Considering WiFi - total newbie needs advice

[derby378]

For starters, do I need a separated WiFi ISP? And how much does it cost per month?

Is WiFi really that much of an improvement over dial-up in the real world? Looks good on paper, but what are your experiences?

What about free WiFi points like some restaurants, etc. offer?

[Maestro]

1. I live in the country ,

actually suburbia is catching up to us, but that is another story. Anyhow, I have no option but to use WiFi based on the 802.11b/g standard. My ISP has set up towers all over my area and we, the clients, are basically one big LAN city-wide.

I have been extremely satisfied with the speeds. My ISP is a bit dodgy on service but I haven't had any problems that I can't work out. The only thing is that if you are a gamer, the pings are a bit longer than with a dedicated land-line. Not sure why this is. Give me a second and I will post my latest speeds.

[Maestro]

2. Here are my speeds

You can see that my down speeds are fine, but the up speeds are always the problem and these speeds are even slower than usual. I am usually around 300kpbs but this is pathetic. I'm giving my ISP a call tomorrow.

[derby378]

3. Good info, thanks

How much do you pay monthly for the privilege?

[Maestro]

4. $50.00

He's the only guy in town little competition.

[Longhorn]

5. You do not need a separate Wi-Fi ISP.

My ISP is Roadrunner and they do advertise wireless internet service. However, we just pay for our basic connection and bought our own wireless router and wireless cards for the PC and two laptops. The card for the PC is an external device that attaches by USB. One laptop has an internal card (that I installed myself and I'm no expert!) and the other fits in a slot on the side of the case.

The internet comes into the house via cable which connects to the modem (from the cable company.) It goes out from there to the wireless router via Cat-5 cable and then "through the air" to the awaiting computers. We pay no extra for this -- in fact, I doubt the cable company is even aware that we have this system, though there's nothing under the table about it that I know of.

[Maestro]

6. Oh I didn't realize that is what you meant.

Sure, to set a WiFi in your home you just need a wireless router. I have a linksys wireless G router that connects two computers via cable and one via a wireless connection. It has a WEP enabled with 128 bit encryption. As long as you have no interference of the signal it works great. I couldn't use it to wirelessly connect my computer in our master bedroom because I was always getting a weak signal, but it works fine in my office.