Helping people with computers... one answer at a time.
Internet connectivity can get expensive. Unfortunately, low-cost or free alternatives are few or have strings attached.
We want to know if there is way to connect to the internet without having to pay the high fees that our cable company charges for internet access ($55 a month). We are on a fixed income and in our sixties. We enjoy being connected to our friends thru the internet and playing games like Mah-Jong and Farmville on Facebook. But when it comes right down to it, when being forced to choose between our cable and internet connection (which together cost $115 a month), the internet would be the one that we'd have to cut, as without cable, we receive no television signals. We are homebodies and love each other a lot (married 42 years), but we need the entertainment factor that watching TV and being on the internet provide us. ;-) We read today's edition of your newsletter about a person asking if they could share the password for their router with their neighbor. We think that we got the gist of what you were saying and wonder... Can this “router thing” allow us to connect to the internet without having to go through a separate company? How much does a router cost? Is it hard to hook up? Is it something that we could do ourselves?
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A router is not going to get you free internet, no.
Besides, you probably already have one.
I like to compare internet service to your landline phone service: if you want your own phone, you gotta pay for the connection. Without that, all that you can really do is borrow your neighbor's phone or maybe that of a generous business.
But if you want your own connection at home, that's a service that needs to be paid for, I'm afraid.
I'll look at a couple of alternatives for internet, both free and paid, and talk a little more about that router.
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About that router
A router is simply a device that allows you to share an existing internet connection.
Because you have internet right now through your cable company, it's very possible that you already have a router, particularly if you have more than one computer. Whether or not you have one, however, a router is simply a device that is used to manage the internet connection that you already have.
In the article about the person sharing her connection with her neighbors, she already had a router connected to her internet service (that she was paying for) and was allowing her neighbors to connect to it.
The two basic types of home internet service
Internet service to the home is often one of either two types of service:
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Cable - Cable internet makes use of the existing cable coming into your home provided by your cable TV provider. They use that same cable to bring in internet service. In this case, the cable company provides your internet service.
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DSL - DSL makes use of the existing telephone connection into your home provided by your telephone company. They then use the same wires to provide internet service. In the U.S., at least while the telephone company continues to provide the connection to your home, they are requried to allow other companies to actually be your ISP. Thus, while your phone company might offer you internet connectivity, you might also be able to look around and find additional DSL options from different, often local, ISPs.
For completeness, I should also mention fiberoptical connections, such as FiOS, which are provided by your telephone company, or satellite internet, provided by satellite TV or internet companies. The former has limited availability and the latter suffers from technical issues that make it only a last resort option when nothing else is available, in my opinion.
In your case, I'd at least start checking for the availability of DSL and how its pricing compares in your area.
A third, paid option
Mobile broadband is essentially wireless internet connectivity provided by mobile phone carriers and might be a possible alternative.
As you might expect, there are several options here because there are typicaly several mobile carriers that offer their services in any given region. Most offer devices that can be connected via USB or even standalone wireless routers that allow you to connect to the internet using the mobile network.
I'm not all that hopeful that they'll be as cost effective as a replacement for what you have but they're worth investigating. Be aware that there may be limitations on how much you can do (data transfer limits) and it'll almost certainly be slower than the cable connection that you have today.
Free options
Options for connecting to the internet for free are very, very limited. Essentially, you end up relying on the generosity of someone else who's paying for a connection to share it with you.
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Your neighbor - Even though I advise against it for most, getting internet through your neighbor could be an option, depending on your relationship with your neighbor. If they have a WiFi access point and its signal is strong enough for you to connect to it from your home, it could work. All that you'd need is a WiFi adapter for your PC if it doesn't already have one. They'll have to trust you not to abuse their connection and stay secure, and you'll have to trust that they won't snoop on the data that you send through their connection.
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The local library - Usually, this means using their equipment, but some provide free WiFi that you can use by bringing your WiFi-enabled laptop.
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The local coffee shop or other generous business - For me, this means Starbucks, but many coffee shops and other small businesses are offering free WiFi as a perk for their customers. This does mean that you'll need to bring in your laptop, though.
Shop around
As you can see, the options for getting no-cost or low-cost internet into the home are few.
My recommendation is that you shop around, perhaps looking to local DSL providers for better price options or even chatting with your cable company to see if they offer reduced services with lower rates.
Article C4923 - September 7, 2011
Leo A. Notenboom has been playing with computers since he
was required to take a programming class in 1976. An 18 year career as a programmer at Microsoft soon followed.
After "retiring" in 2001, Leo started Ask Leo! in 2003 as a place for answers
to common computer and technical questions. More about Leo.
If I had to choose between cable and internet, I would choose to drop cable. For various reasons I didn't particularly like the analog to digital switch. However, one thing it did do was allow broadcasters to offer more programming on sub-channels. If you have an outdoor antenna and a converter box or a digital TV, you can get all the major networks along with independent digital programming for FREE. Success varies with location, but I would bet you'd get enough to entertain you.
Posted by: MMJ at September 13, 2011 3:43 PMInternet, however, is not as easy to replace. There is are low- and no-cost dial-up solutions, but, with more and more elaborate web sites, video, etc. that's not always a viable option. You could do with a laptop and hotspots at libraries, etc. for unsecured surfing.
Also, a lot of networks offer their programming online. I've caught up many episodes out at the CBS or ABC site. One doesn't need to pay for a streaming account to find things to watch.
I too am retired and disabled.
I only have High Speed internet.
Anything I want to watch I get through Netflix.
As one person mentioned you can always watch Digital broadcast TV. Who remembers the days before Cable TV?
I save lots of money by not having standard telephone service. I have a Skype Phone Number for about $3 a month for long conversations. I pay $15 a month for Net10 prepaid phone service as my primary phone.
You may also want to figure in the cost of running your computer 24-7 if you have a large power hungry computer. This can add up to 8 dollars more a month.
I do seriously plan hard to keep my IT budget low.
One last money saver is that I buy 3 or 4 year old used IBM or Lenovo Thinkpads on E-bay. They are built like tanks and draw so little power. They are often given out as toys to executives and some never get used. I just purchased a dual core 2.2GHZ fully tricked out X61 which handles all my media and CAD needs and only draws about 27 watts. $230 shipping included.
I do splurge on large Monitors because of all the money I save.
I have a boat at a Marina. We all share one fellows WIFI for free with his permission. But he makes jokes about the web sites we visit. I use Witopia VPN for confidential browsing. Small price to pay for a free connection.
Posted by: John H at September 13, 2011 5:21 PMI use clear internet and majicjack. I pay $30 monthly for internet, and $19.95 for the majicjack which I plug into my old desktop, and I phone service and free long distance. Ocasionally I get static on the phone, but other than that I love it. You can get the Clear modem in just about any place. I got mine at Best Buy. I don't have a phone line. You can take the modem and majic jack on trips. The modem is tiny.
Posted by: Carolyn Embry at September 14, 2011 7:38 AMI fogot to mention that the majicjack is only $19.95 a year and you can buy t at Best Buy or most anwhere. So you are getting your phone service with free long distance for only $19.95 per year.
Posted by: Carolyn Embry at September 14, 2011 7:46 AMIn Australia the government helps pensioners & disabled & we pay $25.00 a month for unlimited downloads on broadband. Maybe the US has a similar system. I don't have the package including phone & mobile which is a little dearer but I can use my phone when on the internet
Posted by: Maureen McCarthy at September 18, 2011 8:21 PM