My cable access comes out to about 30 bucks a month plus the modem rental of 5.00 a month. Just have not gotten around to buying a modem..

If you already have a high speed connection into your house, adding a wireless connection won't cast any more than the initial hardware cost.

The way i do it is i have one cable modem hooked up to one computer, and have a wireless router runnin with that modem, and have wireless cards in all the other computers, it is great. Consintracy you still need the cable modem though. But we used to have 4 cable modems each at like 40 bucks a month, now we have 1 cable modem and a router, much smarter set up. No probelms and so so easy to do...best of luck..oh and im using optimum online with linksys wireless router

Justin

i like the visual troutly

A Cellular wireless card will allow you to have Internet connectivity anywhere that there is a clean digital cellphone signal. It is just a tad faster than a dialup modem but works anywhere there is a signal.

Home wireless runs at very fast speeds, similar to what hardwired Ethernets ran 5 or so years ago. If you have a broadband connection in your home (DSL or Cable Modem) then you can share it among all of your home computers, both hardwired or wireless, with a router. A combo router, wireless access point is a popular way to go, as they are under $100.

802.11a is 5.2 Ghz, and doesn't interfere with home appliances or home wireless telephones, but it doesn't penetrate walls very well. It is very fast (up to 54MBPS), and if you have a small area to cover, or do not have many walls it must penetrate, it is very inexpensive since it is falling out of favor.

802.11b, and 802.11g are both 2.4 GHz, the same frequency of many home wireless phones and microwave ovens. It does penetrate walls better and hasa better range than 802.11a.

Home wireless networking does require a cable modem or DSL modem to connect to the Internet.

Cellular Data plans do NOT require anything other than a subscription and the connectivity card (available as a rental from many providers). It is not much faster than a dialup though.

I think a lot of people confuse the two different wireless options.

I bought a wireless card and router for my laptop 9 months ago. After installing the card I was very surprised to find that I had a full strong signal without even taking the router out of the box. After a month of free wireless cable access, I took the router back for a refund and canceled my cable ISP.
Apparently many people who buy these setups don't bother pass-wording or putting up a firewall, and since then I can travel just about anywhere and there's a good chance I'll get an open signal.
Spoke to a couple of friends and they've had similar experiences.
So if you do buy the full setup, make sure you get the firewall up and running, cause if I wanted to I could access these folks drives on thier networks.

Comcast Hi speed internet....Linksys router.......HP laptop with integral wireless. Any where in the house!! Haven't gone outside yet...to damn cold!!

Pic shows home PC

I use the US Robotic 802.11g turbo router 100Mbps and a stronger signal for better range. Desktop is wired direct through cat 5 laptop is wireless at 100Mbps through out house and yard.

I have cable modem and use the SMC7004ABR wired router. It has a built in print server so that all PCs connected to router can use printer without other PCs being turned on. This router was ~$60 a year or two ago. SMC had the best rated built-in firewall when I bought it.

The only thing I don't like about it is the CAT5 cables connect on the front.

I went wireless a year ago. Nothing like sitting in the tub and being on OSO!