How does broadband for the laptop work I DONT UNDERSTAND IT?
Question by Borat Sagadiev: How does broadband for the laptop work I DONT UNDERSTAND IT?
I have a laptop but there is no router, if i bought broadband for my laptop how much is it? and is it only me that can use it?
Do most people with laptops have a dongle?
Best answer:
Answer by mryan
The router plugs into your phone line and if your laptop is wireless it will pick up the signal from the router and let you connect to the internet. If it isnt wireless, you’ll need to buy a wireless dongle which will let you pick up the signal.
What do you think? Answer below!
If you want internet for yourself, you need a router. AT&T has DSL plans for everyone. If you want free internet, go to a wireless hotspot like the park or the library.
Try a mobile broadband dongle. Or if your laptop has wireless enabled (which if it is fairly new it should) Buy a router.
http://www.laptopsforfree.co.uk
the internet (broadband) connection will come in over your phone line or by fibre-optic cable (Virgin/NTL), and then will connect to your laptop in one of a number of ways.
1. some ISPs (internet service providers) supply a modem that plus into the phone line (or optic fibre) at one end, and into your laptop via USB at the other. this means only the laptop that the modem is plugged in to can use the interet at a time (unless you share your connection, but it gets a bit complicated then).
2. the ISP may supply, or you may have to buy, a modem/router. often these days they come as a single device. the phone line will plug in at one end, and out the other you will set up your own home network. this is usually just a case of getting some Ethernet cables (Cat 5 or 6) and running them from the router/modem to your computer and any other computers that want to connect to the net. any router with DHCP will automatically recognise computers plugged into it, and the network will be managed automatically. the only slightly difficult thing might be that you will probably have to go into the router/modem’s web-based settings to enter your broadband ISP’s information (passwords for your account, etc).
3. if your modem/router from option 2 has wi-fi, and your laptop does, then you can connect without using Ethernet cables. though be aware that setting this up is a little more complicated and you should be sure to set it up with encryption for security purposes. you can use wi-fi to connect your laptop, but ethernet cables to connect another computer – they are not usually mututally exclusive. if your laptop doesn’t have wi-fi built in, you can buy a wifi card or USB dongle/stick.
4. the alternative to all this is a mobile broadband dongle. this will plug into your computer by USB, and will mean sharing your internet connection will be a bit harder (as per option 1, above), and be aware that the speed may be lower than ‘fixed’ broadband types (above)… especially depending on the mobile signal where you live. most people with laptops do not use mobile broadband dongles, though ‘dongle’ can refer to many things (such as memory sticks or bluetooth adaptors), as wi-fi and a fixed broadband connection tend to be more reliable, cheaper, easier to share and maintain, and have been around longer.
You can of course get Broadband from a service provider, using your phone connection
However for a laptop, it is best to be independent of a telephone supply, and use a dongle. This can either be under a contract, or Pay-as-you-Go.
Your laptop is probably wireless enabled – if not, a dongle will add this facility.
If you are lucky, you may have a local WiFi or other signal that you can receive. [If your laptop is not wireless enabled, you can purchase a card that will act as a receiver
[I personally use a Vodafone Mobile Internet Dongle which is Pay-as-you-Go. It needs top-ups of £15, and this lasts me for about a month, b ut it depends on the amount of downloading that you do
If you mean “mobile broadband” then in the UK at least you usually use a dongle. The dongle is a cut down mobile phone without a screen or keypad. It plugs into your USB or sometimes a PCMIA slot so only one person can use it at a time. They range in price from £10/month upwards.
For more ‘normal’ broadband, i.e. over your phone or cable system at home, you can use either a wired (ethernet) or wireless (wifi) connection to a suitable modem or router.
>if i bought broadband for my laptop how much is it?
The dongle itself doesn’t cost much. It’s usually the plan and contract itself that makes up the bulk of the cost.
And yes, it’s only you who can use it. But generally speaking whoever gets hold of your USB dongle could use it, if they know the password to it.
The USB 3G modem works like a mobile phone — essentially it receives data packets from the 3G network (the same network that cellphones use) and it feeds it to your laptop.
>How much is it?
The dongle itself isn’t worth much, in fact many telco’s will give it to you for free ( $ 0 ) when you sign up for a contract.
You will simply have to pay for the service, and for the data you download. The charges will depend on the nature of the plan — they might charge you a set amount each month, or they may only charge you for what you use (like a pre-paid mobile phone).
For instance, you could purchase a 3G broadband dongle and get offerred a plan, let’s say, $ 30 for 12 months. Each month you are allocated X amount of gigabytes as your download quota.
And if you go over the X amount of gigabytes per month, they slow your internet down and start charging you extra for exceeding your limit.
Depends on what type of broadband you’re using. Is it cable modem? Is it DSL? You don’t necessarily need a router. People usually get a router to allow more than one device to use the connection. Routers, at least home routers, are cheap. No, most people don’t use dongles any more.