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Always-On Internet For Cheapskates?
chuck writes "I like my broadband Internet access because of its always-on nature, but my usage doesn't really justify paying $40-$50 each month for hundreds of kb/s when all I really do is read and write email sporadically, light web browsing and IM. Are there any options for cheapskates like me to pay less for lower bandwidth (modem speeds would be fine) but still have an always-on connection for cheaper than cable or DSL? I have a $5/mo ISP that I use when I'm out and about, and my 2.5G wireless phone can give me internet access on a shoestring (with free evenings and weekends) but neither of those has that always-on quality. Any ideas?"
Unfortunately, most "unlimited" dial-up plans are actually hour-limited. If you read the TOU carefully, they'll tell you what "unlimited" means, but it's typically a high (but not impossible) number of hours per month. If you pass that limit, you'll either get blocked for the rest of the month, or charged a very large amount, depending on the ISP. Not every ISP will catch you, and those that do won't catch you every time, but if you keep a dial-up connection up 24/7 for months on end, any ISP you use will notice sooner or later and take some action.
The best thing to do is ask when you sign up for the ISP. They may have a more expensive dial-up plan that allows you to stay up 24/7/365. It might cost you $30/mo rather than $10/mo, but that's still cheaper than $50/mo broadband.
some of them have slower connections that you can get for less money(though they don't like to advertise them). For example, the cable at home I can get for $25, or you can get a faster connection for about $40, of course YMMV
Monstar L
When in doubt go back to your roots (*cough* #bt on efnet *cough*)
Your only other option is a dial up connection. If you want it to be dedicated however, you'll need a dedicated phone line. That will run ~ $16 - $25 Dollars US add in $5 mo. for your dial-up provider. Worst case you are at $30 best case $21.
The trick is to use a dial on demand linux box. You can have a script that will automatically dial into your provider. When you get kicked, it calls back. Couple this with an ethernet card and you'll have a gateway, and even a hardware firewall to protect you from all the evils that would have their way with your box. You can also use this machine for common services such as a caching DNS server which will speed up page load times over dial-up and as a mail gateway which also speed up perceived mail send times.
Rogers.com Hi-Speed Internet Ultra-Lite
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mys
http://isohunt.com/ has a torrent search... very good results, pretty much the only thing i use now that suprnova's gone.
light DSL is usually maximally 128Kbits down, but it's ( a very gimped, usually for people that barely qualify for ) DSL.
they usually charge around 15-20ish dollards a month for that kind of DSL access up here in montreal, canada, and it would solve the always-on, cheaper for bling problem you're having.
As for me, nothing will make me part from my fixed ip 3meg adsl line for 60 canadian a month.
Peace and happyness to you, by LullySing
See if speakeasy has service in your area. They encourage sharing of connections, especially with wifi. They will help you set up line sharing with neighbors (or tell you if you have a neighbor that's already doing this). They'll help you set it up and take care of the billing for you. Depending on the actual speed you need, you could share one DSL line among N people, and each would pay 1/N of the monthly bill. It would all be open and legal.
They also don't block any ports, so you could run an email server on your own machine if you like. For that matter, you could run your own web server, making it easy to share your pictures with friends. I've done a lot of this, just sending a URL so they can browse the thumbnails and download any pics they like.
Are there other ISPs that encourage this? You'd think they all would, if they were actually interested in giving good service to their customers.
Those who do study history are doomed to stand helplessly by while everyone else repeats it.
Cox offers a "value" high speed. 128 kb/s up and download, perfect for what you're doing. It runs for $24.99/month if you have any other Cox services.
I am network admin in one of the larger volunteer networks in the area (Copenhagen, Denmark). We get internet for ~$8.7 a month (50 DKr). We share a 45 mbit line between 2400 apartments, of which 1400 have internet service. Commercial ISP's have about the same bandwidth for that amount of users, perhaps even less.
The cheapest DSL is still 3 times more expensive and I frequently download stuff at 20 mbit. We also provide TV and POTS, equally cheap. Switches in the basements, copper to the apartments, fibre between switches and buildings. Been a huge work, but quite fun and worth it.
You can get started with lot less, just share an single DSL between 10-20 apartments. Here such networks are all the rage, popping up everywhere anytime.
I use Cox Communications Basic service for broadband over cable. They don't list it on their site but you can call and ask for it. It's $25 a month and 256Kbps downstream & something like 64Kbps upstream.
I'm not sure where you live and who your baby bell is but....my DSL ISP, BellSouth, offers what they call DSL Lite, which is always on but has much lower bandwith for less cost, $24.95 a month.
. html
http://www.bellsouth.com/consumer/inetsrvcs/index
"You cannot find out which view is the right one by science in the ordinary sense." - C.S. Lewis on Intelligent Design
If you want cheap broadband, move to Saskatchewan. I get 1.5 Mb up, 300 Kb down ADSL for $25 Canadian/month, and you can get 64 kb download speed package (extra-light) for like $12/month. You just have to deal with the shatty weather.......... Older Price List for Sasktel
Pull my dongle!
In the US, residential service is supposed to be for one residence. A lot of people do it (I did the same 25 years ago with cable TV, and am about to do it with my current connection), but that doesn't mean the provider has to like it or authorize it. Who does the neighbor call for a service issue? You, or the cable company?
From the TimeWarner RoadRunner service Acceptable Use Policy:
"...the RoadRunner service is provided to you for personal, non-commercial use only."
From the TimeWarner RoadRunner Cable Modem Service Subscription Agreement
"5. Subscriber Conduct.(d)
Subscriber will not resell the Road Runner Service, or any portion thereof, or otherwise charge others to use the Road Runner Service, or any portion thereof. Further, Subscriber will not redistribute the Road Runner Service, or any portion thereof, whether or not Subscriber receives compensation for such redistribution. The Road Runner Service as offered under this Agreement is a residential service offered for personal, non-commercial use only."
Each house/apt/condo is supposed to pay for their own connection.
Depending on how good your card is and how far away you are you usually pick up far more networks than you can connect to - the AP's signal is strong enough to pick up but the card isn't always transmitting at high enough power for the signal to get back to the AP.
When I was on Mindspring before Earthlink swallowed them, I had my linux server dialed into Mindspring 24/7, when the call was dropped, pppd would autorespawn and redial out. After a while, I would receive emails saying that it's against TOS to run an FTP server etc... which I wasn't doing, I just wanted the always-on type of connection. Mindspring's setup forced the modem to redial every 24 hours, but I was never denied service or charged for fully using the connection. They'd always quote me as using 43,200 minutes or more for that month, basically the numbers said that I split my time between being connected and dialing the modem.
However, the minutes aren't exactly accurate because if I was disconnected and redialed, their servers wouldn't update themselves that I disconnected, so for a short time, it would look like I was logged in twice simultaneously. This wasn't a problem until Earthlink screwed everything up, causing busy signals, and crap. After Earthlink came along, I got charged for simultaneous logins. I called the people and asked "wtf?" and they parroted the problem and TOS. I asked them what phone numbers were used on my account to call in and they said "they are all phone number whatever". I blew their mind and asked "How could my modem be connected to two other modems at the same time?". Either the person on the telephone understood and credited me the charge on the next bill or silence fell over the phone.
I'm surprised no one's linked to Paul Boutin's How To Steal Wi-Fi (and how to keep the neighbors from stealing yours)
[o]_O
For $29 dollars you can get 128k DSl from sympatico, without needing an extra phone line. Your paying $50 for dial up. Hmmm.
That' what my parents have, and it just what this guy wants. He needs to research local options.
Differences in ground potential between houses can destroy equipment, cause a shock or even be a fire hazard.
:)
And this information might sound alarmist, but there's even more to it -- crossing a legal boundary point (i.e. a mailing address) is against the law. You can be held responsible if you run a wire from one building into another, and that line causes damage. I used to work for a dialup ISP, and we ran some cat5 from one 5 story building to another, underneath the street. We found out what we did was completely illegal, and if that building ever caught on fire, we'd be screwed big time if that line were still there.
So wireless has more than just tech advantages
slashdot: where everyone yells sarcastic metaphors to themselves to understand the issue
Prescriptive easements only apply to real property.
Not in Texas. Or, to be more accurate, after reviewing the law on theft of service, it is very unlikely that it could be classified as that.
From the Texas Penal Code:
First of all, (3) and (4) wouldn't normally apply. However, if you agreed to pay the neighbor half the bill and then didn't, you could be found guilty for that. But that would be theft of service from the neighbor, not his ISP.
If you broke your neighbor's wep and then used his network you would have committed theft of service. Similary, you would also be guilty of theft of service if you reconfigured his access point to enable yourself to connect as well.
But I can't see that it would be theft of service if your neighbor gave you permission to connect to the internet through his access point.
I'm not a lawyer, so my interpreation could be wrong. And, of course, other states may differ.
cat 5 is only good for up to 16 or 20 Mbps. cat 5e is good up to 100 Mbps, you need cat 6 (and suitable equipment) to run at gigabit speeds.
According to the standards
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Cat5 is good for 100Mb/s
Cat5e will run 1Gb/s
About Cat5e
http://www.connectix.co.uk/v2/asp/connectix.asp?m
About Cat6
http://www.connectix.co.uk/v2/asp/connectix.asp?m
~www.devnull.co.uk
Ultra-Lite - 64Kbps for 19.95
Lite - 256Kbps for 26.95
Express - 3.0 Mbps for 44.95
Extreme - 5.0 Mbps for 44.95 w/99.95 modem purchase
A flavour for everyone!I LIKE TOAST!!!
Yes, speakeasy gives static ips by request, and they'll even set your reverse dns name however you want.