One final suggestion: All the major players now offer phones with Bluetooth capability. Many laptops have Bluetooth built-in, or you can get a BT USB fob. I have net access on my phone, and using BT I can access my e-mail with either my PDA or my laptop via the BT connection to my cell phone. Mike Bird On Dec 30, 2005, at 12:43 PM, Haudy Kazemi wrote: > At 02:07 PM 12/29/2005 -0800, you wrote: >>>>> > Query, is there any service or program (e.g.T-Mobile or Verizon) > available > that would allow wireless Internet access from my office in Golden > Valley > or do I need to locate a Hot Spot? My goal is to at least access E- > mail via > a wireless connection for my laptop. Not interested in devices such > as the > Blakberry product.Move to Chaska or Richfield and soon Minneapolis? > Thanks > for any suggestions or ideas you might have. Frank Commers > <<<< > > Hello, > > I'm sharing my response with the tcwug mailing list so that others > with > similar questions can benefit from it. > > For general wide area wireless Internet access you can look into > the EDGE > and EVDO technologies being offered by T-Mobile, Sprint, and > Verizon. They > cover portions of the Twin Cities area, but I don't really know the > current > extent. Search google for more info on these systems. These are > proprietary technologies requiring special PCMCIA or USB client > cards, and > monthly subscriptions. > > Alternatively, if you only need to access the Internet wirelessly > at your > office, why not add a wireless router to your office's broadband > connection? I suggest the Linksys WRT54GL, WRT54G (but not version > 5 which > has serial numbers starting with CDFB, good versions are still > available at > MicroCenter in St Louis Park), or the WRT54GS (but not version > version 4 > which has serial numbers starting with CGN60) wireless routers. This > method would use the 802.11b/g standards, and are built into most > recent > laptops. The Chaska system is 802.11b/g, the same technology as in > standard wireless routers, only used in a wider geographic scale. > > Finally, there are also wireless ISPs in town that offer broadband > internet > access to homes and businesses using a fixed-wireless connection > from the > ISP's transmitter to a client's address. These may be good > alternatives to > Comcast cable or Qwest DSL, and the only low-latency (low-lag) > broadband > alternative in areas not already served by cable or DSL. Satellite > internet service comes in behind these other options as it is high- > latency, > often download-only (requires a modem for the uplink), and > bandwidth limits > tend to be more heavily enforced. > > -Haudy Kazemi > > > > _______________________________________________ > Twin Cities Wireless Users Group Mailing List - Minneapolis/St. > Paul, Minnesota > tcwug-list at tcwug.org > http://mailman.tcwug.org/mailman/listinfo/tcwug-list