am sure you techies will find this a stupid question, but me and the wife know little about computers and are not on the net. we are having a foreign student stay with us for 6 months, he needs the internet, we are reluctant to start up an account, what i want to know is if he buys a laptop, can he get the internet without plugging in to a telephone line, we have our phone with virgin, but as i say dont want to start a broadband account, is there any way he can use a computer in the house for his self and not need a phone line to plug in, i have heard of wi-fi, does this mean that he can just plug in the mains and not need a telephone, if so can you recommend a decent laptop and just give us an inkling of a service provider and what he might need. we live in central london. sorry if the question is stupid.
setup internet without phoneline
- Thread starter trinto
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No, you need an internet connection and a wifi router for the laptop to connect to the internet. Being in Central London there is every chance that a neighbour within a few hundred metres may have such a wireless router, and if they haven't secured it with a password then you may be able to steal some of his internet connection. I do mean steal as technically this is illegal.
*amazing*
I had an inkling when I was typing that that you would be along to point out my error, so I left it in to see if I was right. You are SO predictable!!
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If you're on Virgin, you could ask them what they can offer you.
By phoning and turning down their alternative suggestions, I now get phone+free weekend calls+2Mb+basic cable TV for £17/month, though I hear they are now offering it at £15. the TV is about the same as Freeview but also has on-demand reruns for things you may have missed (free) and I think some films and sports (not free).
Though their website says the price is £20/month i think I saw £15 in the Sunday Times yesterday
It has a 12-month contract.
Can't you get your visitor to chip in?
By phoning and turning down their alternative suggestions, I now get phone+free weekend calls+2Mb+basic cable TV for £17/month, though I hear they are now offering it at £15. the TV is about the same as Freeview but also has on-demand reruns for things you may have missed (free) and I think some films and sports (not free).
Though their website says the price is £20/month
i think I saw £15 in the Sunday Times yesterday It has a 12-month contract.
Can't you get your visitor to chip in?
thanks for all the positive and informative comments, both my partner and i have access to net where we work, but our job is not with computers and we are not teccies, we choose not to have a computer, its not the cost, its the thought of tying into a contract which we dont want and dont need, and of course the student is only staying for 6 months. it was for him i posted the question. the minimum contract seems to be for 12 months. i was kinda confused because i saw people on train and buses with laptops, they must be just writing letters or something. i mean even if we got a contract, we are still stuck with it for minimum 12 months, long after he has gone, and to be absolutely controversial, we have a couple of friends who hardly ever see each other cos either one or the other is on computer. i would rather be with my lady in a nice restaurant, or cuddled up in front of the fire with a box of maltesers and a bottle of wine, each to their own ay. Thanks once again.
If that's supposed to be insulting then you'll have to try a lot harder.Deluks said:
Meanwhile, you are SO not answering the question.
No it wasn't meant to be insulting, and I understand if you don't believe me. It was just a little experiment I carried out for my own amusement.
In the meantime your contribution to answering the posters question has been non-existent, so why bother chipping in?
Trinto,
Try a Pay-As-You-Go
http://www.madasafish.com/pay-as-you-go/
http://www.cymru1.net/247/payg-nosignup.php
http://allyours.virginmedia.com/html/internet/noncable.html
Or Check out the rest of Google:
http://tinyurl.com/2me3am
dave
Try a Pay-As-You-Go
http://www.madasafish.com/pay-as-you-go/
http://www.cymru1.net/247/payg-nosignup.php
http://allyours.virginmedia.com/html/internet/noncable.html
Or Check out the rest of Google:
http://tinyurl.com/2me3am
dave
let him get and use a mobile phone to connect not the best way or cheapest but no hassle or worry for you.
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Yes mobile phones are a good way but the speed is slower than ADSL and the cost can be prohibitive although i believe 3 now do a one off payment per month but again i bet its a 12 month term, Vodafone offered me it for £5 per month but i only use about £2 worth of data so not worth it but if i was a heavy user i would consider it.
PAYG broadband may be the only way. 12months is not very long to have as a contract. I know you are not into computers but neither is my mother but she still uses the net to save many ££££s by buying online. The way i look at it is if it saves me the cost of the broadband in one purchase per month you are already ahead of the game.
PAYG broadband may be the only way. 12months is not very long to have as a contract. I know you are not into computers but neither is my mother but she still uses the net to save many ££££s by buying online. The way i look at it is if it saves me the cost of the broadband in one purchase per month you are already ahead of the game.
Some providers offer one month contracts that are offset with an installation charge (such as Zen Internet). If the guy leaves without a word you will already be up to date with the bills. Just make sure to keep one month ahead charging him for the broadband. This means he'll have fast internet and you won't be left with a nasty contract around your neck when he clears off
Edit : Sorry. I just read your post again and clocked your phone line is with Virgin. I assume this is via cable and not copper lines. This limits your options to severly unless you take up an analogue phone line contact to apply the DSL to.
Edit : Sorry. I just read your post again and clocked your phone line is with Virgin. I assume this is via cable and not copper lines. This limits your options to severly unless you take up an analogue phone line contact to apply the DSL to.
If you are in London there is every chance you will have 3G and if so then 3G internet cards are available for their laptop their contract etc, or using their phone connected to their laptop using it as a modem.
Internet usage can be added to the phone contract instead of paying per MB. It's also faster than dial up and GPRS. I'm sure the mobile provider will tell (sell) you/them all about it better than me
I use GPRS to sync my work PDA its only text but its ok, I also use GPRS on a modem in my laptop its OK files take a while and a bit of patience on it tho.
All those on the trains etc are prob on GPRS or 3G.
Internet usage can be added to the phone contract instead of paying per MB. It's also faster than dial up and GPRS. I'm sure the mobile provider will tell (sell) you/them all about it better than me
I use GPRS to sync my work PDA its only text but its ok, I also use GPRS on a modem in my laptop its OK files take a while and a bit of patience on it tho.
All those on the trains etc are prob on GPRS or 3G.
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