Iphone with tether for internet sevice any users?

[Hcklbery]

Absolutely Jim.
The cell phone companies are in a panic as they rightly see the WiMax as the death nail to their coffin.
Do you remember that not so long ago the various cities around the country (NY, Seattle, Portland, Phoenix,) and too many others to mention were trying to blanket their whole cities with Advertiser generated free wireless WiFi Internet access ??

They then gave it up as the cost of thousands of a signal repeater infrastructure was just to cost prohibitive as WiFi can only reach around 600 - 800 feet before requiring another repeater to boost the signal and WiFi is extremely sensitive to ANY obstructions right down to little leafs on a tree. It's signal spectrum at it's maximum range is significantly vulnerable to just the sun's place in the sky as oriented to the source and you.

BUT Now comes WiMax with NONE of these problems and a range between repeaters of 10 MILES and with a data transfer capability into the Gigabytes per second instead of WiFi's mere megabytes per second. Couple this with the VOIP Internet telephone availability and inexpensiveness and you begin to see the reason and level of fear the cell phone and land-line phone (for that matter) companies have for WiMax, AND ESPECIALLY for the public having the same awareness of WiMax as they do of WiFi. This is why they buried the knowledge that WiMax was a WiFi second generation breakthrough and instead have called it 4G etc as 4g or 4th generation is identifying it as a cell phone frequency technology breakthrough which it isn't.

Do you recall the FCC auctioning off blocks of the 700 frequency bands for BILLIONS of dollars to these cell phone companies just last year ?
WiMax made those Frequencies ALL OBSOLETE virtually before the ink was dry on their checks, this is why the FCC suddenly decided to sell these frequency blocks.

In very, SHORT order I see Cities blanketed with ad generated WiMax free High Speed Internet access and phone manufacturers making phones that automatically connect to the strongest WiMax signal and using VOIP calling anywhere, anytime, and any length of call time and ALL completely FREE.

[PP]

Thanks for your reply Artvonne  We're trying to decide what will work best for us at the best price break. Everytime we jump on free WiFi, we feel like we're stealing something and we'd just rather pay for what we use, Will

[artvonne]

Everytime we jump on free WiFi, we feel like we're stealing something and we'd just rather pay for what we use, Will

  In 1936, the people then in charge and who created the FCC, decreed there would be no scrambled signals, that the airwaves were free. You can thank HBO and their lobbying for scrambled communications and decoder boxes, they started the whole debacle. As far as im concerned, if you can pick it up free somewhere, go for it.

  The technology is changing so fast, and so dynamically, no one can even guess where we'll be in 6 months. Actually its now less than that, sometimes weeks. Thats why the cell phone providers want 2 year contracts, they dont even know where its going. As soon as someone says they have it figured out, some unknown pops up with a new game, a new program, new software, new communications system, a better antenna, etc.. And the hardware is advancing, memory is getting smaller and faster, displays are becoming sharper, lighter and more power efficient. So use what you can, where you can, while you can. It might all dissapear next week and there will be a new game, device, smart phone, network in town.

[rv_safetyman]

First of all, I hope the moderators do not consider this to be OT.  I don't go to that forum very often and I think this is a great thread about "talking" to the world when we are on the road.

XE1UFO:  the antenna/amplifier I referenced is a dual band (most cell systems) and is a repeater type antenna.  It has a broadcast antenna inside the bus that should broadcast the amplified cell signals for either cell phones or air cards.  It should work for multiple "connections".  At least that is my understanding and I am way over my head here.

Next, I really love to follow new technology -especially when I will benefit directly from it.  However, I am getting more and more concerned that the new cell phone/air card technology is creating an even greater gap between rural and large city technology.  Many (most) of us do not spend time in our buses in large cities.  We are often in the toolies relying on very basic cell phone service - often with service provided by small phone companies with what is quickly becoming outdated technology.  As this whis-bang technology is rolled out, the cell phone manufacturers respond with whis-bang phones/cards.  I am really concerned that we could end up  buying components that won't work on rural systems.  Thoughts?

Jim

[mikelutestanski]

Hello  Jim    not much you can do about the new technology except roll with the punches.. We are in the boonies of dunnellon fl and the only catch is that we usually cant get what everybody else has.. I stopped at att yesterday and talked with the widget guy.  He basically said watch the 2 gig limit because it may bother you if you download too much. The air card is 60 per month plus tax ; my millenium is 60 without tax..  both 5 gig per month.
   The new internet computer is 200 with a 2 year contract built in air card + tax  same benefit.  We supposidly have real good 3g covrage here and so so cell phone  the tower is about 1.5 mikes away .
   My concern is getting roped into something untenable and having to break out of it.
       Back to your concerns   you always have a land line in the boonies if you choose to use it..   WE will keep the land line forever maybe not with all the bells and whistles because we want to have an alarm monitoring capability.. Dont use it yet but plan to in the future.  The system i envision is a system that will be noisy if someone breaks in and calls my cellphone or send me an email message. Then I want to go online and check the camera in the house and call whoever. I want this part to work when we are away. Most systems wont give you coverage for part of the time only full time for 40+ per month..
    I am trying to get away from monthly payments.  the dollars are having to stretch more these days and have to go farther.
   Regards and happy busssin   mike

[JackConrad]

Here is our system except the roof mount antenna, it's raining right now. We use the inside antenna for both internet aircard and cell phones (especially in weak cell phone signal areas).  Jack

[jok]

I love my iPhone 3Gs. Tethering it to my computer would be nice but I have not looked into doing so. I ran across this article about "MiFi" today.

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Your-Own-Hot-Spot-and-nytimes-362333608.html

Sounds promising.

John

[Hcklbery]

@Mike & Jok

If you consult my earlier posts you will see what is going on here.
They are calling the technology breakthrough WiMax which came directly out of the WiFi research and development efforts conducted by various colleges and universities in hopes of devising means to be able to charge for what could very easily be completely free to the public.

When it becomes widely known to current WiFi hotspot providers (coffee shops etc) and Cities that all they need do is replace their current AP Bridges with ones that are WiMax capable (frequency wise) and only a matter of 30 or 40 of them to cover a whole City than you will see ALL these Cell business life saving gimmicks completely vanish practically over night.
ALL of these "whatevers" that provide data flow cheaper and faster IS WiMax being used and called something else. WiMax IS WiFi without the limitations of range or speed.
Clearwire INC has built up an infrastructure of these AP Bridges all over the country and is leasing access to the cell companies.
Anyone can buy these AP Bridges and create a blanket coverage over a very wide area.
You could put one on your roof and immediately provide high-speed Internet to anyone within 10 miles of your home.

This is why they have been pushing 2 yr contracts for data packages, the writing is on the wall and data packages as well as cell technology is already obsolete. They just don't want the public to get wise to it, but they will and when they do, land-line and cell phone companies are going the way of the dinosaurs along with their data packages.

All it takes is one city to jump on this and it will spread like wild fire and the cell phone manufacturers will follow suit and start providing phones that connect to the strongest WiMax signal and using VOIP will make unlimited calls to anywhere in the world totally free.
I would caution anyone considering signing a 2 yr contract to not do it. This Industry is perched on the edge of a cliff and WiMax put it there. It may take a year or two or 6 months but it is inevitable.
Exciting Times.

[JackConrad]

Hcklbery,
   You keep mentioning cities, what about small towns and rural areas? We spend most of "coach time" in rural area near small towns of 300-4000 people. We have no problem connecting using aircard technology at the present time.  Jack

[Hcklbery]

That's actually a very good point Jack, I opinion that the WiMax will spread faster to the smaller towns after the initial ground breaking of a few large Cities successful implementation of the WiMax.
Although it could just as easily and the argument could better prevail that the beginnings could be with a smaller town first then spread to the larger cities.
The point being that the public is currently unaware of this technology due to a purposeful effort to hush it up after news of it first broke 2 years ago in many technical journals which is where I learned of it.
Can you imagine that today's WiFi actually was able to cover miles of area from one single router? With virtually limitless data load capabilities coupled with phones manufactured to connect to it and configured to use VOIP.   OPPS I forgot three ? makes a DUH "face".
That is WiMax.
My personal opinion is that this is greatly why the stock market is stubbornly showing a lack of investor new business. cause when this actually hits the general public's awareness??
ALL these companies with stakes in the Cell industries is going to be losing it's entire customer base in very short order. That's why the Data contracts...

The only question is when and so those who rely on cell will need to continue to but I advise prepaid monthly arrangements if feasible and if not go with Virgin as they at least are responding to what they see as the inevitable and are adjusting accordingly.

[Lonnie time to go]

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Your-Own-Hot-Spot-and-nytimes-362333608.html


Copied From yahoo site

But three things about the Virgin MiFi are very, very different. First, Virgin's plan is unlimited. You don't have to sweat through the month, hoping you don't exceed the standard 5-gigabyte data limit, as you do with the cellular-modem products from Verizon, Sprint, AT&T and T-Mobile. (If you exceed 5 gigabytes, you pay steep per-megabyte overage charges, or in T-Mobile's case, you get your Internet speed slowed down for the rest of the month.)

If you hadn't noticed, unlimited-data plans are fast disappearing — but here's Virgin, offering up an unlimited Internet plan as if it never got the memo.

Second, Virgin requires no contract. You can sign up for service only when you need it. In other words, it's totally O.K. with Virgin if you leave the thing in your drawer all year, and activate it only for, say, the two summer months when you'll be away. That's a huge, huge deal in this era when every flavor of Internet service, portable or not, requires a two-year commitment.






http://www.novatelwireless.com/



check this out

Lonnie

[Hcklbery]

The international Virgin Mobile businesses each act as independent entities, usually in a partnership between Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Group and an existing phone company. Virgin Group provides the brand, and the phone company operates the network infrastructure.

Virgin Mobile was the UK's first Mobile Virtual Network Operator when it launched in the United Kingdom in 1999.[1] It does not maintain its own network but instead contracts to use the existing network(s) of other providers.
(Wikipedia)

Any investor or CEO will say the first rule is diversify, the second, diversify, the third, YEP So I am wondering if the major cell companies are playing it from both ends of the stick.

Pushing 2 yr contracts AND contracting with Virgin to provide what they see is the inevitable direction of the industry..

Just a thought...