Patrick Martin wrote:
Thanks Tim. As Mike mentioned, divide by 10, more like 2.4-3.6, if the
computer is giving me the correct speed. I know when it is in the area
of 2.4-3.6 is moves like the wind. Takes less that a second to download
updates on the virus protection At dial up 2-3 minutes generally.
Interesting topic...
We've been doing mobile data for years in public safety vehicles here.
Some via the dongles. These are certainly cheaper, but do not have the
receive or transmit power of a dedicated broadband modem. There are some
good modems available. Some do interface via USB, the better ones via
Ethernet on the output side.
EVDO is pretty old and long in the tooth, 3G has been in use here for a
while and we're switching to 4G now here. Throughput depends on site
loading, as channel time-slots are bonded to give you the quoted maximum
bandwidth that a site can deliver. More users and you get less
time-slots bonded together and less download bandwidth.
One thing to keep in mind is that most modern mobile data solutions do
not have a publicly accessible IP like a normal Internet connection has.
You pull from inside the network, but cannot use apps that must have a
defined IP accessible from the outside. We use NetMotion here and run a
client that connects to a NetMotion server in a real IP network and
tunnel out from there. This way the device has a real IP presence on the
Internet. NetMotion is pretty slick in that it can use either the mobile
data service or WiFi or Ethernet and can figure out the cheapest thing
to use of what's available at the time. I suppose you could also SSH
tunnel to an outside box with a real Internet connection too, but either
way you need something to connect to. Or simple accept that some apps
are not going to work.
The other gotcha is that a lot of providers are instituting caps now.
Some are as low as 5 gigs per month. I don't do downloading of p2p
stuff, just normal surfing, download new apps, upgrades and the like,
but run about 25 gigs or so a month. I wouldn't get a week out of a 5
gig cap. And prices are astronomical after that. So people are getting
some big overage bills. You need to be sure about the caps, and if you
can live with them, know exactly how much bandwidth you are using so you
don't get a surprise. As a corporate customer, we really do get
essentially unlimited bandwidth here, but consumers on these carriers
that are now capping don't. So do your homework ahead of time.
Ever think about going in half and half on that wireless connection you
were getting? Offer to kick in and lock down the access point so no one
else sucks off any bandwidth? A good WiFi antenna and a transparent WiFi
bridge, dirt cheap to setup and you'd have a real LAN there and tons of
flexibility with a real IP presence.
Rick Kunath
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