Roaming ISPs???

I think from memory Telstra can give you a national number for dial up accounts ie. a single number that works throughout Australia. From there you just hook into your normal bigpond account. Be worthwhile giving them a call in any case. There is another piece of software called GRIC which is intended for global roaming and it will identify and pick the nearest ISP to whatever city you are in around the world. I'm not sure that it works locally in Australia though.

Are you with Telstra?

If you are they have a number that you can ring from your mobile (only) and it will connect you directly to the Internet. This is the service that I use when we travel. There is no addtional fess (other than what they charge for the call). You can use the number 24hours a day however as usual cheaper after 7PM etc etc.

If you want to have a go the number you can use from your mobile is - 0418707638 - no user id or password is required so on your dialup settings just make the call the system will logon without user and password (It can do this because it is billing you for the call to the number from your Telstra mobile).

The call rates are OK however as the calls are from mobile the data rates are not fantastic but it works and it does not require any additional setup.Regards
ExplorOz Team - David
--------------------------
Always working, not enough travelling ;-)

Another thing to think of is GSM connection is 9600 BPS and CDMA 14.4k

With Telstra Mobile Internet, you choose when and where to browse the web.

All you need is a data-enabled mobile phone linked to a PC or PDA (Personal Digital Assistant). When you're in the areas covered by Telstra's mobile network you can jump online anytime

Telstra Mobile Internet Accelerator assists with faster web surfing at no extra cost. And it doesn't require any special software. The Accelerator reduces download times by compressing web pages - including heavy graphics and animations - before they are sent to the Mobile Internet server. The text is delivered first, so you can start reading and move on quickly if it's not what you were after - without waiting for the graphics to download.

By activating the Accelerator, web pages will appear up to three times†* faster than they would without it.

Calls to and from 0418 707 638/639 from GSM or #777 from CDMA are charged at 22c Flagfall then 16.5c per 30 seconds 7am-7pm, Mon-Fri and 8.25c per 30 seconds all other times, charged per second.

Calls to and from GPRS are charged at 22c Session Fee; plus 2.2c per kilobyte (or part thereof). There are also a variety of GPRS monthly packs to suit your requirements

Have A look http://www.telstra.com.au/mobile/products/wireless/mobileinternet.htm#accelerator for more info

You could also see if an audio coupler would suit and dial from standard phones.

Darling you can get a two way satellite internet connection with Bigpond and it beats the hell out of dialup
I had a small problem with it at first but as soon as I bought a full sine wave inverter ducky all my problems dissapeared like my wrinkles with vanishing cream

Quite a few of the smaller ISPs provide nationwide numbers.

I've been with our local startup Penrith Netcom www.pnc.com.au
since they were just 2 guys in a shed. They are now quite a big operation
and provide a 0198 number which is a local call from anywhere.

The first few times I used it in hotels and motels
I would just log in for a few minutes
and then check with the desk how much I owed.
It's always been a local call, so now happily surf for hours if needed.

not sure how it goes via a mobile phone though
something I have never tried

timothyDefender Extreme

look at pocketmail.com.au keyboard like gadjet that you hold up to the phone to recieve and send emails quickly ,