Wireless Modem for Laptop Help Please

Hi Jim,

If you are only using it for checking emails etc and you also require a mobile phone then I think the best way to go is just to get NextG phone.
I have this and when I wish to use my laptop online I just plug the laptop into the phone and use the phone as a modem.
You can get pretty cheap data plans on NextG for around $8 a month that will have more than enough data allowance for what you need to do and you only have one contract for your phone.

I have used this arrangement right up the Qld coast on a boat as well as in the bush and the connection speed is unbelievable for a wirless connection.

Good luck with your decision.

BW

G/day, Jim,Ihave a next G phone and bought a kit from a telstra store,plugs into phone and laptop,phone then becomes your modem,not expensive,you can still send and recieve calls while you`re on the puter,we only use it when we`re on the road, when we return home we cancell it , when we need it we just reactivate it with the company,downside is you can only use it where get phone coverage.It works well for us, suggest you see the local telstra shop,from memory,it wasn`t very dear.good luck.

G'day Jim, telstra have a prepaid kit $149 & a base plan $10 month just plugs into usb port on your laptop or desktop, very good coverage, you can add extra data when you want to, one thing is what data is not used up in that month is NOT carried over to next month, I use my nokia N95 as a modem for my laptop when in the bush, exceptional range, reception in places you would least expect it. The handset choice is critical for when your'e travelling. (I had the first mobile phone issued in Australia Feb 1985) seee ya, aussiedingo

If you want to use it widely, it'll have to be nextg. If you have a nextg phone and don't want to use it as a modem much then the $10 for 150MB data option is the cheapest and easiest - you can change it up and down each month.
If you don't want to fiddle with your phone each time you want to connect to the net then get a usb or pcmcia card modem for the laptop. That'll be a couple of hundred ... and you'll need a plan as well, I think. I don't know the details with this one but check out the bigpond wireless internet page. (For the phone it would be through telstra mobile, for a card it would be telstra bigpond ... and you'll probably need a contract.)

Just went thru the same process with Paul for him in Townsville Jim. I opted for a Virgin Mobile modem but couldnt get one anywhere, so went for the prepaid Next G one. The speeds are very fast and the coverage kills the rest of the competitors.

It just plugs into a USB port and you set it up and away you go. About the size of a very small mobile phone. As its prepaid you can pay for what you want.

Check ThreadID: 64594 / reply 9 and see my opinion of the useless Telstra modem .

.

Careful here Jim. It all depends on whether you are using the Modern English meaning of "just about anywhere" or alternatively the much more restrictive meaning of the same phrase in Telstra-Speak

Jim,
I purchased a Bigpond USB wireless modem about 12 months ago on a 36 month plan with Telstra and plug it into my laptop with an antennae (now included in the kit). Because it was on a plan and I have home phone and mobile with telstra on single bill the cost of the modem was rebated and first 6 months half price. Now I think it is first 12 months, half price!
The cost varies depending on how much the monthly usage is - around $30 full price for the smallest , for 200MB, and can be changed once - up or down - during the monthly billing period.
I use it at home as well and am currently using 1GB - cost approx $60, finding it great and fast too.
Travelled throughout central, north and western Qld for over 5 months last winter and found it had coverage in more places than my 3G phone which does not have an antennae point. Still many areas with no coverage though almost all towns (except Windorah) did.
I agree with the others re Telstra/Bigpond being the only network to connect to as it has the most extensive coverage at present.
The pre paid modem doesnt have an antennae point but may be worth looking at too if you only want to use it in towns.
regards,
Heather G

Jim, have a look at the Bigpond Website for plans. We have wireless usb unit that runs on Next G. Where ever our phone works we know the internet will too. No wires & batteries. We use it while travelling with laptop and at home on PC. Works for us great.
Sharon

i have had both the blue standalone modem and the 7.2 wireless gateway router....

i have travelled extensivle between brisbane, camerons corner, adelaide and victoria, i like the dirt

i have never not been able to connect. That has not been the case for friends using the phone-modems or little usb units...

there is a nbew modem out from telstra soon and they are alos building a heavy-duty router to bolt in the back of emergency vehicles too act as a gateway for remote accidents... the hospital will be able to see what the ambo is dealing with

overall coverage has been excellant.... ive yet to test it in a cbd, is apparently bursts twice as fast....

Have a look at a TELSTRA CASUAL DATA PACK
12 month plan
Initial cost $199 for modem slightly cheaper data rates than prepaid.

Various limits from $5 a month for next to nothing up to $119 for about 12gig.
I am on $89 for 5 gig and am turning it down to $59 for 1 gig when i start travelling.

You can change it at any time by ringing up and if u come home and dont use it cut it back to $5 till you go away again.

If its too long between trips buy the prepaid for $149 as above and use that But MAKE SURE YOU GET A TELSTRA PREPAID.

Whilst the others may be cheaper its no good if there is no reception and out of main centers there generally isnt