Printer-friendly version
Author:
Blog About:
I'm having a rush of senior moments or the rest of the world is.
I am scheduled to move to my new address, (about seven miles away) tomorrow and Virgin, my internet broadband supplier phoned on Friday to tell me they can't reconnect me on Wednesday as promised. (They have problems with their cables and junction boxes, as if I care,) and will have to dig up the road so I won't be back on line for 12 to 15 weeks!
So it's goodbye Virgin and I've signed up with a company that heads the 'Which' internet provider list and they have scheduled me for 12 working days.
For the next couple of weeks I shall be silent unless I go to the library and use theirs.
I will miss you all,
Frances
Comments
You could get a Mobile Dongle
to tide you over. Most carriers will sell you a PAYG dongle with at least 1Gb of capacity and no contract. Should not be that expensive.
Also, many Mobile plans have Data included. Some allow you to tether your laptop usually via a WiFi hotspot on the phone. My '3' 1 month rolling contract allows me to tether at no charge.
Samantha
There are always neighbours wit unprotected wi-fi...
...or with the default password on their wi-fi router.
But in many cases it is possible to plead with your neighbor to let you use their wi-fi while your broadband is connected for, for example, paying half of their fee for the days till your Internet is connected. If you have different providers you can continue that kind of arrangement for backup connection as it is less likely that both providers will be down at the same time.
PS: investigate 4G/LTE/CDMA options in your area. In some cases it is cheaper than wired connection and comparable in speed or faster. And takes about 1 hour of research and 1 hour to buy equipment and set up. Only problem could be with on-line shooter games as lags are generally less stable than over wired connection.
Please, please don't do that
Or even suggest that.
It's illegal under the Computer Misuse Act 1990.
Also, these days in the UK the security of routers is getting a lot better.
When I moved I bought a 'mi-fi' pay as you go device for under £50 with data bundled in the package that saw me through until I had my connection sorted.
Persephone
Non sum qualis eram
No To Public WiFi
A large number of public wifi sources are or have been hacked and they send a piggyback virus payload. If your phone allows it, many/most cellphones can be tethered with the proper cable. This allows you to safely upload messages via the cell phone lnetwork. I used a dongle that plugged into a USB port. Very handy when you are in the middle of nowhere. Not very many wifi signals out there in Western Oklahoma or North-west Texas.
ATT has built an inpressive network out in the boonies, and other carriers are following suit. Worked out well for me, I could do a current live phoner while sending them some vid to follow-up. Prior to that you'd shoot the video, then race to find a convenience store and beg to borrow their CC machine's phone line to up load some still shots. Sometimes they'd do it and sometimes they wouldn't. On chase days you would go into a convenience store and find there were five guys ahead of you waiting their turn. Then I got my cell dongle and that changed everything!
Thing to remember, the towers are located near the interstate highways first. Then they spread out like a group of cancer cells. I quit Sprint because their towers were too far apart. I was crusing along a turnpike to Tulsa and it was Sprint first, then no signal and the phone would switch to roaming. A couple of miles down the road and "presto-chango!" Sprint was back. It changed to roaming FIVE times in that 50 mile trip. I dumped them, telling them two tin cans and a piece of string worked better. (And btw, Sprint charged you roaming charges, a per-connection charge, and they charge for all long distance calls, no matter who initated the call.) ATT, (on the otherhand) had a service area where all calls were free. As long as you were in your home area, you were good to go.
"Life is not measured by the breaths you take, but by the moments that take your breath away.”
George Carlin
Because of my university course
I have a wi-fi device that runs on the mobile network and is nearly as fast as my broadband and is my back up, it also has the advantage of being usable in the EU.(Not sure how much longer, thanks Tory party). Just remember to use it every couple of months or it dies.
Angharad
Who's your network provider?
I have a dongle from 3 but I pay a regular subscription for it. I'd be interested in something more suitable for irregular use.