Is wireless card required for mobile broadband

B

Barry

New member
Just reading about mobile broadband which apparently can also be used on ordinary computers as well as laptops? Is a wireless card required in the computer as my latest computer does not have one? Does the "dongle" convert the signal without a wireless card. Apparently prices have halved and they reckon it may become more used than phone wire broadband within 2 years. with prices getting cheaper still Just looking at the alternatives as still on dial up and prefer to keep our current phone system. Barry
p.s just testing firefox and java for this line.

No still not making paragraphs and joining all together?
 
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Barry said:
Just reading about mobile broadband which apparently can also be used on ordinary computers as well as laptops? Is a wireless card required in the computer as my latest computer does not have one? Does the "dongle" convert the signal without a wireless card. Apparently prices have halved and they reckon it may become more used than phone wire broadband within 2 years. with prices getting cheaper still Just looking at the alternatives as still on dial up and prefer to keep our current phone system. Barry
p.s just testing firefox and java for this line.

No still not making paragraphs and joining all together?
Click to expand...

For the moment in the UK I'd stay with normal phone lines unless you have cable in the street. Might be worth while looking at the cost of broadband, in Canada dial up is slightly more expensive than the cheapest broadband service. Wireless is about 25% more locally and the speeds aren't that good. Hang on a second I think some one was using lamp posts and power lines in the UK which are uneconomic in Canada so you need to do local research.

Cheerio John
 
A wireless router is all that is needed, usually provided by the ISP. Your computer does require a Network card installed.
 
From what i've seen of this, and having not researched it though. The Mobile broadband (I'm thinking of the one by Vodafone, etc) supply you with a USB interface dongle that contains all the required hardware for it to access the mobile broadband signal. The idea behind the mobile broadband is the ability to get fast internet connections pretty much anywhere in the country, but it would be worth research what the signal strength for this would be like in your area.

The typical broadband setup in the UK of ADSL or cable takes the source through a modem and then direct into your computer either via a USB interface or a RJ45 network card. ADSL modems generally speaking use USB while cable use a NIC (network card). If you only have one computer in your house then you would not really need a router, unless you want some freedom of where to access your internet connection. This can be facilitated by the use of a router. The vast majority of routers on sale include a modem (ADSL or cable) and a switch with an average of 4 sockets, wireless routers will have the aforementioned items along with the wireless signal broadcast ability.

A wired router will require you to lay either cat5 or cat6 network cables around your house to the various points of access you want for your internet connection, or the other computers you may have. This of course can be a bit of a pain, but it does have the advantage of no loss of signal or performance as you move away from the router location (well about ~50m then signal loss can occur). The wireless router will instead broadcast out your internet connection and any computers with a wireless network card will be able to pick this up provided they are in range. One of the problems of wireless routers is maintaining a decent signal strength. Pipework, cable, walls and so on can all degrade the signal strength and speed of connection to the router. For the average home user though this is not a problem.

In summing up, I'm say 90% confident that you will not need to purchase any other hardware to get a mobile broadband as provided by the likes of Vodaphone, etc. I would recommend if you are of looking into any broadband connection in finding out what equipment you are supplied with and if you need to purchase anything yourself.

Rob
 
In the way that these terms are currently used in the UK, wireless broadband and mobile broadband are totally different beasts. Usage in other countries might differ.

Wireless broadband:
A wireless connection within the same building between one or more computers and possibly printers to a wireless router, the wireless router being connected to a conventional phone landline or a cable television system.

Mobile broadband:
A mobile broadband dongle or special type of mobile phone is plugged into a computer. The dongle or phone connects to the Internet via a mobile phone network, i.e. wholly by radio waves with no cables at all as far as the user is concerned.

Check availability as mobile broadband isn't available in many rural areas. Check the initial cost, especially of the dongle. Check the ongoing costs, especially your monthly download and upload allowances which tend to be low, and how much it will cost if you exceed the allowances. Check the true speed, not the advertised theoretical speed.

Mobile broadband seems like a good idea for people who use their computer in various places. For people who use it within the same building, a simple wired broadband modem or a domestic wireless network system to a wireless router seem more appropriate at the moment. The situation is changing though and mobile broadband may become more attractive in the future.

These are just my thoughts and understanding of it, I don't claim to be an expert so put me right please if I've got anything wrong.

John
 
I know about BT phone line and cable broadband and at present mine is dial up as regards the computer but have no need to change as regards the BT phone side at present. ------- Just that mobile broadband. That is as used for travelling laptops now seems to be coming as an alternative even for home computers fixed in position. ------- I know that ordinary broadband by BT or cable needs a wireless card in the computer and BT hub etc, but I mean phone mast broadband with no connection to the house. ----------------- Knew nothing about mobile broadband (not phone-line or cable) until I was reading the Internet yesterday and it mentioned that by 2010 they expect over half of internet connections to be by mobile broadband. So will see what happens over the next year or so. It said prices had halved over 6 months to a year and they expect them to go much lower ----------------------- Still not sure if I need a wireless card is using "dongle" I think in usb port. Technology changes so quickly these days makes it hard to keep up with all the details ----------- Barry Firefox and disabled java script. No paragraphs again but used lines as back- up. ------- Other forums seem to work OK with firefox and no java script
 
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Barry said:
I know about BT phone line and cable broadband and at present mine is dial up as regards the computer but have no need to change as regards the BT phone side at present. ------- Just that mobile broadband. That is as used for travelling laptops now seems to be coming as an alternative even for home computers fixed in position. ------- I know that ordinary broadband by BT or cable needs a wireless card in the computer and BT hub etc, but I mean phone mast broadband with no connection to the house. ----------------- Knew nothing about mobile broadband (not phone-line or cable) until I was reading the Internet yesterday and it mentioned that by 2010 they expect over half of internet connections to be by mobile broadband. So will see what happens over the next year or so. It said prices had halved over 6 months to a year and they expect them to go much lower ----------------------- Still not sure if I need a wireless card is using "dongle" I think in usb port. Technology changes so quickly these days makes it hard to keep up with all the details ----------- Barry Firefox and disabled java script. No paragraphs again but used lines as back- up. ------- Other forums seem to work OK with firefox and no java script
Click to expand...

1. No wireless card is required.
2. Firefox should work fine on the forums, it's what I'm using right now! You may need javascript enabled though.
 
Thanks all for the discussion. Regarding firefox thought I would leave off java script as that can open the path to malware etc, even with all the numerous patches from ms etc, and many sites don't need to use it. Other forums work OK without it. Only what I read on google etc but will try and live without java script at least for a bit and see what works and what doesn't. Barry
 
Barry said:
Just reading about mobile broadband which apparently can also be used on ordinary computers as well as laptops? Is a wireless card required in the computer as my latest computer does not have one? Does the "dongle" convert the signal without a wireless card. Apparently prices have halved and they reckon it may become more used than phone wire broadband within 2 years. with prices getting cheaper still Just looking at the alternatives as still on dial up and prefer to keep our current phone system. Barry
p.s just testing firefox and java for this line.

No still not making paragraphs and joining all together?
Click to expand...
For mobile broadband all the computers you want to have this service will need the device the ISP in question wants you to use. For 3 and Vodafone it's a dongle. Mobile broadband service does not use a modem, it is the dongle that connects. Bear in mind that there are several disadvantages: IF you want a network at home you'll have to use the one computer with a dongle as a gateway, otherwise you'll have to equip your PCs and laptops each with one dongle (and unless you cna have more than one dongle per subscription, it;s one subscription per dongle) Currently in the UK, the service is pants.

For wireless broadband (read; I have ADSL or Cable but I don;t want wires at home), all the devices you don't want to use wires with must have a wireless card (read: wifi) as well as a Wireless Access Point (WAP, usually combined with a modem and router). Unless your house is made of paper or cardboard, wires is the way to go. fix them on your house's skirting boards as you do with your phone wire. Wireless Internet comes from a phone line or optical line.
 
Thanks John will see what happens with it over the coming months. Will certainly consider it if it becomes popular.

If anybody now used mobile broadband for connecting to the Internet perhaps post about what can be done or what can't be done with it?

Thanks

Barry

Java Script on this time so will see if I have paragraphs
 
I have a Mobile broad band ( Vodaphone) it whats running here now on my laptop, its not as fast as having a land line connection but it works well
I am on a ship in the irish sea at the moment about 12 miles from the land and it still connects, it also connects when on the continent if it can find a Vodaphone partner, at no extra charge, but if you go roaming on other networks you have to pay a surcharge and that expencive, I costs me 18£ a month unlimited use
 
Kelly88 said:
I have a Mobile broad band ( Vodaphone) it whats running here now on my laptop, its not as fast as having a land line connection but it works well
I am on a ship in the irish sea at the moment about 12 miles from the land and it still connects, it also connects when on the continent if it can find a Vodaphone partner, at no extra charge, but if you go roaming on other networks you have to pay a surcharge and that expencive, I costs me 18£ a month unlimited use
Click to expand...

Hi thats interesting. I noticed one of the suppliers mentioned there was an extra charge per megabyte for roaming but not sure what that meant. Could you use it for downloading from say the download station Auran Australia or from say Stentec web server in Holland or search on Google etc the various links which can be worldwide without a surcharge. That is on home computer UK? .........
Will see what happens over the next 6 months or so as regards the various mobile broadband suppliers.............. Thanks... Barry................... P.S I have a link on my site for live shipping movments in the Irish Sea http://www.shipais.com/index.php also............. http://www.merseyshipping.co.uk/index.htm
 
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Barry said:
Thanks all for the discussion. Regarding firefox thought I would leave off java script as that can open the path to malware etc, even with all the numerous patches from ms etc, and many sites don't need to use it. Other forums work OK without it. Only what I read on google etc but will try and live without java script at least for a bit and see what works and what doesn't. Barry
Click to expand...

I run firefox an an addon called noscript which lets me control whether to trust sites for scripts or not. I wasn't aware that the forum required Java. Try a couple of <enter> keys to end the paragraph.

Cheerio John
 
CasyJ said:
A wireless router is all that is needed, usually provided by the ISP. Your computer does require a Network card installed.
Click to expand...

You can always buy a wireless router separate of your preferred choice.:wave:

I've had wireless broadband upto 8MB for 5 years now with no problems on a BT Connection line with AOL and at first many ISP service providers did not provide a wireless router with the package free, it cost me £100 for the router five years ago with a free wireless USB adapter and now these days nearly every service provider will give you a free wireless router with the package.:)
 
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Barry said:
Hi thats interesting. I noticed one of the suppliers mentioned there was an extra charge per megabyte for roaming but not sure what that meant. Could you use it for downloading from say the download station Auran Australia or from say Stentec web server in Holland or search on Google etc the various links which can be worldwide without a surcharge. That is on home computer UK? .........
Will see what happens over the next 6 months or so as regards the various mobile broadband suppliers.............. Thanks... Barry................... P.S I have a link on my site for live shipping movments in the Irish Sea http://www.shipais.com/index.php also............. http://www.merseyshipping.co.uk/index.htm
Click to expand...

If you connect to a station thats run by Vodaphone or one of their partners never mind which part of the world its in then there is no extra cost, if you connect to a station outside their network or partners network then you pay the surcharge

so I can run it in most west european sites ( holland , belgium, germany ) and so forth but if I run it say in Sweden then there is an extra cost to pay,

maybe you can track my ship then its name is Scot Exploror, ( at the moment sat 14th we are in Belfast, we leave today for Great Yarmouth)
I know the systems, we use it to track other company ships, and the company pay to have a live update to they can track the ships in the company and also our competitors
 
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Further browsing of the Internet to try and find out more. Apparently desktop or laptop should work the same, as Vodaphone mentions both........... What I am trying to find out is can MOBILE broadband download files say up to 50 meg when connected to the internet............. I don't mean music or films or online games etc as these are bandwidth consuming.............. Also I know about ordinary broadband and cable and the BT hub etc, etc but my reference is only to the comparitively new technology of mobile broadband, as regards for home computers..... Apparently there are 4 main suppliers at present but from my point of view will see how things develop over the next 6 months to year when prices and broadband allowance may become much better....... Other things to consider are the security aspect for virii, malware, etc so will carry on finding out what info I can......... Barry.
 
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Kelly88 said:
If you connect to a station thats run by Vodaphone or one of their partners never mind which part of the world its in then there is no extra cost, if you connect to a station outside their network or partners network then you pay the surcharge

so I can run it in most west european sites ( holland , belgium, germany ) and so forth but if I run it say in Sweden then there is an extra cost to pay,

maybe you can track my ship then its name is Scot Exploror, ( at the moment sat 14th we are in Belfast, we leave today for Great Yarmouth)
I know the systems, we use it to track other company ships, and the company pay to have a live update to they can track the ships in the company and also our competitors
Click to expand...

Hi thanks for the info. No rush for mobile broadband so will just see how it devlops over the months. ....Knew nothing about it until a few days ago. Will see if I can find your ship the Scot Explorer although I usually get a bit lost on the different pages of the site although still works OK with dial-up.... Thanks Barry ......... P.S Found it Underway - General Cargo Ship - according to map. Gives all the details and tonnage etc in the side panel.
 
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Barry said:
What I am trying to find out...
Click to expand...
Three explain their mobile broadband offerings quite well if you explore the links from that page. They have a coverage map which it's vital to check. Don't assume that mobile Internet coverage will be ok in your area just because mobile phone coverage is ok, they are two different networks. Three's highest download allowance package is 7GB per month and that costs GBP25 per month with the dongle supplied free (I think). With pay-as-you-go you have to pay for the dongle. They claim a maximum realistic speed of 2.8Mbps.

Unless there's a good reason to opt for mobile broadband, a conventional phone landline or cable television broadband connection seems far preferable to me. With both of these the connection inside your house between the company socket and the computer can either be wired or wireless as you prefer.

John
 
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