internet connection question (laptop, modem, dial up, wifi)

[citydweller]

Well, here is my problem: When I visit my parent's home I have zero internet connection. They have no computer thus no internet connection available. I want to be able to get online where there and trying to figure out the best thing for me to do. Currently, I have have high speed internet via cable modem which works well of course except when traveling. A couple of options come to mind: dial up (ughh!) or canceling my high speed and going 3g. How does the big 3g companies stack up? I have a Sprint phone but coverage in the house is spotty probably because all of the trees. So what have others done in similar situations? Any suggestions you might have would be most helpful.

[J Arp]

Sounds like 3g is your only option. Each company has coverage maps that tell you which areas have 3g coverage. Just go to their websites and find their maps and compare.

[swagger]

I use my Palm Centro if no wifi is available when I'm not at home. Some broadband providers offer dialup for exactly your situation. I use Cox and they charge a small setup fee for it, IIRC, but I have it as a last resort backup.

[bs13690]

Are you really willing to get rid of your high speed connection and deal with the slowness of 3G just so you will have it when you go to your parent's house?

Let me ask you, do you already have a Windows Mobile phone with a data plan? If so, you can just tether your laptop to the phone via USB or Bluetooth and use it to connect to the Internet.

[swagger]

Originally Posted by bs13690

Are you really willing to get rid of your high speed connection and deal with the slowness of 3G just so you will have it when you go to your parent's house?

Let me ask you, do you already have a Windows Mobile or PalmOS phone with a data plan? If so, you can just tether your laptop to the phone via USB or Bluetooth and use it to connect to the Internet.

Fixed it for you.

Treo USB Modem

[southgeorgia]

Check the usage limitations of cell phone providers before canceling your home service; most likely you will use the cellular provider as a supplementary service to your home broadband connection. I think most have around a 5Gb per month cap now.

[knoxgarden]

Do they have a landline for their phone? Your cable service may provide you with dialup for when you travel or if your cable is down. Check. There's usually an 800 number to dial into.
If not, sign up for AOL for free under their "bring your own connection plan." Then, just before you leave, switch to their dialup plan. I think it's $20 a month or so for unlimited access. Slow, but survivable when you need it.
Then, when you get home, cancel the AOL dialup and go back to free. I've done this quite a bit -- I've got an old laptop that only has a modem -- and there's never been a problem with switching back and forth.

[Naptowner]

Mobile broadband is no substitute for high speed access at home. It's not a whole lot faster than dialup, and even when it's "unlimited" your bandwidth will be throttled if you exceed 5 gigabytes a month on most plans.

[citydweller]

I guess I will have to find a cheap dial up alternative. Thanks for all your replies!