AT&T Wireless cards...
 

Because of a summer trip I'm planning I'm in the market for a wireless internet card. I have AT&T as a cell provider.

Dell laptop (the dinosaur as I call it)

anyone have any experience with AT&T's wireless cards.. or any recommendations?

PS... Yes I work on vacation... since October of 95 when I started the site I've had a total of 15 days when I didn't personally update it.

We have them up here .. 3G via "Fido and Rogers" .. a few people I know like them .. not killer for video but for simple stuff .. yeah they are alright ..

I looked into it since I have ATT and they told me there is a 5 gig limit per month. Which is useless since email and stuff I can just do on my phone. Could have been just my area though.

Are you going to a resort or a staying at a hotel? I am sure they will have access in the room as well as hotspots.

I think most US cell providers have the 5gb per month limit. I know ATT added it cause Verizon got sued.

Obviously you're not gonna wanna stream video a whole lot with it..

Speed-wise if you're in 3G I generally get 600k - 1.3 mpbs or so..

mcdonalds has free wireless, just go there for coffee in the morning :) theres always one around

Verizon is my card of choice in the states and VodaFone in the EU.

i have sprint and a Touch cell, and for an extra 15 bucks a month i get unlimited phone as modem
pretty fast if you have a good signal

hooks up via usb or blue tooth

My wife has a Verizon air card for her work laptop and she's never had any complaints. I have no idea about pricing/contract though.

Verizon works the best, but they all have a 5gig limit now on them.

It's a houseboat on Lake Shasta.

Since I live like almost right there can I inform you of something.

Depending on which place you are getting the boat from or where you will be on the lake, they (houseboat rental places) provide wireless. (not the best but it is there).

As for general reception, good luck. You will not have cell phone coverage for the most part. Just is not going to happen. If you have questions about the area or need more information let me know.

On another note I hope you know what your in for in general. So many are caught off guard with visiting both lake Shasta and Whiskey town lake. They are very beautiful places and very laid back (minus the occasional college kid invasions). Just the weather and also for the last few years at least the lake levels have messed with many people. Well those and also getting screwed by where you shop and or how you refuel.

Update since we hit the lake this morning.

There are two wireless hot spots on the lake that we could find. One near Jones valley and another near Silverthorn. Silverthorn had the most range, yet was still not that strong.

Cell wise still had great difficulty getting a signal anywhere.

If you have a blackberry, windows mobile or iphone...you can just tether that to your laptop and use the connection your phone provides.

I do this no problem.

Is there some way to gain a signal when there is none really?

I have tried Sprint, Verizon, and AT&T at Lake Shasta and still never really got one except on rare instances in very small areas.

I used the ATT wireless card for my laptop. The speed was good but it's true there is the 5GB cap and they really hit you hard on overage fees. On the positive side you can use any of the ATT hotspots in McDonalds, Starbucks, etc... for free which gets you around the bullshit cap. Double check that one since it's been about 6 months since I last had the service.

One note. If you buy your own card you can go month to month right off the bat instead of getting stuck with the 2 year contract.

Closets McDonald's or Starbucks near Lake Shasta are in Shasta lake city which is many miles away from the lake and technically on the other side of a mountain. There are a couple RV resorts, coffee shops, and hotels that also offer wireless but well again they are not that close to the lake.

Nothing is close when you have a mountain between you. :) They have a handy dandy locator here: http://www.wireless.att.com/laptopconnect/wifilocator

It's odd.

We visit my girlfriend's father in the mountains of Western Mass. So long as I'm able to get a "one bar" connection for the phone, I'm able to tether and use the web connection.

When I'm here in town and there's no issue with service, the connection is always on and always reliable. Pretty quick too for browsing and email and what not.

That is the primary problem. Most of the entire lake is surrounded by mountains.

I have a spare new in box att wireless card, id be willing to sell it half price or so, let me know.

[email protected]