How do I get wireless internet?

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Clearwire doesn't use a wireless network but you're close. WiMax is very inexpensive, check out clear.com

THANK-YOU!!!
Working for a WISP - I continually have to explain that wireless isn't a ubiguitous service. And then try to determine which wireless technology is being discussed so I can then explain what that particular technology really is.

We live in the country and have a wireless connection to our ISP. The wireless signal comes from on top of a water tower 3 miles away. We can not receive wired cable nor DSL because we are too remote.
This signal is received and changed to a frequency which can be distributed by our wireless connection within our house.
It is always fun to try to respond to "Do you have a wireless internet connection?"

Great subject! Informative answers! But don't forget about Satellite internet. The prices are comming down. I live in the country and have only dial-up. I've checked some different options and I found I can get broadband high speed for about $15 a week and not have to buy anything.

@Jim king:

Satellite Internet is, indeed, another wireless connection type, and it's a somewhat older one than most of the ones discussed in this article, thus we could say the technology is "proven". However, its low adoption rate is not solely because of its price.

Satellite connections suffer from some limitations which can be hard to live with, depending on exactly *how* you're using your Internet connection:

- firstly, and most importantly, satellite connections suffer from high latency. This is a function of basic physics -- the satellites are far enough away from any point on the surface of Earth that it takes a non-trivial amount of time for data in the form of electro-magnetic impulses to reach them, reach the other point, and return. My current Internet connection gives me latencies on the order of 150 milliseconds, on average, from Romania (Eastern Europe) to the United States. By comparison, for satellite access you could be looking at latencies as high as 1 or 2 seconds (thousands of milliseconds!) for a roundtrip to a server that might be just a couple of miles away. And that's on top of the pre-existing round-trip from the other end of the satellite connection to the server you're trying to reach.

- secondly, weather: as documented on Wikipedia, "[satellite] communications [are] affected by moisture and rain in the path of signal"; meaning, effectively, that a rainy day in the summer might leave you with a crippled, if not completely non-functional Internet connection. Add to that the likelihood of snow build-up on the satellite receiver dish, and thus the requirement of continuous maintenance, and it makes for a somewhat unreasonable connectivity solution.

- the third, least important but still potentially crippling disadvantage is that most satellite Internet providers tend to offer one-directional access only. That is, download-only (from the Internet to your computer). But all communication on the Internet, by virtue of the design of the TCP/IP protocol, is bi-directional: all packets sent must be acknowledged, and don't get me started on the three-way handshake. What this all means is that you might still have to keep your dial-up connection and use it for the opposite direction, which will effectively slow down your communications to the rate at which your dial-up connection is capable of routing the acknowledging packets, which, although obviously smaller than the primary communication ones, are still a limiting factor.

There is also the further limitation of line of sight, specifically the communication-dampening effects of vegetation, meaning more continuous maintenance to ensure a tree (or, in a city environment, a building!) doesn't come between your receiver dish and the satellite it's trying to reach.

But the trifecta of latency, weather, and unidirectionality provides strong incentives to stay away from satellite connections except as a last resort. I'm also suspicious of your final statement of "not [having] to buy anything", since contacting a satellite absolutely requires the existence of a satellite dish, but perhaps you already have that for TV.

If you're curious, the uni-directionality limitation results from the fact that satellite communications are generally optimized for TV-like systems, whereby there is a single sender and many recipients. By contrast, an Internet connection by design is point-to-point, there being a sender-recipient pair for each such connection. This effectively results in satellites being a very poor method of transmission, having a very limited number of channels, which accounts for the relatively high cost of connection. Simply put, a satellite with, say, 1,000 channels could broadcast 1,000 TV programmes to millions of viewers (who are all receiving the exact same data), or it could provide Internet access to exactly 1,000 people. Some magic is probably possible by splitting the channels into smaller ones, but the result of that will necessarily be a lowering of speed, and you may end up with a bandwidth the same as a dial-up connection but with a much higher latency.

I didn't mean for such a long treatise of satellite connections, but I feel I've done a reasonable job of describing the pitfalls there. I'd like to restate that it could still be a reasonable option, just not one that is likely to be reasonably priced -- either in upfront or hidden costs.

Good day, yes Sir Leo right you must have a DSL connection first, Ok now you have an internet on your wifi, but for how long? You must know if they detect that you have an access on thier wifi they will absolutely put an en to your free wifi. So please understand and have your self a DSL connection.
thanks
gremons

RE: Satellite Internet...I highly recommend it.

While it certainly is not equivalent to DSL, Cable, etc., it is a major step up from dial-up service. I run a business from home in a very rural area and I've used WildBlue (through Dish Network) for 2+ years. I've been able to do things I never could have done with dialup, like download multiple MB files from my clients' FTP servers in seconds (minutes for 100+MB), participate in webinars, view YouTube videos, etc.

The relatively high latency that Narc referred to is trivial when compared with dialup. With regard to weather, I have experienced on rare occasion intermittent service but only during heavy downpours - a handful of times over the past 2 years. Snow buildup hasn't been a problem for me, but that's probably b/c the wind blows so hard here that the snow rarely has a chance to land until it becomes plastered against the side of a tree! :) I also have a wireless router installed that allows me to use my laptop on the front porch during the summer.

Certainly if DSL or cable were available to me, I'd choose one of those options. And, if you're used to hi-speed landline service, the satellite speed would probably drive you insane. But in locations where dialup is the only other option, I wouldn't hesitate to go for satellite service.
Just my 2 cents,
NewHorizon

Hello. I think this may sound daft but i really have to ask, im not to good with computer lingo. I already have a internet connection, broadband, one that is wired. Can i just go out and buy a wireless router and plug it in and will get wireless? or do i have to ring up telecom and gt them in to do evrythin then pay for wireless? or can i just continue paying my nrmal internet and get wireless through the router?

If I have cable internet, get the wireless router, still pay cable internet, can I use the wireless internet to go online on a second computer in my home, or will I need to subscribe to cable internet on the second computer too?

I had dsl service and wireless router but I can not activate my laptop wireless I had to use the cables because I don't know how to instal wireless on my dell laptop. Can you please help me.

thanks,

Maraih

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