What are you using to connect to the WWW at the boat?

rondds said:
So Frank, suppose I had a marina in my back yard and I have Comcast, what would it take (monthly and equipment-wise) got get that large a hot spot set up?
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The harware is not the big a deal. My Son in Law is an IT guy at our local convention center and has set up a really powerful wireless device for our home. It carries both data and power over Cat 5 cable. It sits in our attic and I can get a decent connection from the head of our driveway...which is 1500 feet from the house. I have two transformer/boosters installed to get the signal up to my house. I have better than a dedicated T1 line bandwidth as my pipe is only shared with one neighboor. I can get you more hardware info if you like....but the bigger question is _bandwidth used_.

I recently got a notice from Comcast that said they would be monitoring bandwidth use and start charging accordingly. so If you have a residential account and use "business" type bandwidth, then you are going to pay through the nose, or they will cancel your account. So if you set up your big hotspot and everyone just surfs and no big download or uploads, you may be OK...but I would be concerned about users downloading loads of stuff on your "residential" shared gateway.

Evidentlly Comcast will warn you when you approach this limit.

Your mileage may vary.
 
fc3 said:
OK would you believe that I need my daily dose of Wesley's witticisms?
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mfln130l.jpg
 
JamieH said:
For $15.00 a month (on top of the data plan) most blackberrys can act as a broadband modem. USB to the laptop, couple of clicks, surfing away. If you carry a blackberry, it's the way to go.
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Only if you're on the BES network. If you're on the BIS network, it's $30/month. Either way, it nets out to be $60/month for the phone data plan and tethering data plan (phone based connection) or $60/month for the air card (computer based connection).

Doug
 
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douglee25 said:
Only if you're on the BES network. If you're on the BIS network, it's $30/month. Either way, it nets out to be $60/month for the phone data plan and tethering data plan (phone based connection) or $60/month for the air card (computer based connection).

Doug
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Hmmm... I'm not on a Blackberry Enterprise Server and Verizon added $10/month to my plan to use it as a tethered modem.... I have the unlimited data plan...

I'm not going to unplug my Blackberry's data plan to get an aircard so to get an aircard is $60 a month vs. $10 to use the phone.
 
rondds said:
So Frank, suppose I had a marina in my back yard and I have Comcast, what would it take (monthly and equipment-wise) got get that large a hot spot set up?
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Again, it depends on how much you want to spend, how large an area you want to cover, and what bandwidth you want to supply. For example, you could use one access point with a good antenna and cover a huge area. But if multiple users access that point, they will be sharing the same limited bandwidth and may experience poor performance. So you might subdivide the area and use multiple access points. Since the users now are distributed amount multiple access points, they see better network performance. And of course, the larger the area, the more access points you need since the built-in network adapters don't have a lot of power or great antennas.

So, for your backyard scenario, you could just drop a $50 Linksys gateway on your windowsill and call it a day.

Best regards,
Frank
 
I only have one electronic gadget hanging from my hip, and I find that to be just right. I'm also a Verizon customer. Last year I tried the BB with the tethered modem option. It worked great, except when a call came in. Then you had to decide which you wanted to be on....the computer or the phone. There are times when you need to do both. After two or three weeks, I brought the BB back and got a basic phone for phone stuff and an air card for WWW stuff. I also have the unlimited package.

BTW....Verizon no longer offers an unlimited data package. If you have it, you are grandfather'd in and can keep it.....that is what I was told this past summer when I got a second air card....which does'nt have unlimited use...I forget how much BW I'm allowed, but it works out to be plenty for basic surfing and email.
 
osd9 said:
I only have one electronic gadget hanging from my hip, and I find that to be just right. I'm also a Verizon customer. Last year I tried the BB with the tethered modem option. It worked great, except when a call came in. Then you had to decide which you wanted to be on....the computer or the phone. There are times when you need to do both. After two or three weeks, I brought the BB back and got a basic phone for phone stuff and an air card for WWW stuff. I also have the unlimited package.

BTW....Verizon no longer offers an unlimited data package. If you have it, you are grandfather'd in and keep it.....that is what I was told this past summer when I got a second air card.
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You must be rich.
 
Four Suns said:
Hmmm... I'm not on a Blackberry Enterprise Server and Verizon added $10/month to my plan to use it as a tethered modem.... I have the unlimited data plan...

I'm not going to unplug my Blackberry's data plan to get an aircard so to get an aircard is $60 a month vs. $10 to use the phone.
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I can't tell if you're agreeing or disagreeing with what I said?

If you're paying $10/month through Verizon, you must either have an old plan or are getting some sort of discount. They have a 5GB limit now.

Verizon's BES (Blackberry Enterprise Servier) data plan is $44.99/month (the business unlimited data plan). If you want tethering, it's an additional $15.00/month.

Verizon's BIS (Blackberry Internet Services) data plan is $29.99/month (the personal unlimited data plan). If you want tethering, it's an additional $30.00/month.

Either way, you net $60/month plus your basic calling plan to have a phone with tethering.

If you want an air card (no phone, just a computer), the cost if $60/month.

Doug
 
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rondds said:
So, my question to you, oh Gods of Information Technology, how easy and inexpensive would it actually be to turn a 250 slip marina into a hot-spot with reliable and competitively fast wireless internet access?? :huh:
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Good, fast, cheap.... pick two... The rule always applies.

The biggest trouble will come from managing bandwidth. Too many people trying to download videos and the like will kill it. You'd certainly need at least a cable modem or fiber connection. Most DSL service won't be able to handle that many potential users. Which of course leads to the terms of service agreement regarding not sharing and/or abusing the bandwidth.

Then there's the question of isolating the service to just legitimate users. Passwords and network keys do get shared out to too many people. But if you change them on a regular basis then you have the support hassle of helping people at all hours.

Which leads to the question of whether it's free or paid. If it's paid then people will (rightly) have an expectation of support and reliability. If it's free they get what they pay for, but will still burn up your time (and patience) trying to get support for it.

Best bet is to get someone nearby that's got their dock queen in the slip most of the time and set up an access point on it. Share that connection with as few people nearby as possible. Otherwise it's every man for himself.
 
Besides network keys, you can also assign specific Mac Addresses that can be allowed in the Router Setup.

This is how I run security on my home wireless. Only machines that I own are allowed access.
 
Uplate said:
Besides network keys, you can also assign specific Mac Addresses that can be allowed in the Router Setup......
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.....and don't broadcast the SSID and only allow a specific 'number' of IP connections.
 
Eh, using the MAC address filter and hiding the SSID are a waste of time. It's trivially easy for anyone to find the SSID. And likewise simple to change their own MAC to match one they sniff from the airwaves. That and if your equipment fails and you have to change it you have to go in and set up a new MAC to filter. Not a big deal but if you forget you've set MAC filtering it can be a real hassle trying to figure out why the new gear won't stay connected (the error messages are not helpful).

Both seem like good ideas, but in practice are weak protection and introduce more hassles than their worth. For a home setup, maybe, but in a wide open place like a marina, not worth the bother.
 
HMMM..

iphone3G (2.2 jailbreak) + PDAnet (free) = tethered internet access.

OR

iphone3G (2.2 jailbreak) + iModem = tethered USB internet access.

Its not 'allowed' but I only do it if I have to get into the VPN at work otherwise its iPhone all the way for the surfing I need to do on the go.
 
duman95 said:
HMMM..

iphone3G (2.2 jailbreak) + PDAnet (free) = tethered internet access.

OR

iphone3G (2.2 jailbreak) + iModem = tethered USB internet access.

Its not 'allowed' but I only do it if I have to get into the VPN at work otherwise its iPhone all the way for the surfing I need to do on the go.
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hmmm can do the same thing with windows mobile phone, don't need to jailbreak it and don't need extra software to tether it.
 
Verizon Samsung Omnia Windows Mobile 6.1 Teathered but don't have to pay the $15 anymore since I found a way to turn my phone into a wireless hub :)
 
I wish the itunes store would carry a legit version of a tethered internet access ap for the iphone!
 
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