CELL PHONE INTERNET ACCESS

[DanaMc]

CELL PHONE INTERNET ACCESS

This is designed to explain the basic approach to using your cell phone with your computer to connect to the internet. It is not intended to be an in depth coverage of the topic. Rather it is intended to help folks get acquainted with what is necessary and a suggested resource or two. The first step in this process would be to check with your cell phone carrier. Make sure there is no reason you can’t use your phone like a modem. Some carriers can provide this for an additional fee.

It is the most cost effective way to keep up with your email and favorite web pages from nearly anywhere. In most cases you do not need a separate or different phone plan. You will use your plan minutes and can manage it to take advantage of the unlimited nights and weekends just as you might for conversations. Regular cell phone roaming charges may apply depending on where you are and whether your carrier has an agreement with the local service provider. This is no different than any other situation.

The key components needed are your cell phone, a special USB cord designed specifically for your cell phone. It will connect your cell phone directly to your computer via a USB port on the computer. Finally you will want software to manage the connection and compress the data being sent. There are many sources for this equipment. You can check with your local cell phone retailer. Radio Shack is a good source on this topic as well. But they will only be familiar with the phones they sell. I have been using SnapDialer. I have been very happy with the combination of Verizon and SnapDialer to connect to the internet.

Once your software is installed and configured for your internet service provider, you will only need to click on the Icon to launch your internet session. What service provider you use is not part of this topic. However there are many low cost or free email services such as Google’s Gmail, Microsoft’s Hotmail, or Yahoo.

Below is some additional reading on this topic:

HOW-TO: Use your CDMA cell phone as a USB modem

Cell Phone Internet Connections

Cellular Fills Gap Between Hotspots

Looking for a boost in your signal? There are third party systems that can enhance your cellular signal and/or facilitate the use of a cell phone in your RV or your home. One example of this is Wilson Cellular Antennas & Amplifiers. Properly installed, these systems can enhance your range of coverage.

[lionel_046]

Concerning using a verizon phone teathered to a laptop. I've got the phone teathered, etc. When I contact Verizon the site says the plan is $59.95 for 5 gig a month. Verizn rep says that if turned on / off then the 5 gig is prorated also. Is there a way to get unlimited data with teathering on Verizon? Thanks, Harry

[Rangerdave]

most newer routers that have a usb port are getting firmware to support cellphone cards. my dir655-dlink can even accept the phone plugged into a usb cord.

[fbranham]

I'm not sure if it has already been mentioned, but I use a wireless router with my 3G laptop card. It allows us more than one laptop to be used securely anywhere around our rv (and our camping friends if we configure their laptop). Its a Linksys WRT54G3G-AT. They make them for other carriers as well.

[MrWizard]

a little update regarding win-mobile PPC's - PDA

Verizon Reps are trained to say that "exchange" will not work...

What is actually blocked on this plan is your access to Verizon's "Wireless Sync" Application which they try to force upon you as the only way to sync your data...

Luckily windows mobile already has all of those features built into the activesync app on your phone and we dont have to connect through one of verizon's servers to get to our own exchange servers...

I have made the mistake several times, saying corp MS exchange sync, does not work on the cheaper data plans

the cheaper data plans do NOT have verizon wirless sync,

MS exchange sync works find, you just have to get your 'exchange server' info and set it up

in reality this does not apply to most RV users, just the corp ones that need to stay 'in the know' when away from the office

[MrWizard]

Rangerdave wrote:

MrWizard wrote:
yes BT works so does a cable, but i believe the question was about using a phone modem connection ( as a wifi hotspot ) with more than ONE PC at the same time ( 2 PC's, the op and the wife )

NO phone i'm aware of will create a BT connection to (2) different PC's simultaneously

NO feature phone will act as a router

you need a PPC running a router ( connection sharing ) program and WIFI

BT protocols are NOT designed for connection sharing

so for the poster with the 'riddle me this' question

do you want to use 1 pc or 2 ?

one via cable or BT is easy and can use the daily pro-rated service

a wifi enable smart phone is going to require a monthly data plan
NO $2 'days of use' prorating, the selection of phones with built in wifi is severely limited

ppc geeks
xda

those 2 sites will answer all your questions-and much more

i know about PPC geeks, great site, if your into hacking your smart phones

it is NOT a site for the easily intimidated technology challenged or the feint of heart

my questions was not 'what to do'
my questions were to the poster, about what HE WANTED to do

[bucky]

Thanks so much for all of your input. I know that I can always count on the members here for the right info. I am going to use a tethered PDA so that I can get the $2 a day plan

[Rangerdave]

MrWizard wrote:
yes BT works so does a cable, but i believe the question was about using a phone modem connection ( as a wifi hotspot ) with more than ONE PC at the same time ( 2 PC's, the op and the wife )

NO phone i'm aware of will create a BT connection to (2) different PC's simultaneously

NO feature phone will act as a router

you need a PPC running a router ( connection sharing ) program and WIFI

BT protocols are NOT designed for connection sharing

so for the poster with the 'riddle me this' question

do you want to use 1 pc or 2 ?

one via cable or BT is easy and can use the daily pro-rated service

a wifi enable smart phone is going to require a monthly data plan
NO $2 'days of use' prorating, the selection of phones with built in wifi is severely limited

ppc geeks
xda

those 2 sites will answer all your questions-and much more

[astalavistababy]

sounds pretty complicated to me.

I use T-mobile
1. choose any calling plan that suites your needs
2. choose the phone that is designed for datapacket downloads. I chose Nokia 5300, got it for free after I subscribed to an annual plan. The phone comes with the proper plug and play USB cable included.

3. download Nokia PC suite and get started.

4. Subscribe to the internet feature ($20) and here you go.

Phone comes with camera, video feature and much more. It even has night features which takes awesome pic's.
You have unlimited internet access at all times without using up your minutes.

[MrWizard]

yes BT works so does a cable, but i believe the question was about using a phone modem connection ( as a wifi hotspot ) with more than ONE PC at the same time ( 2 PC's, the op and the wife )

NO phone i'm aware of will create a BT connection to (2) different PC's simultaneously

NO feature phone will act as a router

you need a PPC running a router ( connection sharing ) program and WIFI

BT protocols are NOT designed for connection sharing

so for the poster with the 'riddle me this' question

do you want to use 1 pc or 2 ?

one via cable or BT is easy and can use the daily pro-rated service

a wifi enable smart phone is going to require a monthly data plan
NO $2 'days of use' prorating, the selection of phones with built in wifi is severely limited

[Rangerdave]

MrWizard wrote:
the xv6800 is a windows mobile smart phone PPC ( i have the xv6800 in the closet ) the xv6900 is one of the few phones on verizons network to have wifi capabilities , other phones can be used for (2) pc's via connection sharing but not thru wifi with the phone ( cables between PC's or 'AdHoc' wifi between PC's ) NON wifi ( normal feature ) phones cannot connect to more than ONE PC at a time

when requesting data plans be sure you specify you want either the $59 'monthly' full data plan OR the daily pro-rated plan, you can have this feature turned on or off as needed, but if you purchase the monthly, you will be billed monthly even if you do NOT use it every day

Through wifi? naa, i use bluetooth. its a slew easier and alot more stable with a ppc phone. And if your concerned about the addon tether for the internet, just get the cab file for "internet connection sharing" for the ppc, it will take care of the rest.
No tether here.
Never have, never will.

RD

[MrWizard]

the xv6800 is a windows mobile smart phone PPC ( i have the xv6800 in the closet ) the xv6900 is one of the few phones on verizons network to have wifi capabilities , other phones can be used for (2) pc's via connection sharing but not thru wifi with the phone ( cables between PC's or 'AdHoc' wifi between PC's ) NON wifi ( normal feature ) phones cannot connect to more than ONE PC at a time

when requesting data plans be sure you specify you want either the $59 'monthly' full data plan OR the daily pro-rated plan, you can have this feature turned on or off as needed, but if you purchase the monthly, you will be billed monthly even if you do NOT use it every day

[Rangerdave]

we just got ours upgraded. we went with the bad mofo of a phone the xv6800. it has wifi built in and a full 4 way gps chip in it. of course verizon locks you out (sorta) of the gps chip functions but that dosent stop a full blown community modding the software and getting it to work picking up sats in less than 10 seconds. mine will show me right at the end of my house in my office.
back to the subject.
this phone has the wifi built in so i can just turn on internet connection sharing and adhoc the connection to the laptop, or just connect the usb cable and allow the sharing there.

now one big thing, you really do need to have an unlimited data plan. if not you will sorely regret it.

[chrisguld]

We have Verizon and the LG eNV. It works quite well as an internet connection with the Mobile Office Kit. I wrote about it in detail in this blog post

At the time, I wasn't sure what it was going to cost me. They gave us one month free, and since we only used it a few days here and there it took a while to go thru that one month. this month, we were finally charged and they do indeed prorate the $60/month by the days you use it. Here's the line item from my Verizon wireless bill:
BBA Connect 5GB/$.25mb - 08/12 - 08/23 23.22

I think it's a fantastic option for occasional travelers. I also wrote about this in a newsletter article

As for turning it into a 'hotspot', you'll need a router. The folks at EVDOinfo.com can advise you on the best one.
10/16/08 note: you can also use Internet Connection sharing - see my 9/25 RV.net blog article Cell phone Internet Hot Spot

[bucky]

I have reread the posts since Jan 08, I felt that anything prior has probably changed in the wireless world. So riddle me this please. DW now qualifies for an upgrade with VW, we are weekenders 15-20 times a year, and want internet when we travel. I saw mention in this thread somewhere about a phone being a wifi hotspot, but can't find it again. What would you suggest as the best Verizon phone and plan for web browsing and email with some multiple LT use? Looks like turning Broadband Access on and off at $2 a day would work best, but which phone do you think best? Thanks for any input.

[TriumphGuy]

Thanks for the reply - I'm pretty sure I'm going ahead with the BB, then add tethering as needed. It seems that I can get to most of what I typically need with the BB (weather info, google map) so I might not need to tether that much. We'll see!