hi I am staying at mums for the rest of the year as she has just had major surgery and needs constant care. Now I am having to homeschool my two kids and she only had dial up, and oh so slow. I need some advice to get wireless or something that will let my kids do there school work while I am there. I really do not know much about this stuff. Mum will not let me upgrade her computer to broadband, so I hope wireless is an option, any advise would be great, thanks
Anyone know where to get cheap wireless internet
hsk on 04/09/2012 - 11:55
Comments
Whirlpool's Broadband Choice is a really good site - it lists every Internet plan available on the Australian market and lets you search for providers that service your area by putting in your phone number. http://bc.whirlpool.net.au/
I would recommend getting a wired (ADSL2 or cable) connection as it will be a bit faster and more reliable than 3G-wireless broadband (which uses the mobile phone networks). Most will provide you with a wireless modem/router free as part of the plan, allowing you to connect all of the computers in the house over a short-range wireless connection, which is pretty convenient.
The forum on that site is also really good if you have any little questions.
Not really good for a temporary solution. I recommend testing 3G first. If the performance is good enough, great. If it is not, then ADSL may be your best option.
I recommend borrowing a 3G mobile phone (or use your own) to test reception. As mentioned, there are three options for providers Telstra is usually the best for coverage, but the most expensive. In some cases optus will be better and is cheap. Vodaphone is fine if you are lucky enough to get good signal.
You can either get a wifi AP or just a USB donge (technically 'upgrade' the computer I guess). If you have a 3g phone you can also use that to connect a computer to the internet (look up 'hot spot' for your phone).
Mum will not let me upgrade her computer to broadband
The computer doesn't get upgraded you realise?
The telephone line gets upgraded (and the telephone will work as normal)
ADSL is your best bet if you're definitely going to be there for the year. Faster, more reliable and cheaper.If you're set on going with Wireless (ie using the mobile phone network). Telstra will usually give you the fastest speed connection.
This is a pretty decent deal $79 for a WiFi modem and 5Gb data (also available at Dick Smith)
https://www.telstra.com.au/online-shop/mobile-broadband-prod…I agree with scubacoles that ADSL is the superior option and your mum will have better Internet access afterwards. However there are considerations. I'm assuming you replace dialup with ADSL, rather than have it on the side.
Price. You will have to research plans and compare total costs, including the line rental and cost of dialup calls. And what happens when you leave her with the setup at the end of your stay.
Network hardware. Presumably your mum has a modem card in her computer. If you are lucky it may also have an Ethernet port. If not you may need a network card or a USB dongle, either an Ethernet dongle or a WiFi dongle. Someone will have to reconfigure her computer to use networking instead of dialup.
Provider. If the ISP changes, her mailbox may need to be moved and correspondents informed. Or maybe she's already using webmail in which case there is no disruption.
Training. Your mum may need to do things a little different. No click to dialup, it's always on.
So I can understand if she doesn't want any disruption.
Or maybe you can have ADSL and dialup on the same line. I can't say if this is possible with telco plans and whether you end up paying twice for some costs, it all depends.
I've highlighted the salient points below… I'm not shouting, just trying to clear up the mess that is my response. ;-)
First up, the last comment is completely false. ADSL does share the line with the regular telephone service… ie the regular telephone service that currently exists for dialup internet purposes can stay exactly the same.
The bill for that service will remain unchanged, plus ADSL means no more dialing in to connect to the internet, there are no call charges every time you try to connect AND you can be connected to the internet and take a phone call at the same time with no loss of quality!
You also do not pay for the length of time you are connected, you only pay for the data you download or upload and you only download or upload when a device is connected (ie keeping your modem on while computers/phones are not connected uses no data).
The telephone service should suffer no disruption during the connection or disconnection process. It'll take roughly 10 days from signup for internet to start working though.Provided the modem is kept on all the time, there will be zero reconfiguration of the computer necessary. The computer will see that it has a network connection and just use that. (Unless it's a dinosaur from 1995)
Email can be retained if she uses a different ISP (although it means paying the bill to retain the account with that ISP). Alternatively, if you can sign on to her existing ISP, the email account can stay the same.
Finally, Internode for example will set up and put you on a month to month plan for a total of $129 setup + $50/month for 30Gb of data. That will be ample for kids doing homework and browsing to their heart's content… the only problems that could arise is if you start downloading high definition TV series/movies.
You can cancel that Internode plan any time after the first month with no penalty.
Internode are a premium ISP. So there are cheaper deals out there (although how many offer short contracts I'm unsure)Here are some other options for short contract ADSL
http://bc.whirlpool.net.au/bc/?action=search&state=nsw&class…(If you're not in a metro area, you can re-filter by changing to Regional 1 or Regional 2 and then pressing the "Filter" button.
Just to point out I know that a dialup modem and ADSL modem can share the line, don't assume technical ignorance immediately. What I was pointing out is if you are say with X telco for dialup and then you ask for an ADSL plan from an ISP whether there are any conflicts. Some ISPs like TPG take over the phone service on some plans.
Another thing you have to do is put ADSL filters on any other phone outlets in the house.
Another thing that can mess up ADSL are duet lines. But that doesn't seem to be the case as the OP has provided more details below.
BTW, Internode is now part of iiNet.
Most ISPs offer a bundle of line rental and Internet, but most (if not all) also offer internet only with line provided by someone else (TPG do offer Internet only plans).
ADSL line filters cost less than $5 each and you get one for free with a modem.
when i go on holiday and am telecommuting for work I use a amaysim sim with a e550 huawei modem (unlocked from vodaphone).
it's good for work (citrix connection), email, ebay, surfing the web (do they still say "surfing the web"?)
5cents per MB. with amaysim.
not good for downloading large files.
5c/mb = 51.20/Gb (1024mb per Gb)
Unless your usage is less than around 200mb/month, you'd be much better off with pretty much any other provider including Telstra (Telstra charge $40/Gb on Prepaid)True that, highly dependent on level of usage.
We're talking kids here… unless they're 18 months or younger, they'll chew up 200mb/day without even trying.
My 30 month niece is fully iPad savvy, to the point of turning on WiFi if it's been disabled!Windows updates alone will suck down 50-100mb/month. We're looking at daily, in-home usage here, not occasional, checking email when on the road.
thanks for all your help, my mum is a pensioner and she has her computer contract with TadAust which I think is now called ONEseniors. Her dial up costs her only $22 for three months which is basically nothing but then again she doesn't use it either. I am not sure about her computer she has had is for about four years so it is definitely not that new I guess I am thinking of using wireless as she is in Gosford and the reception should be fairly good. I guess am really looking the best (cheapest with most GB) for a plug in usb/modem maybe a on less than 12 month contract but I am not sure who is the best deal?
For less that 12 months and less upfront costs I stick by my 3G advice over ADSL (though ADSL will definately by better in the long run, it probably isn't worth the argument anyway).
The main question is reception at your particular house. Optus and Telstra are both usually safe bets, but I recommend you ask someone with a 3G phone to test the internet at the house.
I'd probably avoid contracts at first. Prepaid will let you at least use it for a couple of months to determine usage and you can then pick a plan. Virgin(Optus) have $79 for USB modem, 6G data and 100 days expiry. Other telcos should have something similar.
There are regular offers for cheap pre-paid Wireless on Ozbargain. I would imagine that all 3 network providers (Vodafone, Optus and Telstra, and therefore all the resellers as well) would have good coverage in Gosford.. use the search box on the front page to find one for your preferred provider, remember that in general, Telstra will provide the best service at the highest price, Optus will provide the net best service and Vodafone will, as a rule, offer the worst service. Might be worth talking to friends/family in the region to see if the above rules hold true for the region.
But know that Wireless will almost always be a worse experience and cost more in the longer term than ADSL.
Wireless has highly variable speed (sometimes it might be reasonably quick, others it will be dog slow and it WILL, no matter how good the signal, drop out regularly!
If you can convince your mum to allow her line to have ADSL activated at your expense, it's a significantly better option and does not require her to forego any of her existing contract commitments for computer, telephone line or dialup.. It's a win-win for both of you.
Dodo prepaid on the 250MB/month for 12 months including 7.2Mbps modem is sub $40.
How much data do you need. Light browsing?
Sign up for an adsl service, you can even treat your ADSL and phone service differently….. using ADSL won't effect your phone line/the ability to accept incoming calls.
Mum will not let me upgrade her computer to broadband
what she doesn't know, won't hurt her. find out if you can upgrade to ADSL, buy a "new modem"…aka a router/modem that "instantly connects" when you want to use the internet. i.e. just tell her what she wants to hear.
If that fails, skymesh has "unlimited" (i think it might be throttled), w3 networks too. Unwired has gone out of business, however they're still servicing existing customers.
Try this https://www.optus.com.au/shop/Broadband/Modems-&-Tablets-Car…
and then click on the black modem E586 WiFi Modem…Free options:
Send the kids to school in Gosford
Go use the Internet in the public library.
Use your sons iPhone http://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/69211hi thanks to all, am looking at Dodo and Optus, and will check out the ADSL as well, thanks
to scozbargain for the free options - I would love to school the kids in Gosford, but I spend the beginning part of the week in Picton and the end part in Gosford, and the department of Education will not let you split their schooling, so I tried that, shame as it would have been the best option for all. I called the library about internet and it is not free, they charge, I might call them again and see if school work is different, but the lady whom I spoke with said internet is per hour. Oh and lastly my 18 year old son is not living with us, so unfortunately I can not use his phone. But I really like the way you are thinking a true ozbargainer… thanksYou can buy vodafone sim cards on ebay for under $5, which will give you 3gb
Ok so can I buy a used wireless modem from ebay do I just contact say vodafone and sign up for a contract or go prepaid with them, is that possible? sorry not all that good with computers I am a bit challenged. thanks for advice and help
Might be possible on two conditions:
The modem has a removable sim (alternative is that it is embedded in the modem).
The modem is not locked to a network that isn't the one you want to use. This is very common, you can expect any modem with a telco's branding to be sim locked (if it has a removable sim at all).
Most will have the removeable SIM (I'm unaware of any that do not)
However, most will be locked to their respective network.AND you probably wont save a whole lot by buying secondhand either. Modems with some sort of introductory data offering go for around $50… The startup data is usually worth close to the value of the modem price.
I think mobile broadband with a WiFi AP is probably the best bet. Do you have any idea what the signal quality is like in that area for the three major providers Telstra, Optus and Vodafone? Even if at least for voice.