Some time ago I pitted UCLA’s wi-fi policies here, because they no longer allow one to reach the internet from on campus, using one’s own computer, without a student, faculty, or staff ID. At that time I was a mere visitor and not really in much of a position to complain, irked though I was.
Now, however, I’m enrolled in 8 units of extension courses at UCLA, and guess what? I was astonished to learn yesterday that Extension students are not allowed wi-fi access on campus. We pay hundreds of dollars for EACH class, and we’re still not allowed to go online using our own computers. It does seem like a cool reception after paying all that scratch.
So now my question is, are there any good cellphone based services I should look into? If so, and if it’s not too expensive, that would give my my on-campus wi-fi access. Would it be worth it?
The services you can get from the cell phone companies are not wi-fi. I have used verzion’s data cards in laptops and found it to be pretty good. Not as fast a wi-fi to my cable modem at home but definitely usable for email and web surfing. I have not really used it watching you tube videos or that sort of thing.
It is about $40 a month. All the other cellphone providers have something similar.
I use Sprint mobile Broadband since I travel a lot. Speeds are heavily dependent upon the infrstructure in place at a specific locale, and it’s common to be reduced to dial-up speeds. The “broadband” never feels faster than 384Kbps although Sprint advertises it’s twice that. Perhaps they are right. It’s fine for ordinary web when you are in a good service area. Check first.
Another alternative is TMobile WiFi if there are good hotspots (Starbucks…Borders). I had that for a couple years; I think it was $30/month. Obviously more limited points of access.
I am very surprised there is not free WiFi on campus. Won’t asking around get you any inside info? It seems so un-university-like. Did all those liberals wreck it trying to get everything for free? Are they having trouble with laptop-equipped homeless on campus stealing bandwidth? Once Cecil got by with making a fast buck everyone decided to get on board the money train :mad:
I have heard, and had some personal experience, that Verizon Broadband Access has the most complete coverage across the US.
I had Sprint and switched to Verizon because I ran into customer service problems and then heard from dozens of people at my large company about how horrible Sprint’s billing and customer service are.
I am not kidding about the following - the guy next to me at work showed me a bill he got from Sprint for $211,000 for one month’s service. He didn’t have to pay it (of course) but in getting it waived they screwed up his account in other ways.
In my book, the Verizon Broadband Access card is a great way to have ‘internet anywhere’.
Well there certainly is wi-fi access on campus, and I used to be allowed to use it, several years ago. It’s just that they’ve locked it down now to bona-fide students, faculty, and staff. I don’t think they did that because of bandwidth theft. As I pointed out in the other thread, to even reach UCLA you have to either pay $8 to park, or take a bus, and then you have to walk a good distance to get to any library or coffeeshop where you would want to use your computer. You need to really want to go there and it’s not the sort of place where people just randomly drift in. I think the reason was probably related to the increasing amount of online services offered by the library; licensing restrictions may have played a part there. Still I’m astonished that they don’t throw a bone to Extension students.
Since the OP I’ve contacted them and they tell me there’s a way I can bypass the restriction through using my credentials with my university. It sounds strange but I’ll definitely head over to campus in the next day or two and give it a shot.
It may not be a bandwidth issue, but being tapped into the universities web servers also gives you free access to online journals and such. The journals would not be happy about broadcasting their content for free. Those subscriptions are expensive.
I had the Verizon Broadband Access card but ditched it once I got my Blackberry. I was able to use the balckberry as a modem and it was cheaper than using the card. It’s not Wi-Fi, it operates over the cell line.
I then ditched Verzon because they sold me an international phone and told me it work and when I got to Paris it didn’t because the idiot forgot to install the SIM card. I have an AT&T blackberry and use it as a modem as well. It can also access via WiFi hotspots, something Verizon still does not let you do.
In response to the OP’s question, there is now supposedly something like citywide wi-fi here in Portland, OR-- though technically it’s not wi-fi but a technology called WiMax. The company that provides it is called Clear Communications. They boast speeds equivalent to fast-ish DSL as far as I can tell.
I think Portland is one of the first cities they’ve brought this to; we’ll see if it catches on. I’m sticking with the (DSL) devil I know, which is about the same price and faster.
I like my cell phone. I can tether it to my laptop and get 3G pretty good speeds (about 1.5mbps is the fastest I’ve gotten, though AT&T advertises up to 3.4mbps). The data plan is $20/mo and includes unlimited* transfer.
*And by unlimited we mean limited to some arbitrary number that we may or may not disclose to you prior to going over said limit