| I'll try to answer several of your questions. Yes, you will need a special router, but I would NOT buy the one the salesman is pushing on you. I have one made by Cradlepoint (the CTR350) which I bought at Amazon.com and did not pay nearly that much for it. It is very small and I plug the wireless "card" (modem) into a USB port on the router. Then I connect my desktop computer via Ethernet (cat 5 cable). I connect my laptop via the wireless signal sent from the router. It is very easy to set up the security on the router. In addition, I also use software firewalls on my computers. The built-in wireless in the laptop is not the same thing as what you plug in. It allows the laptop to receive and use wireless signals, and all new laptops come with this. Now whether this would be faster than your DSL is questionable. Sometimes my service with Verizon is quite fast, but at busy times, mostly evenings, it slows down quite a bit. With DSL you have a dedicated line, so your speed should remain constant. I went this route, because I cannot get DSL or cable, and I suffered over 2 years with satellite. Then Verizon's 3-G (EVDO) became available to me. You need to be fairly close to a tower to get a good, strong signal also. If your cell phone service is good, chances are the wireless Internet would be good, also. I was able to buy a used "card", which is really a modem, so that I was not locked into a contract and I can end the service at any time without penalty. So it's your call. If you are unhappy with your DSL, you might give it a try. Do they have a trial period during which you can return anything and only owe for the usage you had? If not. . . . .It's your call. |
