Global Internet access

[Redd]

hello.

ive been reading expedition forums for a year or two now, and it always
flustered me, the question, how do they afford that? how are they
funding that? how can they do that, and so on and so forth.

i guess a lot of the answer is savings.

anyways, i just started a job
for a software company as an intern. and guess what, they operate from
home, over the internet. if i can keep the job, then a year down the
road i plan on taking off in my iveco daily 4x4 soon to be camper.
so alls i need is the internet, and then i can work from anywhere,
everywhere.

but i do need the internet, its a must. so my question is; are there
any companys that offer a global internet service over 3g? currently
im using my andriod phone as a wireless hotspot for my laptop, but, i
know full sure il be switched on to aqnother carrier as soon as i
leave this country (Ireland).

are there any other ways to achieve global internet coverage?

thanks for reading,

 

[haven]

Services based on GSM voice and GPRS data are available in more than 200 countries. The trick is entering into a contract with a different cell phone provider each time you cross the border into a new country. It's not hard to figure out, and not too expensive. But it takes time and some research.

There are several companies that have done the legwork for you, and offer a "global" contract that uses one SIM in a large number of countries. Examples include iphonetrip.com, xcomglobal.com, and telestial.com.

One thing you will need is a GSM phone that is not "locked" to a particular carrier. Phones sold in USA are typically configured to work only with one carrier. "Unlocked" phones or mobile hotspots generally cost more, but that's because they can be used with any carrier using the same radio frequencies that the phone's radio uses.

Also be aware that here in USA we're used to unmetered WiFi through our cable TV company or similar. We don't think twice about data usage in the hundreds of gigabytes per month. Your pattern of use of the Internet via a cell phone will have to be much more limited (maybe 10GB a month, to keep it affordable), regardless of what country you're working from. The carriers advertise unlimited data use, but most have a policy to slow down data speed once you pass a certain threshold of data use for the month.

 

[Redd]

fab! thats great news, thankyou.

I cant fathom how you'd use hundreds of gigs a month... maybe streaming netflix or similar I suppose. I'd need approx 10, 15 gigs at a push,
under 10 normally I'd say.

ill checkout those sites )

 

[Redd]

okay this isnt going well.

the first company, iphone trip want $54 to post a sim card to Ireland in 5 days...

the cheapest of theyre plans, 50mb a day , is approx 120 euros a month.

I could probably exist in 50mb a day. no i couldnt actually.

rubbish.

the next company, want approx 10 euros a day. so 280 euros a month.

http://www.xcomglobal.com/plans/


the next company, telestial, sound nice on theyre webpage, but want 39c per megabyte, pay as you go. 39c US = 30c Euro at the time of writing.

so one gigabyte is 300 euros

flash memory is approx 1 euro per gb.

the local networks here rip us off, at approx 2 euros per gb on the 3g networks. and these guys want 300 euros per gig.

its just not cricket

 

[richjeeps]

Try INMARSAT BEGAN. It's not cell based but might be a better approach for you

 

[mike r]

i use O2 in uk or ireland when i am there
I have a unlocked phone and use the free sim that you can get in uk
http://www.o2online.ie/o2/shop/plans/sim.php