Laptops are getting lighter and work is going mobile. Your neighborhood Starbucks some mornings can look more like call center than a coffee shop.
Get ready for an explosion of roving Internet users. Wireless Internet service is rapidly spreading in popularity and dropping in price in order to compete with its location-specific predecessor, known as Wi-Fi. The big difference is range. Wherever your cell phone works, you can log on with a wireless Internet service.
In this guide to wireless Internet access:
1. Major wireless Internet providers
2. Regional and rural wireless Internet access
3. Handheld devices that use wireless Internet service
4. What's coming from wireless Internet service providers
Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done
Understanding wireless Internet service basics
Wireless Internet access is, in this case, not the same as seeing a Web page or e-mail on your phone. Instead, wireless Internet here means a true broadband connection to a laptop or desktop computer via radio or cellular signals.
I recommend: Why bother? Well, a couple of years ago, wireless Internet was slow and trouble to use. Now, thanks to technological advances, getting on the Web from literally anywhere in cellular range really works. Naturally, big cellular companies are piling on, including Verizon, Sprint-Nextel, Cingular (now AT&T), and T-Mobile. See more Internet service providers at Business.com.
Wireless Internet got its start as an alternative for rural users
Since the phone companies weren't in a hurry to build out DSL and cable was slow off the market to compete, a lot of smaller, regional wireless Internet providers spring up in the Midwest and Western states. You might get a better deal on rates if you compare.
I recommend: Some key vendors of wireless Internet access include MobilePro, Clearwire, Speednet, Plateau Meganet, Midwest Wireless, Mesa Networks, Commspeed, Ama Techtel, Prairie Inet, and Camvera. See a directory of wireless internet service providers at Business.com.
Wireless Internet access is not limited to laptops
While nothing can really beat the robustness of a nice strong laptop for most office use, the fact that wireless Internet access is being realized over cellular networks has given new life to the moribund handheld computer, or PDA, category.
I recommend: You can easily do much of your wireless Internet activities like e-mail and basic Web browsing using devices from Blackberry or a smartphone from Motorola, Samsung, Nokia and Sony Ericsson device.
What wireless Internet providers will do next
Think of wireless Internet service in stages: Wi-Fi connected us in so-called hotspots like hotel lobbies, then wireless Internet service reached out through cellular. Next up is Wi-Max, a Wi-Fi standard that can reach for miles and through natural obstacles like buildings.
I recommend: It's in development, but Wi-Max is already being rolled out in some key markets by wireless Internet providers. Laptops will have to go through re-engineering, too, but take full advantage, but it won't take long. Follow developments at the Wi-Max Forum.
Tips & Tactics
Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide
* If you expect to use your laptop to surf the Web using a wireless Internet provider, you will first need a PC card, which fits into a side slot on most laptops and picks up the cellular signal. Your wireless Internet service provider should sell this to you cheaply.
* "Broadband" is a slippery concept, but your wireless Internet service connection speeds should be many times over the dial-up but might slightly lag compared to your office connection.
* Pricing for wireless Internet service has been higher than household DSL or cable, but look for prices to drop once businesses accounts have been served and wireless Internet providers have no one left to sell to but home users.
