internet options around oz

John, have you checked the archives ? I seem to remember quite a few posts on this topic.

Internet Cafe's, Community Tele Centres, CDMA Mobile that connects to laptop and acts as modem when in range or Telstra Wireless Mobile using something like the Sierra Air Card Site Link or get a Telstra Hotspot account where you can access the internet from places like McDonalds Site Link

I suggest you go and see your local Telstra Shop or call them if not near one.

Long John I have just returned (7months ago) from 1 year away. I found coverage a pain.
I would get a dial up acc Mine WAS dodo $10/mth. then make a telephone handset that you can stick on a public ph, plug into the laptop & get as much internet for $0.50. Haven't made this but friends have pocket mail which they put up to the handset & its transfers the info.

If you use internet cafe you have to change your outgoing mail server to theirs all the time. This stops it bouncing back as spam???
Hope this helps

MAXON MM-5100P CDMA 1XRTT TELSTRA WIRELESS MODEM B/NEW

Longjohn, I don't know what the above are like, I have investigated a bit, [I am in the same boat as you] but was told that I could'nt use them with a prepaid cdma??stuffed if I know!! let me know if you find a solution....cheers.. Phil

Oh by the way, if anyone in the brisbane area (male or female) is looking for a year of going around oz, im looking for companionship on my trip!! Ive asked all my mates and they are all too busy in life to come along! I have yet to buy a troopie and get a dog! But in the next 6 months or so, i am sure to move out of my house, rent it out and get out onto the road, where ill end up, who knows!

Long John, check with a globalstar dealer, if you are going to be in remote areas for considerable periods of time there is a federal government subsidy on the sat phones. Also have combo gsm or cdma/satphones. Just might be up your alley.

Hi LJ, I have also been using a MiniMax for about 18 months, they are excellent. Telstra now have a more robust version with the ability to add a high gain antenna that might be worth considering. This should in theory give access in more places, I am not sure of the model but it looks like a small blue box about 80 x 60 x 30 mm, I saw one at a recent expo on technology and the Tesltra guy seemed to be selling it's praises. Probably should ask Telstra about the upcomming 3g network and what happens with technology you buy today on a lengthy contract if it is introduced before your contract ends. DB...

Long John,

An option not 100% legal would be to take a laptop with a wireless network card.

I would rekon that about 20% of peoples home internet connections that use 802.11 (wireless) technologies would be unsecured - you could pull up a few hundred metres away, and just share their connection. An even scarier thought is around 10% of businesses connections are unsecured.....

It works well in the city (apparantly), but don't know how you would go in smaller population areas.

Of course, it is illegal, and I myself would never do anything ,like that....

Cheers,

Chump

The easiest way is to get yourself a USB drive of about 1GB capacity. Go to Portable Apps and load up with portable Firefox (browser) and portable Thunderbird (mail client). These apps require no installation so all you need to run them is a computer with a USB port. Go to an Internet Cafe, plug it in and launch your application.
This way you can configure the browser with all you own bookmarks etc and means you can access bank accounts etc without the risk of leaving something (passwords or account numbers etc) in an Internet Cafe's browser cache.
The Thunderbird mail client can be setup to access any POP3 account and stores the emails on the USB drive, again keeping you away from Internet Cafe browser caches.

Simple to setup and run and saves the hassle of lugging a computer around, or if you do have a laptop, saves the hassle of arranging your own internet connection. You simply use the Intenet cafe's connection to access and download your email. You can then work on it on your Laptop and then use the Intenet cafe's connection to upload.