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.

[Morninghill]

Thanks for the info on the Touch, confirms what most reviewers have said. In our house, DW has 95% of the phone use and she has a lot of concern about the touch screen and the larger size. We ended up with the 8360 and the price was certainly right, free phone and free activation. Now to get it tethered.

[MrWizard]

i love the enVtouch, got one several weeks ago, I find it easy to use, the touch screen keypad is large and easy too use and IF you find the screen had to see outside ( in some situations ) you can flip it open and dial from the numbers on the keyboard, it is heavier than some phones, i have NO personal experience with the other (2) phones, but so far I have like ALL LG phones except for the original 8500 chocolate ( the first one )

[Morninghill]

Have been going through this thread in preparation for tethering a phone to the laptop for a trip next month. Switching from Sprint to Verizon for many reasons. Have narrowed phone choices to env Touch, LG VX-8360, and LG Chocolate 3. I like the 3g rev a and the better camera on the touch, but not too thrilled about the touch screen (never used one) and the larger phone size. Any significant problems to cause me to drop one or more of these from my list?

[MrWizard]

welcome to RV.net and all these forums.

[mjhampstead]

Hi

I'm new to this forum but not new to the topic.

Since I learned of Alltel's $25.00 per month DataAccess Plan (24/7) in March 2007, I've been using it tethered to my Motorola EVDO phone. I got a backup phone and batteries on ebay so I can keep a battery fully charged at all times. Even when plugged into the charger this Motorola's battery does not recharge when connected to the computer.

For the most part this has been great although from time to time I loose the tower connection although the phone shows five bars.

In my rural area, my highspeed options were limited and I've been online vial dialup since May, 1985.

There is an active EVDOforum that helps to resolve many issues of both connectivity and performance.

I am finally getting my 1985 PaceArrow back into shape and am glad I already have a good internet connection worked out as I am no fan of WiFi hotspots.

[goodwill221]

good post, we learned more information about mobile networking, thanks for sharing

[pulsar]

magicbus wrote:
Yowsers - can we squeeze the picture down to forum standards???

Dave

Sometimes pictures must be left "too large" for them to be useful. Here, reducing the picture to 640 pixels wide makes the text unreadable.

Tom

[magicbus]

Yowsers - can we squeeze the picture down to forum standards???

Dave

[MrWizard]

his was in a separate thread, but i added the info here because it is pertinent

Virgin MObile is rolling out Pay As you GO .. data via aircard, buy the aircard at 'Best Buy' stores

ex cert

Armed with the modem, users buy data usage in $10, $20, $40 or $60 increments. But there's a catch: Customers must use the data within a relatively short period of time. For $20, users get 250MB of data that expires after 30 days. The cheapest payment costs $10 for 100MB, but it expires in 10 days. For $60, users get 1GB that they must use in 30 days.

http://www.phonenews.com/virgin-mobile-to-launch-aircard-and-prepaid-data-service-exclusively-via-be...

EXCLUSIVE TO 'BEST BUY'

Virgin Mobile will be providing service via the Ovation MC760 USB modem which features zero-CD automatic software install with usage meter, EVDO Rev. A support and a microSDHC expansion slot. Pricing for the service starts at $10 for 100 MB with a 10 day usage cycle all the way up to $60 for 1 GB of data access with a 30 day cycle.

The service will be exclusively available in Best Buy locations later this month with pricing for the modem set at $149.99.

the price per PER MB-GB is higher than compared to 'account contracts'

but many people on this forum have expressed a desired to be able to use an aircard for days or weeks and not pay $720 a year for something only used on weekends or 2 week vacations, this gives them to chance to say spend $20-40-60, a few times a year. compared to a yearly contract

[MrWizard]

its too bad, you ran into a problem, glad you got everything working,

i think your initial problem was because verizon changed/re-configured some cell towers, and your old air card didnot have the PRL configuration info.

IF you had re-configured your old card before going to the verizon store, it might have saved you a trip & $52, the good news is the NEW usb modem should be REV A EvDo and give you a faster connection.

Don't remove the vzmgr software, you might need it in the future to update the FW in the modem or to update the PRL file and other configuration info.

[naturist]

I've been using an Alltel EVDO data card for 4 months shy of my contractual 2 years, and it has worked well for me. The contract was "unlimited data" and when Verizon bought Alltel, we were assured that all terms of the original contract would remain in effect until contract expiration.

Over the weekend I noticed I suddenly could not get a 3G connection, only a 2.5G connection, and the speed was rather slow, so I stopped at the nearest Verizon store to inquire what that was about.

They had changed the service somehow, and I was told that to get back into 3G-land, I'd need to upgrade. After some negotiation back and forth, I left with a brand new USB modem-card (cost, $52.50, on which there is a $50 mail-in rebate) and a new contract for 2 years with the old Alltel unlimited bandwidth for the entire 2 years.

That's the good news. The bad news is that I had not had to install any Alltel software on my Mac to get the old card to work. The new card required some software, put up a fight to get properly installed and running, and which appears to be buggy enough to lock up the computer, which is really hard to do on a Mac.

What I've found is that the Verizon software was essential to get the card configured, even though it took a fair amount of fighting to get it to do what was needed. But the software appears to be otherwise un-necessary. I've been running since then, off and on the net, without it. So if you can get past the initial fight, never bother to run the Verizon stuff again and you'll be fine.

[pulsar]

BCam wrote:
Good news! I see that Verizon has dropped the fee for the Mobile
Broadband Connect feature to $49.95/mo (from $59.95), still with the 5GB/mo "limit" ($.05/MB thereafter). Both the monthly fee and the data limit are prorated if you use it for less than a full month.

I'm using it right now from a campground near Fort Bragg, CA.

For more information on this, you should read

Changes to Verizon Mobile BroadBand can save you money

an RV.Net blog by EVDOAlex.

It is also discussed in this thread:

Verizon Wireless customers may want to read this.

Tom

[BCam]

Good news! I see that Verizon has dropped the fee for the Mobile
Broadband Connect feature to $49.95/mo (from $59.95), still with the 5GB/mo "limit" ($.05/MB thereafter). Both the monthly fee and the data limit are prorated if you use it for less than a full month.

I'm using it right now from a campground near Fort Bragg, CA.

[bobsea]

I just got an LG Dare from Verizon and the Cradlepoint from 3G Store and it was amazingly simple to set up. I thought I had done something wrong! But, no it was just too simple. I switched from AT&T w Samusung A707 which worked OK and the rate was $15/month and could be turned off when not needed. the LG Dare set-up is much better and interfaces well with the Cradlepoint. Highly recommend it and 3G Store.

[xctraveler]

EVDOalex wrote:

xctraveler wrote:
I have VZ BlackBerry 8330. I cannot share my broad band connection over the WiFi any longer ... I have seen a box that will accept tethered BB 8330 on Verizon and create a WiFi cloud. Does anyone have any experience with this kind of setup? Is there an alternative (the box cost $200)?

the cradlepoint CTR350 will allow you to share 8330's connectivity via WiFi and is way less than $200

Got the Cradlepoint that cost $200 incl shipping and set it up. It took a call to Cradlepoint tech to get the necessary firmware for the Verizon BB8330, but once that was installed it is easy to get both laptops up on the net using the phone.