InfoTech: Internet for road warriors
1 Jul, 2007 By: Tyler Whitaker Landscape ManagementOne of the biggest half-truths about the Internet is that it's everywhere. Sure, you can email scientists at McMurdo station in Antarctica or read about the water supply in Mumbai, India. And now NASA has plans to extend the Internet into deep space. The world has never been so closely knit. So, if the Internet is everywhere, why is it so hard to find a decent connection on the road? At least, that's what I used to think.
How many times have you been on the road only to find that your hotel doesn't have Internet or the connection doesn't work? Or worse, you're in between meetings and you urgently need to find a place to check your email for the latest sales proposal and directions to your next appointment.
The old way
In the past, my solution involved mentally cataloging every WIFI hotspot and Internet café along my route, just in case I needed to pop in with my laptop to get online. I've also resorted to paying anywhere from $10 to $25 to access an airport's wireless Internet for only 20 minutes of work. It's times like those where highway robbery seems like child's play. But, I'm happy to report that I've found a better way. The cell phone companies have finally built out their 3G wireless data networks to the point that having "everywhere" Internet access is a real possibility.
The new way
For those of you that haven't heard about the latest 3rd generation (3G) wireless networking technology, it creates a high speed Internet connection using cell phone technology to link mobile users to the Internet up to 20 times faster than dialup. It's great news for businesses with traveling employees. Instead of paying for Internet in hotels and airports, you can get them a wireless data plan for roughly $60 a month. And they can use it wherever they are and as much as they need.
All it takes to get connected is the right hardware. Most cell phone providers (Sprint, AT&T and Verizon) are offering the hardware at a discount when you sign up for the service. The hardware is either a removable PCMCIA card that inserts into your laptop or a small device with a USB connector. After installing the software, you should be up and running in no time. A third option is also available on the higher end smart phones where you can connect your cell phone to your laptop via USB cable or wirelessly using Bluetooth. I use this option with my phone and laptop. It's simple and easy since I don't need any cables or additional hardware.
While the current 3G networks don't have the same coverage footprint of the traditional cell network, they are in nearly all of the primary and secondary markets. For most business travelers that's enough. So go ahead and try it. After your first experience doing email on a long taxi ride to your hotel, you'll be hooked.
— The author is a freelance technologist focusing in business automation. Contact him at 801/592-2810 or visit his blog at
www.tylerwhitaker.com
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