In these cases, rural, suburban or urban, it could be that cellular data technology
is a possibility. Do you think??¦maybe??¦we could get Internet connectivity on
our computer via our cell phone? At speeds higher than dial-up? Generally, the answer
is yes.
In many areas, especially outer suburbs and rural areas, cellular data connections
may be the only alternative you have to using slow dial-up or driving into town to visit
the library or coffee shop. Admittedly, cellular Internet access is not for everyone??”it??™s
not cheap, it??™s not 6, 3, or even always 1.5 megabits-per-second (Mbps) broadband like
the big cities have, but it is a lot faster than dial-up when you can get it. The cellular
service providers have not achieved 100 percent phone coverage, much less data coverage,
in the United States, but the coverage increases every month. For the cellular
carriers, the top 10, 20, 50, and 100 urban markets are their first priority, but some are
trying to get to the top 200 and top 500 most-populous areas faster than others.
While not limited or specific to home networking, we??™ll start with a modest project
to get one computer connected by cell service, and expand from there. We??™re going to
create an Internet connection configuration that looks like Figure 7-1.
Before we start, you??™ll have to work with your cellular carrier to make sure
you have a phone, a data service plan that includes ???tethering,??? the right USB data
cable, and a CD-ROM (or downloaded files) that includes the appropriate drivers and
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44 Project 7
software to install on your computer so that your computer recognizes your phone
as a USB or other high-speed modem.
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