by Chris Guld, Geeks on Tour: We spent the past week in Essex Junction Vermont at the FMCA Northeast Area Rally (NEAR.)  To our surprise and delight, there was Wi-Fi available right at our parking spot.  We could tell it came from the fairgrounds since it was named, “CVFairmn1.”  We were at the Champlain Valley Fairgrounds.  We like taking advantage of available Wi-Fi so as to avoid going over our bandwidth allotment on our Verizon contract. 

We connected right up and to our double surprise it was blazing fast.  And, I do mean blazing. 

Until all the coaches got parked!  The Wi-Fi slowed to a crawl and became unusable.  We had to go back to our Verizon connection.

Then, when we taught our Google Earth seminar, we tried the Wi-Fi again.  Google Earth has some pretty hefty bandwidth requirements.  There are some things we just can’t show if we’re using our tethered cellphone. 

The Wi-Fi worked great!  We zoomed around Google Earth, turned on several layers, and still could dive into a Street View without a hiccup.  This was on the same CVFair network, so we tried it again when we got back home.  No good.  It was so bad that it refused to display a web page.  The connection showed as 5 bars, and the connection speed (as opposed to the throughput speed) was fine – it wasn’t a signal issue.

We waited a couple hours and tried it again … we were back to high speed.  Thrilling high speed!  For those of you who like numbers,  I did a download speed test with TestMy.net and got 4.2 Mbps on the Wi-Fi as opposed to .5 Mbps on Verizon.

So … what was going on?  Well, there’s no way of really knowing without talking to the network administrator and using some diagnostic tools.  But Jim and I have our suspicions from having seen symptoms like this before – when he was the network administrator and did have the diagnostic tools. 

We think it was an individual connecting to the network, and their computer had the kind of virus that turns it into a ‘zombie.’  These ‘zombies’ are being controlled by some spammer and are programmed to send out thousands of spam messages.  When an infected computer connects to a Wi-Fi hotspot, it starts sending these spam messages and simply takes over all the available bandwidth – leaving none for the rest of us.  The owner of the computer is usually completely unaware, cursing the slow Wi-Fi along with everyone else. 

As soon as the zombie disconnects from the network – all is well.

What can you do about this?  Not much. But I think it’s still good for you to know.  If you’re in a Wi-Fi hotspot where there is a support phone number to call – that often means there is a system administrator who can monitor the activity and kick off an offending user.  It’s certainly worth a call. 

By coincidence, we also heard this week from a friend staying in a park that uses a satellite dish as the Internet source to their Wi-Fi hotspot.  One person connected to the network, downloading full length movies, pushed the network over the FAP (Fair Access Policy) limits.  This essentially eliminates Internet service for the whole network for 24 hours. To understand more, you can watch this video on FAP. 

Chris and Jim Guld

www.GeeksOnTour.com

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1. Can I use the WiFi from a Nearby RV’s Satellite Dish?
2. Internet by Data Card for Travelers
3. Wi-Fi is Like a Box of Chocolates

What is a Data Card?

You get it from a cellular provider, it connects to a nearby cell tower. It receives and transmits data. Think of it as a cell phone for your computer. The card pictured below fits into the Express Card slot in your laptop computer. Be sure your laptop *has* an express card slot before purchasing the card!

Recommended data ‘cards’ today connect to your computer’s USB port. Like the device pictured at right. Every laptop has a USB port.

Cellular Data Cards are also referred to as Mobile Broadband Modems. A ‘modem’ is a device that connects your computer to a communications network. In this case, the communications network is one of the cellular carriers like Verizon, Sprint, AT&T or TMobile.

Why are Data Cards so popular?

In the short time that they have been available, the Cellular Data Cards have become the primary way that travelers connect to the Internet. They are SO easy. The first time you use it you will need to install some simple drivers from the disk provided. From then on, getting online can be as simple as plugging in the device and booting up your computer. If there is a cell tower within range, you’re online. You may have to click on a button to ‘connect’, but even that can be set up automatically.

Data cards are the only technology that allow you to be online while driving down the road.

Coverage has improved dramatically, the cellular providers have been busy adding towers all over the country. If you tried this in 2006 or 07 and didn’t like it, you should try again! We talk to RVers all the time who say they’ve traveled the entire country and *almost* always are able to get online with their cellular data cards. They love their data cards.

How fast are they?

The speed of your Internet connection will depend on the cell tower that you’re connecting to. If you’re close to a fast tower, you’ll be thrilled with the speed you get – it’s as good as the DSL you’re used to at home. If you’re not in a digital coverage area, you’ll be lucky to get dial up speed.

How do you know you’re in a high-speed area? We use Verizon, and when we see a Verizon Wireless, 1X-EVDO indicator on our phone with more than 2 bars, we know we’re in a high-speed area. If we’re on ‘Extended Network’ or see 1X without the EVDO indicator, we can connect but it will be slow. My litmus test is to watch a video. I am currently connected with Verizon (tethered cell phone) and I just watched a 5 minute video on Youtube.com without a hiccup. That’s a good connection! For those of you who like numbers, here is a speed test I just performed at TestMy.net:

You’ll have to learn what the indicators are for your provider and equipment. Other terms that indicate high-speed include HSPA (AT&T’s network) and 3G. Actually, 3G is used to describe high-speed mobile internet in general. It means 3d Generation. You may already be hearing rumors about 4G!

Why would you use anything else?

Price is the first limiting factor. Mobile Broadband services usually cost $60/month and require you to commit to a 2 year contract. Wi-Fi is $1 – $5/day, no commitment required and, in many places, it’s even free.

Usage limits is the other specific factor. Most plans limit you to 5 Gigabytes per month. This has nothing to do with minutes – it has everything to do with what you’re doing on the Internet. If you read email, browse websites, upload and download pictures, 5 Gigabytes is more than enough for a month. If you share your connection with one or more other people, and any of you watch videos online – you could go over. A full length movie is often 2 Gigabytes.

There is a charge per megabyte of overage. We know people who have been billed $1,000 and more in a month where they were over and didn’t realize it! Rarely does a Wi-Fi hotspot have any bandwidth limits. When you’re at a good Wi-Fi hotspot, that’s when you can get those big downloads like Windows service packs and full length movies.

Coverage is still limited. If you want to boondock in the middle of a National Forest in Wyoming, odds are you will not be within range of a cellular tower. Satellite is still the only way to insure that you have an Internet connection *anywhere.*

Do The Geeks use a data card?

Yes, and No. We have a Datastorm Internet satellite dish, and we love our satellite dish. Last fall, our 5 year old system needed some new parts. We planned to spend the winter in a park with good Wi-Fi, so we opted to turn off the Satellite service. Since we got back on the road this spring, we have been able to make do with a combination of Wi-Fi and our Verizon phone ‘tethered.‘ So – we are using Verizon for an Internet connection, but we don’t have a data card. The cell phone cannot connect at the highest EVDO speed – Rev A – but we do get Rev 0.

We’re getting by with the combination of Wi-Fi and tethered cell phone, but we do miss our satellite Internet. We find that some of our itinerary is based on knowing where there is good Wi-Fi, or good Verizon signal. When our dish was active we could go wherever we wanted.

What’s New?

This technology is a fast-moving field. There’s lots of recent news.

1. Verizon’s price for overages has been lowered from 25¢/Mg to 5¢/Mg
2. Verizon’s price for tethered cell phone Internet access has lowered from $59/mo to $49/mo
3. Verizon has introduced a Data Card/router combination device called the Mi-Fi,
4. Walkinghotspot.com is a software solution that turns your SmartPhone into a Wi-Fi hotspot with unlimited broadband access. Not available for Verizon phone. Pretty magic stuff.

Related posts:

1. Tethered Cell Phones for Internet
2. Internet to Go
3. Internet by Droid