WISP must be operating
>in your area (obviously) before you can use them. So, check for
>cable/DSL/or WISP services in your area.
>
>
>
>
If you can't get fast access, you can still run a wireless system. There
are routers which support a dial up modem. I believe that there are even
some router/AP combinations which support a dial up modem (Airport?).

Ulysses wrote:

> "mhicaoidh" <®êmõvé_mhic_aoidh@hotÑîXmailSPäM.com> wrote in message
> news:IrU7e.18649$GJ.14447@attbi_s71...
>
>>Taking a moment's reflection, Ulysses mused:
>>|
>>| This may sound like a dumb question to you guys but I'm serious. Is
>>| wireless internet ONLY for going online at Starbucks and MacDonalds or
>
> is
>
>>| there wireless internet service available for homes?
>>
>> Most "in home" wireless is, like mine, a wireless receiver (access
>>point) connected to my cable broadband internet connection. So, while I
>>have a wireless internet connection for my laptops all through the house,
>
> I
>
>>am really only using my existing cable connection. This can also be done
>>with DSL.
>>
>>| I have a really crappy phone line with dialup and would like to find out
>>| what my alternatives are. I found some satellite providers but it's
>>| pretty expensive. Is there a limited range on wireless? If residential
>>| wireless is available who are the providers? I've done a lot of
>>| searching and have only found the WISP service for being in an immediate
>>| area.
>>
>> If you cannot get cable or DSL in your area, then a WISP is your only
>>remaining option for wireless. A WISP sets up access points over an area,
>>and you connect to these from your home. However, a WISP must be
>
> operating
>
>>in your area (obviously) before you can use them. So, check for
>>cable/DSL/or WISP services in your area.
>
>
> Thanks. No, there is no cable TV or DSL in my area. I can't seem to find a
> WISP provider either. Do you know if any of the big cellular phone
> companies are WISPs? I've checked many web sites such as Sprint and
> Cingular but I think they are refering to a modem connected to a cell phone.
>
>
>

starts me wondering what remote area you live in ?! maybe you should
have a look at iridium, very wireless, via satelites, a bit more
expensive though

"Martin!" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:d3p7p6$qpm$(E-Mail Removed)...
> Ulysses wrote:
> > Thanks. No, there is no cable TV or DSL in my area. I can't seem to
find a
> > WISP provider either. Do you know if any of the big cellular phone
> > companies are WISPs? I've checked many web sites such as Sprint and
> > Cingular but I think they are refering to a modem connected to a cell
phone.
> >
> >
> >
>
> starts me wondering what remote area you live in ?! maybe you should
> have a look at iridium, very wireless, via satelites, a bit more
> expensive though

Southern California. And everyone thought we were all cosmopolitan here. I
did find some satellite providers but they are a bit expensive. I just want
to find out what all of my options are before I buy anything.

"Jerry Park" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:zCU7e.69467$f%(E-Mail Removed). ..
> If you can't get fast access, you can still run a wireless system. There
> are routers which support a dial up modem. I believe that there are even
> some router/AP combinations which support a dial up modem (Airport?).

Um, I think maybe we are talking about 2 different things. I'm looking for
(if they exist) a wireless provider, not network. I can't even get good
dialup where I am. Absolutely no internet when it rains :-(

Ulysses <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:
> Thanks. No, there is no cable TV or DSL in my area. I can't seem to find a
> WISP provider either. Do you know if any of the big cellular phone
> companies are WISPs? I've checked many web sites such as Sprint and
> Cingular but I think they are refering to a modem connected to a cell phone.


They are referring to a cell phone acting as a modem, but the speeds can be
impressive.

http://www.verizonwireless.com/b2c/m...band/index.jsp
"typical speeds of 400-700 kbps, capable of reaching speeds up to 2 Mbps"

https://www.cingular.com/media/media_purchase
John Navas reports 10KBpS ftp throughput, which is slower than the Verizon
Broadband, but available in more areas.
http://navasgrp.home.att.net/tech/cingular/index.htm

These run $80 per month for data-only, but Cingular offers the data mode as
a $20 add-on to a $29 voice plan.

--
---
Clarence A Dold - Hidden Valley (Lake County) CA USA 38.8,-122.5

Ulysses wrote:
> "Jerry Park" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
> news:zCU7e.69467$f%(E-Mail Removed). ..
>
>>If you can't get fast access, you can still run a wireless system. There
>>are routers which support a dial up modem. I believe that there are even
>>some router/AP combinations which support a dial up modem (Airport?).
>
>
> Um, I think maybe we are talking about 2 different things. I'm looking for
> (if they exist) a wireless provider, not network. I can't even get good
> dialup where I am. Absolutely no internet when it rains :-(

Damn, where do you live in SoCal? I might move there and start a WISP.

Last time I did that, cable and DSL moved in within 5 months - after
years of saying "Sure, someday we'll offer broadband."

"Ulysses" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:(E-Mail Removed)...
>
> "Jerry Park" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
> news:zCU7e.69467$f%(E-Mail Removed). ..
>> If you can't get fast access, you can still run a wireless system. There
>> are routers which support a dial up modem. I believe that there are even
>> some router/AP combinations which support a dial up modem (Airport?).
>
> Um, I think maybe we are talking about 2 different things. I'm looking
> for
> (if they exist) a wireless provider, not network. I can't even get good
> dialup where I am. Absolutely no internet when it rains :-(
>
>

Speaking from much experience, IMO you should avoid satellite Internet like
the plague. For all practical purposes, it's latency and other issues make
it barely the equivalent of dial-up for anything but file downloads. And
that's when everything is working right. Which it seldom is on either of
the 2 U.S. consumer satellite systems.

--
Bob Horton