Laptop Internet

[Tuc]

Hey guys I'm looking at buying a laptop for the cabin. Cabin is in the boonies. Any suggestions for internet service?

Eventually I will install a sattelite dish and I'm sure I can get internet off it but for now .......... ???????

[Janitor Pants]

Do you get cell coverage out there? If so go with an aircard.

There are a couple options for satellite internet out there, xplornet seems to be the major contender, although I have not heard many good reviews as to their service or price.

[firegod74]

My opinion of xplornet would be edited out by the profanity filter of this great forum. If you have cell service at the cabin, I would go with a usb internet stick. All the major carriers have them and I find the speeds are pretty good. But then I'm comparing to xplornet and it makes dialup seem fast.

[Roughneck12]

Aircards are fastest in an urban envirionment. There you have 3g coverage. Outside of most major centers you will have slower download speeds and if you are downloading large files it will take forever, but something is better than nothing. Also if you get a card, get the fattest plan available because if you do alot of surfing you may get dinged with a big bill. Trust me. I know.

[Janitor Pants]

Aircards are fastest in an urban envirionment. There you have 3g coverage. Outside of most major centers you will have slower download speeds and if you are downloading large files it will take forever, but something is better than nothing. Also if you get a card, get the fattest plan available because if you do alot of surfing you may get dinged with a big bill. Trust me. I know.

I run my aircard daily outside of urban centers and have noticed some slowdown compared to in town, but nothing too crazy. I can't speak for northern alberta, but where I work, (mostly central and south eastern alberta) I get 3G coverage pretty much everywhere. I have noticed that this has improved since the new GSM compatible towers were started (HSPD or whatever they are called).

Before those towers were up, I installed a booster in my truck and that made all the difference in the world for internet access.

The low speeds you will see without 3G coverage are still faster than what you will get from xplornet IMHO. Also, as specified above, get the big plan, it isn't much more and you will wish you had if you run over.

[600twin]

I run a 3g USb from telus and it does what i need and i can use it wherever i want. The fatherinlaw installs and has a xplornet in his house and after using mine he is trying to figure out a way to sell his and go with telus , he is locked in for 2 more yrs with xplornet.
The speed is according to signal strentgh but even with only 1 bar its still faster than what dial up was.

[Korzy]

If you have a cell phone with a data plan, you could look into tethering too.

[Iron Brew]

I am an xplornet customer. I initially had some problems with them, and have run the gammut from broadband to satellite, back to broadband.

My (1'st) broadband worked great... till the leaves came out. Then they transferred it (free) to satellite, then the licenced spectrum broadband came out, and I went back to broadband. The only time I can even come close to complaining is right around suppertime, when all the kids are home, parents are home, etc. and everybody is checking their internet at the same time.

Not impressed with satellite though... much better than dial up, but not like broadband or dsl etc.

Your choices in the country are relatively limited, unfortuneatly...

[firegod74]

If you have a cell phone with a data plan, you could look into tethering too.

I have a Blackberry through Bell. I asked them if it could be tethered to my laptop. They said no. I went online and sure enough there is a way. Simple to set up and off you go. I was getting all cocky till I recieved the automated message from Bell warning me that my phone bill had reached $500.00. I called them up and asked how this was possible since I have an unlimited data plan. Apparently they can tell how many ports you are using (high teck lingo, don't ask me). A cell phone uses 2 ports while a laptop uses many more. Thus all data though my tethered laptop was charged outside my plan. AKA expensive.
If you are a light surfer Rogers, and probably others have a step plan. You pay a bit more for the basic plan, but as your usage increases it automatically steps up your plan to a max of 85 bucks for 5 gigs. This isn't a bad idea since your usage is going to vary allot.
If you go with Rogers. Make sure your area has good coverage as they don't have the province covered as good as the Big 2

[mtylerb]

I have a Blackberry through Bell. I asked them if it could be tethered to my laptop. They said no. I went online and sure enough there is a way. Simple to set up and off you go. I was getting all cocky till I recieved the automated message from Bell warning me that my phone bill had reached $500.00. I called them up and asked how this was possible since I have an unlimited data plan. Apparently they can tell how many ports you are using (high teck lingo, don't ask me). A cell phone uses 2 ports while a laptop uses many more. Thus all data though my tethered laptop was charged outside my plan. AKA expensive.
If you are a light surfer Rogers, and probably others have a step plan. You pay a bit more for the basic plan, but as your usage increases it automatically steps up your plan to a max of 85 bucks for 5 gigs. This isn't a bad idea since your usage is going to vary allot.
If you go with Rogers. Make sure your area has good coverage as they don't have the province covered as good as the Big 2

That's a bunch of crock. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying you're lying, but Bell is full of ... :mad2:. I've used my BlackBerry to tether my laptop and downloaded 500-700 MB's of data over a 3 week holiday, travelling through BC. I never once got harassed by Rogers. I have the $30 for 1 GB of data plan, along with my voice plan. I agree, though, that Rogers' cell coverage is crappy, compared to Telus (Bell uses Telus' towers, out here).

[moosemad]

I've got the telus 3g and it works fine where ever you have coverage. Just got telus coverage at my cabin within the last year and the lap top works great. Just make sure you have a big enough plan to cover your useage. Easy to figure out, the first 2 months you can go over with no additional charge. The best part is you have a counter that will monitor your useage so you always know how much you have left.

[Roughneck12]

I get good speed here in Red Deer but up in Bonnyville where I work downloads are way slower. I guess it just depends on where you are in the province.

[Tuc]

The telus 3g, is that 3 gigs for the whole month?

[Janitor Pants]

The telus 3g, is that 3 gigs for the whole month?

I believe it means "3rd Generation"

They have various data plans, I pay $65 a month for my first gig, and $10 for each gig after that, they have larger plans as well, but that seems to work out nicely for me.

[Okotokian]

He has a cabin in the wilderness.... and he wants internet, and sattelite.... :cry: sad. might as well have just bought a condo on the other side of the city.

[Korzy]

I have a Blackberry through Bell. I asked them if it could be tethered to my laptop. They said no. I went online and sure enough there is a way. Simple to set up and off you go. I was getting all cocky till I recieved the automated message from Bell warning me that my phone bill had reached $500.00. I called them up and asked how this was possible since I have an unlimited data plan. Apparently they can tell how many ports you are using (high teck lingo, don't ask me). A cell phone uses 2 ports while a laptop uses many more. Thus all data though my tethered laptop was charged outside my plan. AKA expensive.
If you are a light surfer Rogers, and probably others have a step plan. You pay a bit more for the basic plan, but as your usage increases it automatically steps up your plan to a max of 85 bucks for 5 gigs. This isn't a bad idea since your usage is going to vary allot.
If you go with Rogers. Make sure your area has good coverage as they don't have the province covered as good as the Big 2

As I said, you'd have to look into it. Im with Rogers and they allow tethering. I have a 6 gig data plan for $30 and I tether all the time with my iPhone.

[BrownBear416]

The telus 3g, is that 3 gigs for the whole month?

Make sure tuc you get them to explain just how much a gig will last you so you buy a big enough plan to accomadate your needs.Once you go over they charge heavy.lol

I pay a 100 a month unlimited for my telus air card and I find it works pretty decent most places you have cell service.Its kind of like dial up if you only have 1 or 2 bars though..

I payed 300 for mine with a 1yr plan so they arent real cheap but I am addicted to facebook and AO so whats a guy supposed to do :)

[Korzy]

I believe it means "3rd Generation"

They have various data plans, I pay $65 a month for my first gig, and $10 for each gig after that, they have larger plans as well, but that seems to work out nicely for me.

Yeah it means 3rd Generation. It is used to refer to the current cell network. I think it started with Rogers then Bell and Telus adopted the term.

[mtylerb]

Yeah it means 3rd Generation. It is used to refer to the current cell network. I think it started with Rogers then Bell and Telus adopted the term.

3rd Gen, is right. It refers to the technology used. Wiki has a good article (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/3G). 4G (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/4G) should be coming along in a couple years and it will be interesting to see what it's capable of.

Here's a list from the 2G (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2G) article:

1G - NMT · AMPS · Hicap · CDPD · Mobitex · DataTAC · TACS · ETACS
2G - GSM · iDEN · D-AMPS · IS-95 · PDC · CSD · PHS · GPRS · HSCSD · WiDEN
2.75G - EDGE/EGPRS · CDMA2000 (1xRTT)
3G - UMTS (W-CDMA) · CDMA2000 (1xEV-DO/IS-856) · FOMA · TD-SCDMA · GAN/UMA
3.5G - UMTS (HSDPA) · UMTS (HSUPA) · CDMA2000 (EV-DO Rev.A)
3.75G - UMTS (HSPA+) · CDMA2000 (EV-DO Rev.B/3xRTT)
4G - WiMAX · Flash-OFDM · 3GPP LTE

[Tuc]

He has a cabin in the wilderness.... and he wants internet, and sattelite.... :cry: sad. might as well have just bought a condo on the other side of the city

What's so sad about it OKO? If that's all you have to offer, why bother.

Thanx for all the feedback guys!

[600twin]

He has a cabin in the wilderness.... and he wants internet, and sattelite.... :cry: sad. might as well have just bought a condo on the other side of the city.

I have a cabin and have internet. I use my email for my work, i have only spoken to the boss once while at home on the telephone,, seeing it is a 12 hr time difference between me and him email is the best choice. I have the cheapest one from telus but we usually only use it while there so we never go over the limit.

[Okotokian]

What's so sad about it OKO? If that's all you have to offer, why bother.

Thanx for all the feedback guys!

Oh don't take such offense Tuc. It's just that the cabins I've most enjoyed have been those with less conveniences... you know, somewhere to go to disconnect, get away from the world. If I was lucky enough to have a cabin I certainly wouldn't have a widescreen TV, huge audio system, cable, sattelite, internet, grass to cut and a riding mower to do it, double or triple attached garage, etc. etc. like some. But everyone's different. You obviously are. Sorry I offended you. I apologize.

[Tuc]

Oh don't take such offense Tuc. It's just that the cabins I've most enjoyed have been those with less conveniences... you know, somewhere to go to disconnect, get away from the world. If I was lucky enough to have a cabin I certainly wouldn't have a widescreen TV, huge audio system, cable, sattelite, internet, grass to cut and a riding mower to do it, double or triple attached garage, etc. etc. like some. But everyone's different. You obviously are. Sorry I offended you. I apologize.

Well if that's what you meant, I'm sure you could have worded it differently. I will be retiring there someday so I intend on having the convience's of a home.

Yes, everyone's different and your know exception.