Internet options for someone with no phone line?

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My sister in law, who lives in wokingham has just got a fancy new laptop and she wants to be able to access the internet in her room in a houseshare. The trouble is that there is no phone line at all and they can't have one put in. (It's a bit of an odd place but we won't go too much into that).

Are there any other options for her to be able to get the internet on her laptop then? Thanks
 
If she lives in a town or something she might be able to get wireless internet (forgot the website though :()

I don't mean stealing broadband off other people, there's a service that lets you get completley wireless broadband.
 
Speak to neighbours about maybe chipping in a bit for sharing their wireless connection, then get them to set up MAC address filtering to allow her to connect wirelessly? Relies upon neighbours actually having internet access, and being friendly/trusting enough to share their connection with a virtual stranger.
 
There are four main options:

Cable Internet access

Is she in an area where she can get cable Internet access (most probably NTL/Telewest)? If so, this would be preferable to ADSL. On the other hand, unless the house is already cabled, it will require physical installation (possibly even digging up the road/pavement outside) which, I assume, would be out of the question given her situation.

GPRS Internet connection

If she can get a GPRS mobile signal (which is most probably the case, unless she lives right in the centre of the middle of nowhere), she could surf the Internet using that. She could link her phone to her laptop (using a USB cable, or possibly via Bluetooth) or get a PCMCIA card which allows her to insert a SIM card and get surfing that way (these PCMCIA cards have been advertised by Vodafone quite a bit, but I assume other network providers offer similar solutions). Unfortunately the speed wouldn't be too great (probably about the same as you'd expect from a dial-up connection) and as it stands GPRS data transfer costs quite a fair amount of money. For occasional but necessary access (downloading emails, checking one or two websites etc.) it should work out fine, however.

Wireless Internet connection sharing

If her neighbours have the ability to get an Internet connection, or have one already, this would probably be the easiest option. She could offer to pay part, or all, of their Internet connection costs, buy them a wireless router and set it up so she can access the Internet via their connection.

Satellite Internet connection

If she really does live right in the centre of the middle of nowhere, and speed is an absolute necessity, she could get up-to broadband speeds (~2Mbps) from any number of satellite ISPs. The latency will be shocking, but it would be more suited than GPRS for downloads. It would cost an absolute bomb, however, and if she is unable to install a phone line I doubt she'd get away with installing a hunking great satellite dish on the roof! This would only be a "my life depends on getting a broadband Internet connection, and money is no object" solution, unfortunately.
 
Al Vallario said:
There are four main options:

Satellite Internet connection

If she really does live right in the centre of the middle of nowhere, and speed is an absolute necessity, she could get up-to broadband speeds (~2Mbps) from any number of satellite ISPs. The latency will be shocking, but it would be more suited than GPRS for downloads. It would cost an absolute bomb, however, and if she is unable to install a phone line I doubt she'd get away with installing a hunking great satellite dish on the roof! This would only be a "my life depends on getting a broadband Internet connection, and money is no object" solution, unfortunately.
Click to expand...

If i am not mistaken, you still need a normal phone line with consumer satalite connections because you cant transmit. So ou need a phone to use as your upstream
 
kippermitten said:
Get a 3g pcmcia card from one of the big mobile suppliers and get a generous amnount of data a month included - jobs a good un!
Click to expand...

another vote for 3G - i think vodafone and orange do a unlimited use package *(subject to fair use)

got a voda card here at work - works well. We have it in a 3g linksys router.
 
3G PCMCIA card ... Currently the best deal is from t-mobile.

The vodafone fair use policy is 1gb transfer (up+down-load)

The t-mobile one is 2gb ... But no MSN/IM or VOIP.

If those are absolutely crucial, then vodafone is the way to go.
 
thanks guys. So if she gets one of those cards is that all that she needs? Or would she also need a router or something else?

Had a look at the vodafone ones but the prices seem very high :( i don't think she'd be able to afford 100 quid and then 30-50 a month on top :(
 
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T-Mobile are now offering a 3G service at 20 quid a month for 1GB data download.

If you go over that allowance 3 months in a row, they`ll put you on to the next tarrif etc.

I know it isn`t exactly ideal but a hell of a lot better than some of the previous 3G pricing plans from the likes of O2 and Vodafone.
 
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