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Wireless Broadband For Dummies!!!
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garyclay
Posts: 193 Forumite
in Techie Stuff
Please can anyone give me a definitive answer to this:
I have a laptop with a wi-fi card.
I do not have a desktop computer.
I want to sign up for Broadband internet access and I want to conect to this wirelessly.
What do I need and what is the cheapest way to do this.
I see Wanadoo offer a wireless "Package" for 21.99 a month which is supposed to include everything I need to go 'wireless'.
I just want to know if I can buy the gear myself and find my own ISP for cheaper.
I am easily confused by this wireless techie stuff, I've tried asking this question on various techie/computer forums but am completely confused by the answers. As soon as you mention erthenet or whatever my brain starts wandering.
So please if there is a techie minded person out there who can give simple advice with possibly some recommendations I would be very very grateful!!
Thanks
I have a laptop with a wi-fi card.
I do not have a desktop computer.
I want to sign up for Broadband internet access and I want to conect to this wirelessly.
What do I need and what is the cheapest way to do this.
I see Wanadoo offer a wireless "Package" for 21.99 a month which is supposed to include everything I need to go 'wireless'.
I just want to know if I can buy the gear myself and find my own ISP for cheaper.
I am easily confused by this wireless techie stuff, I've tried asking this question on various techie/computer forums but am completely confused by the answers. As soon as you mention erthenet or whatever my brain starts wandering.
So please if there is a techie minded person out there who can give simple advice with possibly some recommendations I would be very very grateful!!
Thanks
0
Comments
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You certainly can buy the equipment yourself and will probably be the cheapest option.
Do you have a normal BT phoneline?
Once connected to broadband how do you intend to use it? By this I mean will you be a heavy user i.e lots of downloading every month or a light user i.e. just general online browsing, banking etc.?0 -
Yes I have a normal BT line and have checked to make sure I can get broadband.
No heavy downloading to start with, just banking, surfing etc although I may consider an i-pod in the next few months.
Really appreciate your help on this.0 -
You must mean Wanadoo Wireless and Talk where they include something called a 'Livebox':* The phone calls made using the Wireless & Talk service use your Wanadoo Broadband connection. The Livebox is our unique broadband modem that lets you link your computer without wires and connect a phone to it so you can make calls using your broadband connection rather than you usual phone line.
I think you're better off buying a standard single piece of equipment called a 'wireless ADSL modem firewall router', e.g. Netgear DG834G and going with a 'wires-only' broadband ISP, i.e. one which just enables ADSL on your telephone line and you decide and buy your choice of equipment rather than using the equipment that the ISP provides as part of a package.0 -
Must go to bed but was going to post something similar to C_M's last paragraph.
I would just add at the moment that as you will be a light user, a "capped" wires only broadband deal is likely to be adequate and may be the cheapest option. Capped means there is a limit on upload/download total for each month.
If I use the capped package I am on as an example (£14.99/month) then I have a 2GB (GigaByte) usage limit per month although this is unmetered during the hours of 1am-6am i.e. anything uploaded/downloaded in that time doesn't count towards the 2GB. Also you can buy additional GB's (for use during metered times) if necessary at a nominal cost. I've not required this in the 3 months I've had this package.
The speed of my connection is 2Mbps (mega-bits per second). This is the nominal speed of the connection. If the phone line wasn't capable of this speed I would have been offered the next fastest service (1Mbps or 512Kbps).
A useful site is https://www.adslguide.org.uk with loads of info. on ISP's etc. and also message boards from users of many ISP's.0 -
Just checked out the Netgear DG834G on Amazon. Looks just what I'm looking for. Thanks very much for your advice!
Just one question, can it be used standalone ie no wired connection to a PC.
From what I gather I'll need to plug it into my laptop Ethernet connection to set it up then once the wireless connection is set up I can unplug and it will work its magic from the safety of my hallway table. Is this correct?
Just wanting to check before I buy!
Now to search for a cheap broadband provider!0 -
Re: "Just one question, can it be used standalone ie no wired connection to a PC."
Yes, can be used standalone.
Re:"From what I gather I'll need to plug it into my laptop Ethernet connection to set it up then once the wireless connection is set up I can unplug and it will work its magic from the safety of my hallway table. Is this correct?"
Yes. Don't forget to set up the security features.
Edit
Just looked at some reviews on ebuyer and appears to be some discussion about problems with a firmware upgrade (updated software) for some people. Might be worth a read.
http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/products/index.html?rb=7154285257&action=c2hvd19wcm9kdWN0X3Jldmlld3M=&product_uid=522440 -
I know your first post says you do already have a wifi card, but an alternative to the Netgear mentioned is this 3Com one.
It's a similar product to the Netgear, but also comes with a wireless card for your laptop (a spare ..?).
I only suggested an alternative because a number of people (myself included) have had problems with / don't rate highly the Netgear DG834G. I've just upgraded the firmwear so that might help, but I wouldn't buy another; our IT department has also stopped getting them as well ...
The ADSL guide site mentioned by onzey is well worth a read ...0
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