question about internet while travelling

robby and fran · Newbie

question about internet while travelling

robandjum · Member

R & F,
We are leaving Melb this Sunday for 4 months to Darwin & down the West Coast.
I have a NextG Telstra and use it as a modem on my laptop. I purchase 80mb a month @ $29.00, then when we are home again I cancel the account. The other option is to sign up with an external modem they supply, this is on a 2 year plan @ minium $59 per 200mb a month. This is less flexible as I had 5mb@ $5 while I tested the operation to confirm it worked as described, then changed up to 80mb, remember you loose what you don't use in the month, no carry over to next month.
I believe McDonalds have hot spots in some of their cafes for about $5.00, not sure how long this lasts. Also, some parks have wireless internet or again, hot spots to access at a small cost.
Don't get too bogged down with this, remember you are "escaping", a day's delay here or there isn't important in a 7 months trip.

Good luck

speedy sue · Veteran Member

We started out with an outdated laptop and used the modem built into our mobile phone to attach to the internet. However, we found that we soon used up our quota of 'data' on our mobile phone plan and the bills went through the roof.
We learnt our lesson and subsequently went to libraries (often where free internet access is provided), tourist information centres and internet cafes (for a couple of dollars per hour) and even caravan parks to access the internet and send emails. You can buy a USB 'thumb drive' to transfer photos from your laptop to the computer you use to send the emails. As Robandjum pointed out, you probably won't need to access the internet all the time anyway.

robandjum · Member

With regards to photos, we use Picassa Web Albums to load pics onto, then the program emails all those you have notified about the album to access via their web, it can be slow and costly emailing photos, this is a free way to do it. We have probably 10,000 photos on Picassa as private albums, it is a free download and fantastic. There are many options for cropping and effects available, worth a look.

Rob

Doug and Dusty · Veteran Member

robby and fran wrote:

Hi
Can anyone give some suggestions,

My wife and myself are about to set off on our adventure around australia for 7 months. We have our own laptop already for internet, but was wondering which type of modem to use and which carrier would be best for our needs, just to to stay in touch with kids via email or should i say tease the kids with our beautiful destinations etc, and surf web for locations and caravan parks to go to on the way.

If anyone has any suggestions or experience on this subject please let me know
Thanks
Robby and Fran

Robby and Fran
I use Bigpond Wireless Modem , it's the only one that coverage in rural towns , other ISP's like Optus,Vodafone etc are cheaper but you won't get any coverage unless in the larger town/cities as like say Townsville or Geraldton or state Capitals ,

Crazy Dog · Veteran Member

Yo Robby and Fran,

A mate of mine who shall remain nameless (but owns a cupla dorgs - Dusty and Slim) has just gone down to 1gig due to cost so be aware that this medium is expensive, but, very good for small stuff ie email etc. For larger - make em jealous stuff ie. pics etc , save them until you find a town with internet access (internet cafe) and then see if ya can send that stuff.

Isla · Member

Hi Robbie and Fran....I'm no help re the lap top,but my advice would be to leave it behind with the TV....Cheers and happy travelling... idea

Basil Faulty · Guru

I use my lap top and as it has it's own inbuilt wireless network thingo I use either the various Wi Fi hotspots at Maccas and quite a few CP's have "Wireless Broadband" where you either pay or use is included in your tarrif. I use this to send home weekly reports, pics etc and do the banking etc...
I was not impressed with the Telstra Broadband modem setup, it cost me a fortune and was variable in operation....
Net surfing while on the move is the forte of the young upwardly mobile types and even my son tells me it is not as good as made out and costs him a fortune. With Telstra they charge for traffic both ways ie sending and recieving emails as an example. You nheed around a 1 gig allowance with broadband for practical use I think, by the time you download a few 200mb pages etc, pay some bills transfer some money etc a 500mb allowance is quickly used up.
I have used public internet at Librararies etc but IF YOU DO make sure you sign out of any sensitive sites you are in before you leave for security.
What I like about this site is that I can use big words...

robby and fran · Newbie

Thank you to all for your advice given regarding our internet connection. After short consideration we decided to take lap top to store photos but use the internet in librarys and cafes. So thank you again see you all on the road!!

robby and fran · Newbie

robandjum wrote:

With regards to photos, we use Picassa Web Albums to load pics onto, then the program emails all those you have notified about the album to access via their web, it can be slow and costly emailing photos, this is a free way to do it. We have probably 10,000 photos on Picassa as private albums, it is a free download and fantastic. There are many options for cropping and effects available, worth a look.

Rob

Thanks for this web site, i have written it down and will check it out before we leave.
Robby

dave06 · Guru

good on ya for such up to date info, such as picassa and internet cafes my god us oldies arent dead in the technical age yet

Peter_n_Margaret · Guru

Hi guys.
We use a Telstra NextG wireless internet (Maxon modem) at $50/200mb or $80/500mb per month (24 month contract).
Very fast, very convenient, best coverage, pricey.
Currently sitting at the table in our vehicle 15k out of Broome.
Also check out Bigpond "relocatable" system (also Telstra NextG, but different deals).

Cheers,
Peter.

robby and fran · Newbie

Thanks to all you traveller that have replied to our internet question. There are a lot of interesting solutions for us to decied on. Hope to see you on our travells. We are heading out on Wednesday for our big adventure
Regards Fran

OutbackAus · Veteran Member

I use the Bigpond 1Gb $49.95 plan with the Bigpond BP3 twin aerial modem powered with 12v. Use VoIP for 10c untimed unlimited phone calls to landline numbers.
Fitted GME AE915 NextG aerial and makes one incredible difference. Get coverage well outside the areas shown on the Telstra coverage maps at some locations. Conservatively would say the aerial more than doubles the range of signal availability. Is truly amazing the difference it makes.

gitsho · Senior Member

Where did you get the aerial and approx cost, many thanks Gitsho

-- Edited by gitsho at 18:24, 2008-07-27

twobob · Guru

I found this thread, buried way back, and its an issue I need to sort, so I thought I would bring it back to the start, by writing this.

I am currently checking Satellite connections, as I use one here. Reason - they work anywhere. Setting them up, seems to be the problem, aligning the dish. I already have the equipment, with thanks to the Aussie Government, and the "package" is $30 for 500mb - shaped at download limit.
I found a couple of sites that can provide "mobile" dishes, that either self align or manual.

Telstra plans seem to be expensive, and limited, and their Next G is only reliable in or near major centres.

Anyone have something to add?