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I need an internet connection

dnordstrom

dnordstrom

macrumors member
Original poster
Mar 12, 2007
47
0
Amsterdam
I desperately need an internet connection as fast as possible. I just moved to Santa Monica and I have a lot of online projects as well as online courses at school that are currently suffering from the lack of connection.

But there is a catch. I am an international studen and I'm leaving the country in a little more than a month.

This means that I can't commit myself to a one year contract and I don't have a social security number. I also don't have a phone line and I'm not willing to get one as I am satisfied with my cell phone.

What would be my best option? Hit me with some crazy ideas!

As a worst case scenario, I would accept very slow speeds that at least allow me to check my email and browse webpages.
The best would be to have at least a few Mbit of bandwith to allow me to extend my internet usage.

I have to tell you, the internet connections here in the US surprised me when I got here. People are advertising 8 Mbit as '"cutting edge". In Sweden, we have had that kind of technology for years. 100 Mbit is standard in every mediumsized city. My friend who practically lives in a forest got 100 Mbit months ago. This is so standard that the ISPs don't make a big deal of the speeds. It's support and stability that differentiates them.
 
Are you wired for cable TV? If so, you might be able to get it that way. Cable internet is often available without a contract commitment...you may not get the best rate they have to offer and you will probably have to pay an installation fee, so it'll likely be a pricey month of internet access. But it's an option.
 
If anyone knows a cable ISP that doesn't require their customers to sign a 12-month contract, please let me know. I could use some help with this.

Another options is to activate the phone line and use DSL or dialup. Dialup would get very expensive if I go online many hours of the day, right?
 
dnordstrom said:
If anyone knows a cable ISP that doesn't require their customers to sign a 12-month contract, please let me know. I could use some help with this.

Another options is to activate the phone line and use DSL or dialup. Dialup would get very expensive if I go online many hours of the day, right?
Click to expand...

I'm familiar with two cable providers, Comcast and RCN. Neither one requires a contract. I didn't have one when I was on Comcast, and I do have one now with RCN in order to get the lowest rate. They have contract-free internet though at a higher rate.

Yes, you can also activate a phone line for DSL. I understand that AT&T was coming out with naked DSL without the phone part, but it was only $1/month less than the DSL/phone bundle (~$45/month).

Dial-up depends on where you're dialing to. Most dial-up providers have an extensive network of local phone numbers, so once you pay for a phone line and the dial-up provider, access should be free. But it will be terribly slow, and you can likely get DSL or cable for not that much more money.
 
dnordstrom said:
If anyone knows a cable ISP that doesn't require their customers to sign a 12-month contract, please let me know. I could use some help with this.
Click to expand...
Well, Comcast doesn't, but in most cities, you don't have a choice - usually there's only one cable provider in a given area.
 
Thank you very much for the advice, I really appreciate it. Will be checking those out.

I can't believe you still have dialup. Swedish ISPs ditched that many years ago, as soon as DSL came along. Now DSL is on it's way out as fiber connections are taking over.
 
We all are envious of you. Your population is very closely grouped and all well off. It is a tech mecca. This is a big place here, and we seem to not have anything everyone else can't have.
 
Unfortunately, RCN only offers dialup in my area and Comcast couldn't find a match for my address in their database.

I live right next to Wilshire Blvd. One would think that such a famous street out have connection possibilities along it.

I'm thinking about subscribing to T-Mobiles hotspots and spend my days at one of the two Starbucks I have within 0.5 miles from my apartment. Does anyone know what speeds they offer?

I would love to be connected 24/7, as I always used to be before. I am used to living the web lifestyle, checking my mail automatically every 2 minutes 24/7, always being available on MSN and most of all browse the internet and work on my onlie projects whenever I have the time.
 
Well, I don't know what to say. I guess it's understandable when you explain it like that.
shu82 said:
We all are envious of you. Your population is very closely grouped and all well off. It is a tech mecca. This is a big place here, and we seem to not have anything everyone else can't have.
Click to expand...
 
If you're only going to be here a month, I would just get a data plan for your cell phone and tether with that. The speeds aren't necessarily the greatest, but it just seems like the easiest option for your scenario.


Or, you can check to see if any of your neighbors are running an open wireless access point :D
 
dnordstrom said:
Unfortunately, RCN only offers dialup in my area and Comcast couldn't find a match for my address in their database.

I live right next to Wilshire Blvd. One would think that such a famous street out have connection possibilities along it.

I'm thinking about subscribing to T-Mobiles hotspots and spend my days at one of the two Starbucks I have within 0.5 miles from my apartment. Does anyone know what speeds they offer?

I would love to be connected 24/7, as I always used to be before. I am used to living the web lifestyle, checking my mail automatically every 2 minutes 24/7, always being available on MSN and most of all browse the internet and work on my onlie projects whenever I have the time.
Click to expand...

That's because you live in L.A. and Time Warner is the cable provider in this area. I also live in L.A. , well Orange County, but close enough. Regardless go to this link. I don't believe you have to sign a contract with Time Warner, but I could be wrong. Best of luck.
 
You should look into either getting the internet on your phone and then sending that to your computer or a lot of the big cell phone companies now offer different wireless internet plans for computers, but I'm not really sure what you would need to do that, but it's at least something to look into.
 
Starbucks closes in a few minutes so I don't have any time tonight.

Is it possible to use my Amp'd Pay as you go plan for any of this? I've already turned on the bluetooth OBEX which they for some mysterious reason had deactivated on my Motorola E816. Maybe there is some way to use it to surf the internet, what do I know.
 
shu82 said:
We all are envious of you. Your population is very closely grouped and all well off. It is a tech mecca. This is a big place here, and we seem to not have anything everyone else can't have.
Click to expand...

Well, no, the problem is that the US govt hasn't invested in building a broadband backbone and as a result the US is years and years behind most other industrialized countries.
 
Here is an idea that would probably the cheapest. Ask one of your neighbors to share! Just look and see what wifi connections are around where you live, and go do some door knocking. No installation fees and half the bill!
 
yojitani said:
Well, no, the problem is that the US govt hasn't invested in building a broadband backbone and as a result the US is years and years behind most other industrialized countries.
Click to expand...

I would much rather live with my slow internet connection than have a tax-paid and government owned/operated backbone. Think of the potential for abuse...
 
shu82 said:
Here is an idea that would probably the cheapest. Ask one of your neighbors to share! Just look and see what wifi connections are around where you live, and go do some door knocking. No installation fees and half the bill!
Click to expand...
Nice idea, that's probably the best so far.

I'll stuff myself with hazardous drugs to overcome my shyness and go ask them!
 
shu82 said:
Here is an idea that would probably the cheapest. Ask one of your neighbors to share! Just look and see what wifi connections are around where you live, and go do some door knocking. No installation fees and half the bill!
Click to expand...

Except it's illegal to share a cable connection in the US. It might be different if it's DSL, but I doubt it.
 
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