Edward Jaffe writes: >Not intending to suggest one company's offerings over another. I just >looked up what Sprint PCS charges for mobile broadband service. The >plans are: >$39.99 Flexible Data Plan (40 megabytes (MB) of usage; $.001/kb overage; >after $99.99 usage is free/unlimited.) >$59.99 Unlimited Connect (2 year subscriber agreement required. Net of >all discounts.) >$79.99 Unlimited Connect (1 year subscriber agreement required.) >Not bad! For someone that can afford $ thousands for a laptop running >z/OS and ten times that for a z9+DASD, these charges seem extremely >reasonable.
Just in case Sprint doesn't offer coverage in your locale, here are some other U.S. carriers and their list prices for unlimited Internet access from a PC or Mac: T-Mobile: $49.99 per month Verizon Wireless: $59.99 per month (slower 1xRTT service), $79.99 per month (EV-DO service) AT&T/Cingular: $59.99 per month with voice plan, $79.99 alone U.S. Cellular: $60 per month Verizon, AT&T, and Sprint have the higher speed services right now (on parts of their networks), but any of these services will be more than adequate for 3270 connections if that's all you need. One of my colleagues demonstrates WebSphere Developer for System z over one of the 3 higher speed services, and it works quite well. There are some potential reception advantages to the new USB-connected cellular wireless modems versus the card-based ones, so that might be a consideration if you're less concerned about ultimate portability. Plus you can move the USB-connected modem to any particular machine quite easily, so if you only need it for demonstrations you can share one (or a smaller number) among several people, even with desktops. Another possible option is to add the data service (above) to your existing mobile telephone, then buy a USB cable or (in some cases) use a Bluetooth wireless connection between your laptop and the mobile telephone. In the case of AT&T you won't even block incoming voice calls when you're connected that way. You'll save a buck or two by avoiding the extra line charge, and you won't have to pay for the modem hardware or sign another contract. (Most carriers call this "tethering," and it is considered a feature added to your existing line and your existing contract if you use the same phone. Thus, if you're working on a big project involving, say, 3 months of demos, you can add the feature for 3 months then take it off again.) Your mileage may vary, but generally this is all how it works. - - - - - Timothy Sipples IBM Consulting Enterprise Software Architect Specializing in Software Architectures Related to System z Based in Tokyo, Serving IBM Japan and IBM Asia-Pacific E-Mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- For IBM-MAIN subscribe / signoff / archive access instructions, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the message: GET IBM-MAIN INFO Search the archives at http://bama.ua.edu/archives/ibm-main.html
