Anywhere-in-the-city wireless internet

I phrased my previous question a bit awkwardly.

I'm looking for any kind of wireless service that allows you to access the
internet wherever you are in your city, similar to a cell phone, without the
need to rely on hotspots. It can be dial-up or broadband. Do such services
exist? If so, what are some?

"Scott H" <nospam> wrote in message news:ttadnc7KwMqwU-rVnZ2dnUVZ_uGdnZ2d@supernews.com...
>I phrased my previous question a bit awkwardly.
>
> I'm looking for any kind of wireless service that allows you to access the internet
> wherever you are in your city, similar to a cell phone, without the need to rely on
> hotspots. It can be dial-up or broadband. Do such services exist? If so, what are some?

the 3G network does this. You get a little usb thingy and plug it in and it connects via
the 3G cell network, like a mobile phone. Three bad things I noticed: 1) speed is slow,
not much better than a dial-up 2) the usb device is a bitch to install 3) support is only
available by registering at the 3G site and giving them all your details.

On Fri, 11 Jul 2008 17:18:33 -0400, "Scott H" <nospam> wrote:

>I phrased my previous question a bit awkwardly.

It's still fairly awkward.

>I'm looking for any kind of wireless service that allows you to access the
>internet wherever you are in your city, similar to a cell phone, without the
>need to rely on hotspots.

Cellular wireless broadband does not rely on hot spots. Reading
between your vague requirements, it would seem that cellular broadband
or perhaps email only services would work. Whatcha gonna be doing?

>It can be dial-up or broadband. Do such services
>exist? If so, what are some?

Yes, such services exist.
WiMax is the most common type.

http://www.wimax.com
http://www.bbwexchange.com/wimax/
http://www.clearwire.com
http://www.towerstream.com
http://wwws.razzolink.com

Any particular city?

--
# Jeff Liebermann 150 Felker St #D Santa Cruz CA 95060
# 831-336-2558 jeffl@comix.santa-cruz.ca.us
# http://802.11junk.com jeffl@cruzio.com
# http://www.LearnByDestroying.com AE6KS

Jeff Liebermann wrote:
> On Fri, 11 Jul 2008 17:18:33 -0400, "Scott H" <nospam> wrote:
>> I'm looking for any kind of wireless service that allows you to
>> access the internet wherever you are in your city, similar to a cell
>> phone, without the need to rely on hotspots.
>
> Cellular wireless broadband does not rely on hot spots. Reading
> between your vague requirements, it would seem that cellular broadband
> or perhaps email only services would work. Whatcha gonna be doing?

Full internet access, including chat rooms. I do not plan on playing any
online games, so the connection doesn't need to be that fast.

>> It can be dial-up or broadband. Do such services
>> exist? If so, what are some?
>
> Yes, such services exist.
> WiMax is the most common type.
>
> http://www.wimax.com
> http://www.bbwexchange.com/wimax/
> http://www.clearwire.com
> http://www.towerstream.com
> http://wwws.razzolink.com
>
> Any particular city?

I'd prefer not to reveal the city, but I'd like to know how to check. I did
some Googling without much luck.

Scott H wrote:
> Jeff Liebermann wrote:
>> On Fri, 11 Jul 2008 17:18:33 -0400, "Scott H" <nospam> wrote:
>>> I'm looking for any kind of wireless service that allows you to
>>> access the internet wherever you are in your city, similar to a cell
>>> phone, without the need to rely on hotspots.
>> Cellular wireless broadband does not rely on hot spots. Reading
>> between your vague requirements, it would seem that cellular broadband
>> or perhaps email only services would work. Whatcha gonna be doing?
>
> Full internet access, including chat rooms. I do not plan on playing any
> online games, so the connection doesn't need to be that fast.
>
>>> It can be dial-up or broadband. Do such services
>>> exist? If so, what are some?
>> Yes, such services exist.
>> WiMax is the most common type.
>>
>> http://www.wimax.com
>> http://www.bbwexchange.com/wimax/
>> http://www.clearwire.com
>> http://www.towerstream.com
>> http://wwws.razzolink.com
>>
>> Any particular city?
>
> I'd prefer not to reveal the city, but I'd like to know how to check. I did
> some Googling without much luck.
>
>
You might get valuable actual answers from users if you weren't so
secretive. Its not like someone asked for a DNA sample and time/date and
coordinates accurate to 1 meter.

On Fri, 11 Jul 2008 20:45:44 -0400, "Scott H" <nospam> wrote:

>Full internet access, including chat rooms. I do not plan on playing any
>online games, so the connection doesn't need to be that fast.

Did you check if your cellular provider has an IM only service?
Verizon Wireless does:
<http://products.vzw.com/index.aspx?id=messaging_im&lid=//global//messaging//mobile+im>

If messaging is your forte, you might look into 2-way paging,
Blackberry/RIM, Terrestar/Motient, etc.

How "full" do you want? You don't need "full" internet access just to
run a chat room.

The defunct Metricom/Ricochet network would have done the job at
19.2Kbit/sec, but that's gone. Some cellular providers still have low
speed (about 14.4Kbits/sec) access. As I recall, Verizon was charging
me an extra $5/month. However, data connect time counted against my
monthly minutes, whether data is moving or if I'm just reading the
screen. That added up fast so I dumped the service.

>>> It can be dial-up or broadband. Do such services
>>> exist? If so, what are some?
>>
>> Yes, such services exist.
>> WiMax is the most common type.
>>
>> http://www.wimax.com
>> http://www.bbwexchange.com/wimax/
>> http://www.clearwire.com
>> http://www.towerstream.com
>> http://wwws.razzolink.com
>>
>> Any particular city?

>I'd prefer not to reveal the city, but I'd like to know how to check. I did
>some Googling without much luck.

Suit yourself. Try here:
<http://www.bbwexchange.com/wisps/>

The TowerStream, Clearwire, and Sprint sites all have WiMax coverage
locators. For other WiMax providers, slog through this list:
<http://www.bbwexchange.com/wimax/wimax_internet_access_providers.asp>

Also search Google for "WISP WiMax".

Also, if you have a suitable vehicle on which to mount a rather large
(1 meter) dish, you can possibly subscribe to one of the satellite
internet vendors. Hughesnet and WildBlue are the major players.

--
# Jeff Liebermann 150 Felker St #D Santa Cruz CA 95060
# 831-336-2558 jeffl@comix.santa-cruz.ca.us
# http://802.11junk.com jeffl@cruzio.com
# http://www.LearnByDestroying.com AE6KS

Scott H wrote:
> I'm looking for any kind of wireless service that allows you to access the
> internet wherever you are in your city, similar to a cell phone, without the
> need to rely on hotspots. It can be dial-up or broadband. Do such services
> exist? If so, what are some?

If you have a wide network of friends around town, they might let you
plug in your laptop for a dial-up connection. And if they have DSL or
cable, you can get broadband speeds.

If you want wireless connectivity and if you are in the very, very, very
limited number of towns that have MuniWiFi, that might work.

Otherwise, look at a cellular connection card.

Scott H wrote:
>>
>> Any particular city?
>
> I'd prefer not to reveal the city, but I'd like to know how to check.
> I did some Googling without much luck.

well, without knowing the city, i'd say plan on spending BIG BIG BIG bucks
for a two way satellite internet system, they work on RV's all over...
course if you would part with a bit of information, you may get some cheaper
alternatives... oh well, Close mouth and open wallet....... :)

Scott H wrote:
> Jeff Liebermann wrote:
>> On Fri, 11 Jul 2008 17:18:33 -0400, "Scott H" <nospam> wrote:
>>> I'm looking for any kind of wireless service that allows you to
>>> access the internet wherever you are in your city, similar to a cell
>>> phone, without the need to rely on hotspots.
>> Cellular wireless broadband does not rely on hot spots. Reading
>> between your vague requirements, it would seem that cellular broadband
>> or perhaps email only services would work. Whatcha gonna be doing?
>
> Full internet access, including chat rooms.

Use your mobile phone (what the yanks call cellular) as a modem. Its
going to be expensive. (in Europe) You'd be looking at 3G data services
or maybe EDGE. Many if not all major mobile phone companies have a data
package. You can access these from anywhere you can get phone reception.

The alternative, if you're lucky, is a citwide wireless network of some
sort. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Municipal_broadband


> I'd prefer not to reveal the city, but I'd like to know how to check.

if your chosen city has a muni wireless broadband network you'd know -
they're expensive to install, rare and tend to be heavily advertised in
a desperate attempt to recoup costs.