Toucan wired speedtouch to wireless, help...

Tinuel

Happy 2009 to all,

I have a Toucan broadband connection using the speedtouch wired modem provided by them. But now my partner has found a job online and we need to have hers and mine laptop online at the same time. It's annoying to unplug the cable from one to the other or taking turns to use the internet and we have been doing that so far. I have called Toucan helpdesk to ask if they do wireless routers. They said no, not on the 8 megs speed and could not assist me on finding a way to set-up a wireless connection. This on a 0870 number, expensive and unhelpful. I have recently signed up with Toucan so can't really "disconnect" them for another few months.

My question: Can I plug the speedtouch wired modem to a wireless router? If so, will it create a wireless connection?
Can you recommend a cheap wireless router which will allow me to do the above?
Is there any other way?

Many thanks...

Belnahua

I replaced my Speedtouch modem with a Broadband ADSL Wireless Modem all in one. People on here will have plenty of recommendations, but make sure you buy the correct one, ADSL for telephone Broadband and DSL for cable modems.

As long as you have your Toucan login details, you can programme these into a normal ADSL modem.

I forgot to mention that the Speedtouch Modem is likely to be a USB modem, so no, you cannot plug it into a wireless router, but will need to replace it totally.

espresso

Any of these ADSL wireless routers here will be suitable. If your laptops are recent, they will have WiFi built-in.

Tinuel

Belnahua wrote: »

I replaced my Speedtouch modem with a Broadband ADSL Wireless Modem all in one. People on here will have plenty of recommendations, but make sure you buy the correct one, ADSL for telephone Broadband and DSL for cable modems.

As long as you have your Toucan login details, you can programme these into a normal ADSL modem.

I forgot to mention that the Speedtouch Modem is likely to be a USB modem, so no, you cannot plug it into a wireless router, but will need to replace it totally.

Thanks for the info, it's a USB wired modem. Are there any details I need to ask Toucan in order to config a wireless connection? Is it easy to convert from a wired speedtouch to a wireless router?
Any compability issues?

Many thanks...

espresso

You normally just need to enter your ISP username/password and Robert is your mothers brother. Using Ethernet to connect the router to your PC is much better than using USB.

Tinuel

espresso wrote: »

You normally just need to enter your ISP username/password and Robert is your mothers brother. Using Ethernet to connect the router to your PC is much better than using USB.

Thanks Espresso,
The link you sent me, are those the cheapest wireless routers around? Is the first one at 14.99 decent enough for a connection?

espresso

Tinuel wrote: »

Thanks Espresso,
The link you sent me, are those the cheapest wireless routers around? Is the first one at 14.99 decent enough for a connection?

It seems a good spec. for the price and should be suitable for most home users to share their broadband connection. I doubt that you will find much cheaper.