High speed Internet service has gone from being a rarity to being common to being essential. It is difficult to function in today's society without being referred to a website. Since high speed Internet is so widely available, companies have made their websites more and more complex, even including audio and video with fancy graphics. Some people still can't get DSL Internet from their phone company. Fortunately, high speed Internet service is available to everyone now through wireless technologies.
The most common forms of high speed Internet service are cable Internet and DSL Internet from the phone company. Wireless technologies are available for people who can't get these popular services. The most common wireless options are satellite and rural 802.11 wireless, but a new option has become available that seems to be gaining acceptance: Wireless Internet from cellular wireless providers.
The satellite companies usually restrict the amount of data you can access during a day, and if you go over the limit they "punish" you by slowing you back down to modem speeds for a day, just to remind you who's boss. Rural 802.11 service is a mixed bag. 802.11 was meant to be a local standard for short distances, and does not travel well through trees, which seem to be plentiful in many remote areas. Be sure that there is a no-cost trial period, or that the service provider will prove out your service in advance.
The newest option for high speed Internet service is the laptop card or air card. First envisioned as just a service for mobile warriors, these cards are finding their way into more homes and businesses now. They are a better solution for most people than 802.11 or satellite, and the service is available in almost every area with a town of more than 20,000 people or near a major freeway. This is the result of cell phone operators moving to "3G", also called EDVO, which is just a high data rate service. Even better, the war between the carriers means that 3G speeds will constantly be on the increase.
Unlike 802.11 providers, the cellular companies have equipment designed to deliver service everywhere, and many delivery towers. Unlike satellite service, the data limitation for laptop cards is 5 Gigabytes for the month. No daily limit is in play, and the provider allows you to check your usage each day on their website. Most users won't be checking, because 5 Gigabytes is more than most customers will ever use in a month. You just have to be conscious of large downloads. If you want to download a lot of large files, a trip to the coffee shop is in order.
Check the services in your area, both with the data coverage map, and by finding out from neighbors which cellular data service works best in your neighborhood. Once you get the card, be sure to take advantage of technical help from the company on how to best install it, and how to share the connection if you have more than one computer. Windows has an Internet Connection Sharing service that lets all your computers share the high speed Internet connection from the laptop card.
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