usb plugin for broadband

[MrJim]

Do the USB plugins for broadband work? ($40 per month as advertised on TV)
If they do, why aren't they already built into computers?
Also, do they help wint landlines?

 

[Skull Pilot]

PC World - Optus Wireless Broadband USB Slimline Modem - Reviews - Services - Communications - Mobile Broadband

 

[waltky]

Obama fixin' it so's Granny can hang ten onna World Wide Web...

FCC plans cheap Internet service and computers to connect poor Americans
The Federal Communications Commission and cable and computer firms will announce Wednesday a program to provide low-income homes with $10 monthly broadband Internet service and $150 computers.

The plan aims to solve one of the more vexing problems in the government’s quest to connect all Americans to the Internet: Even when people have the ability to subscribe to high-speed service, 100 million households don’t choose to do so. Experts say that’s largely because of cost. The price of high-speed Internet averages $40 a month, and computers can cost several hundred dollars.

But beginning in the spring, cable Internet service providers such as Bright House, Comcast, Cox and Time Warner will offer families that are eligible for federal school-lunch programs — 25 million Americans — the discounted monthly service. The service will include free installation and modem rental for two years. Redemtech, a computer refurbishing firm, will offer those families laptops or desktops for $150, with free home shipping and 90 days of tech support. Microsoft will provide new computers for eligible school-lunch families for $250.

The plan is part of the FCC’s drive to get all Americans onto high-speed Internet networks. FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski has warned that other countries are surpassing the United States in broadband Internet adoption — a trend that could hurt the economy in the long run. “The cost of not adopting broadband, the cost of exclusion is high and getting higher,” Genachowski said in a telephone interview Tuesday. Americans who aren’t connected, however, cite several reasons for not signing up for broadband. They say they need more training on computers and on the Internet, and some say the Internet isn’t important to their lives, according to the Pew Research Center’s Internet and American Life Project.

Some experts say those who aren’t using the Internet are missing out on key economic and social opportunities. Many employers and universities, for example, require candidates to apply online. “We are proud to support this coordinated, community-based partnership to help educate, empower and enlighten new digital citizens so that they, too, will benefit from the Internet’s transformative potential,” said Michael Powell, president of the National Cable and Telecommunications Association, the cable industry’s major trade group. Cable Internet service companies will provide 1 megabit-per-second speeds to eligible families that aren’t already subscribers and have clean accounts. The program won’t apply to families with overdue bills or unreturned equipment.

Source

 

[waltky]

Worldwide Internet From The Sky...

Facebook Looks to Drones to Boost Internet Access
MARCH 28, 2014 ~ Can drones help expand broadband availability? Facebook's new Connectivity Lab is looking at the high-flying devices - not to mention satellites and lasers - to assist in providing Internet access worldwide.

In a blog post, Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg said his Internet.org outreach organization has "made good progress so far," citing work in the Philippines and Paraguay, where 3 million more people now have access to the Web. "We're going to continue building these partnerships," he pledged, "but connecting the whole world will require inventing new technology, too." To that end, the Connectivity Lab team has been working on developing new platforms for connectivity "on the ground, in the air and in orbit," according to Internet.org.

The team includes aerospace and communications tech experts with backgrounds at NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab and Ames Research Center, as well as the National Optical Astronomy Observatory. But Zuckerberg also revealed a new partner: U.K.-based Ascenta, whose five-person team worked on early versions of Zephyr, the longest-flying solar-powered unmanned aircraft. Facebook is "bringing on key members of the team from Ascenta," Zuckerberg said, who will be "working on connectivity aircraft." According to Bloomberg, the acquisition cost Facebook $20 million—a drop in the bucket compared to recent purchases of WhatsApp ($16 billion) and Oculus VR ($2 billion).

Zuckerberg launched Internet.org in August, with the intent of increasing access to the Web, and bringing the Internet "to the next 5 billion people." As of now, about one-third of the world's population has online access. Industry heavyweights like Ericsson, MediaTek, Nokia, Opera, Qualcomm, and Samsung have thrown their support into the venture, pledging to develop joint projects, share knowledge, and mobilize organizations and governments to bring the world online. But it's going to take more than connection control, more capacity, and faster data speeds to turn the entire globe onto the Web.

So Facebook will take to the air. The only problem: different communities need different solutions. So where satellites may do the trick in lower-density areas, solar-powered drones are better suited for more high-frequency locations."There's a fabulous set of problems to work on to try to figure out … how to make all those satellites interconnect with each other to make sure that you have an Internet backbone that's essentially flying through the air as these satellites are moving by you," Yael Maguire, Facebook's director of engineering, explained in a video (below).

Located 20 kilometers above the earth, these drones, which can stay aloft for months at a time, will broadcast the Internet to local users at significantly higher speeds and better connection than a satellite would. "We're just at the beginning," Maguire said. "There's some awesome problems to solve." Google has a similar Internet-connection effort, dubbed Project Loon, which is using base stations and high-flying balloons to increase Internet access. For more, watch PCMag Live in the video below, which discusses Facebook drones.

Facebook Looks to Drones to Boost Internet Access | News & Opinion | PCMag.com

 

[Quantum Windbag]

Do the USB plugins for broadband work? ($40 per month as advertised on TV)
If they do, why aren't they already built into computers?
Also, do they help wint landlines?

Does your cellphone work?

They are built into computers.

Does your cellphone help with landlines?

 

[Indofred]

Internet in Indonesia was, in general, pretty rubbish but things have started to change.
We managed a massive 3mbps but that was doubled in January.
A new wireless broadband system has just come on line; it's called, Bolt, and it pretty good.
So far, my best speed has been 23 mbps down and 5 up.

Super ngebut | BOLT! Super 4G LTE

 

[Chuckt]

Do the USB plugins for broadband work? ($40 per month as advertised on TV)
If they do, why aren't they already built into computers?
Also, do they help wint landlines?

Cell phone providers use either CDMA, GSM or LTE in their towers. A computer manufacturer would have to know what you want. Some customers don't want a contract with a wireless phone company.
Another thing is that Verizon is dropping what they use in favor of pure LTE so you could be buying hardware that is going to become obsolete.

A USB plugin is only as good as the wireless company it is on. If there is no reception in your area, what good is it? Speed is also only as good as the reception you have.

Other USB plug ins use WiFi which would be good enough for me because we already have WiFi in our house.

 

[RegeniaKohn]

Internet in Indonesia was, in general, pretty rubbish but things have started to change.
We managed a massive 3mbps but that was doubled in January.
A new wireless broadband system has just come on line; it's called, Bolt, and it pretty good.
So far, my best speed has been 23 mbps down and 5 up.

Super ngebut | BOLT! Super 4G LTE

In addition, youcanperformthe checkquotajugin the following way cara cek kuota bolt

 

[Indofred]

Internet in Indonesia was, in general, pretty rubbish but things have started to change.
We managed a massive 3mbps but that was doubled in January.
A new wireless broadband system has just come on line; it's called, Bolt, and it pretty good.
So far, my best speed has been 23 mbps down and 5 up.

Super ngebut | BOLT! Super 4G LTE

In addition, youcanperformthe checkquotajugin the following way cara cek kuota bolt

I'm unsure that's a good idea.
The BOLT site is reasonably secure, but a third party site might well have issues.

Terima kasih, tapi saya tidak suka itu, jadi saya paket bolt asli saja.