Need help accessing internet

[Farmer]

Hi. I am currently living in the Cleveland area due to summer work, and my current location does not have internet access.

Not having internet access is not the best description. My laptop can pick up many (18 or so) wireless signals, all of which are private, WEP or WPA-encrypted, and hence need keys. There is a free, public internet service in the Cleveland area called OneCommunity, which I have tried to use with little success: sometimes I can detect the signal, and it's strong, but at other times, sometimes even the next instant, I can't see the signal at all. If by luck I can connect, the displayed connection speed is also highly variable, ranging from a full 54Mbps to 1Mbps, again seemingly randomly.

Like I said previously, there are many other wireless signals I can detect, most of them with SSIDs "2WIREXXX" where XXX are three integers.

I'm wondering if there is somebody I can call to arrange temporary access to these "2WIRE" routers, for my duration here? Or are these private routers, and I have to go ask my neighbors if they are willing to share internet access? Other than leeching off these wireless networks, are there any other temporary internet access methods?

I have checked that both Roadrunner cable and AT&T DSL is available at my temporary address. DSL is $35/mth short term (i.e., w/o long-term attachment) advertised on their site, which I would be willing to pay, but I don't know if installation is extra, etc.

Anyway, I'm just wondering if anyone has had this problem before and found a solution. Any advice would be helpful.

Thanks

 

[TheKub]

Originally posted by: Farmer
I'm wondering if there is somebody I can call to arrange temporary access to these "2WIRE" routers, for my duration here? Or are these private routers, and I have to go ask my neighbors if they are willing to share internet access?

Yes, these are private routers.

Cheapest, ask your neighbors (maybe offer them a couple $$ month).

If you are even remotely literate and the place you are staying already has land line phone service installed (read very very...very likely) you can install DSL yourself. Basicly plug in the modem\router and some filters (if needed) pop a CD into your pc and follow a wizard.

Another option is the USB data cards, basically its a cell phone modem used to connect to the internet. I don?t know about their availability with out a 1year contract or the cost but with this option you do have internet access pretty much anywhere (anywhere there is a cell signal that is).

 

[Farmer]

Thanks for your reply, I guess I'm going to ask my new neighbors tonight. I hope they understand my situation. To give more detail than necessary, I was "forced" to move here unexpectedly due to a safety concern in the other location I was living. Otherwise, high speed internet access would be amongst the few things I would absolutely require in temporary living.

As for DSL, there is a landline, DSL service is available, and I'm not worried about the installation process, per se. My concern is I do not want to have to pay for that DSL modem just to use it for 3 weeks, or wait for a rebate, etc. I'll give AT&T a call and see if the modem rent is included in the monthly fee. If it is, and my neighbors are not willing to take my money for a chunk of their bandwidth, I'd happily install it temporarily if the owner allows.

Mobile broadband is something I'd like to avoid, as it is costly and the speed is terrible.

 

[JackMDS]

You can try getting a 15dbi uni-directional Antenna, it might provide more countable signal of the public connection.

 

[Farmer]

Originally posted by: JackMDS
You can try getting a 15dbi uni-directional Antenna, it might provide more countable signal of the public connection.

Just checked, they aren't available in that location. I think the local phone service provider, and hence the DSL provider, is AT&T.