GSM PCMCIA card lets you stay on-line...

[Olivier MJ Crepin-Leblond]

Hi everybody,

I usually write here for new Internet connectivity
in developing countries. Let me write this time
round about connectivity in developed countries.

Use of GSM for world-wide Internet access

I'm sure a lot of you are like me and travel quite a lot
around the world. The most important thing for us is to
be able to connect to base through the Internet wherever
we go.
I've come across so many problems when taking a laptop &
PCMCIA modem around: different plug style, different
dial-tone, problem finding a decent telephone line,
problem finding a place where to plug the laptop in etc.

Often, I ended up connecting through my hotel room,
thus paying some extortionate telephone rates that
hotels sometimes practise.

My way round this was to use, whenever possible, a
modem connected to a GSM phone, say around Europe. No
more plug problems, no more trouble finding a phone
line. The GSM International roaming agreements did the job.

Well, Compaq has come up with what I think is something
which will greatly promote the use of GSM mobile technology
to remote-connect using a laptop: they're come up with a
GSM PC Card Modem. It's basically a PCMCIA card with a
small antenna which is powered by the laptop itself
and can therefore emit a full 2W at 900MHz. It does
9.6kbit/s -> 38.4kbit/s , which is damn good for mobile
data links. You can also use it as a fax, of course.

The great thing is that it's so unobtrusive. No more
playing with cables, and connecting the mobile handset
to the laptop etc. etc. And I'm told the reception on it
is actually better tha most mobiles since the PCs power
supply is meatier than for a mobile handset.

If any of you guys are going around Europe or in areas
which have GSM mobile coverage and which have roaming
agreements with your mobile telephone operator, then
I'd say "check this out".

It's the Compaq SpeedPaq GSM PC Card modem and it works
with all laptops. If any of you know of other manufacturers
of such GSM cards, please give me a shout, thanks !

Cheers,

Olivier

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