So the wife and I recently realized that as long as we have internet access, we can work from anywhere. We’re thinking about spending a month in York, where my wife grew up, but we are having trouble discovering what our best options for accessing the internet are in the UK. Obviously things are very different when local calls aren’t free.
How do most people get online in the UK?
Are hotels or guesthouses with high speed access common at all?
What about access over a mobile phone? Is that economical?
Are there many 802.11 wireless hotspots around?
Apart from dialup, most people get access via ADSL. Cable TV never established itself, so the telephone system is the only infrastructure available in most places. 802.11 access is rapidly growing (it’s generally referred to as Wi-Fi) - this map has several hotspots in York. All of which appear to be pubs . And the main train operator to York, GNER, has started equipping its trains with it. On the downside, dialup access from a mobile phone would be expensive, and provision in hotels is patchy.
Okay, so if I am looking at dial-up, what am I likely to pay per minute, and can I use the same modem that is in my laptop for North American phone lines?
Dialup would typically be 1-4p a minute, depending on the time of day (weekends being cheapest, followed by evenings) - there’s a list of ISPs for this here. The alternative is a subscription service, which then gives you free access - just make sure you pick one with only a one-month minimum contract! (Watch out using any of this from a hotel phone, because some of them use their own system and add their own prices :dubious: )
The modem is no problem, except you’ll need to change the settings so it doesn’t wait for a dial tone (it won’t probably recognise the UK one). And the wall-socket uses a different plug, but you can just take the lead off any phone and plug that into the computer.
. And the main train operator to York, GNER, has started equipping its trains with it. On the downside, dialup access from a mobile phone would be expensive, and provision in hotels is patchy.