Up until early 2000, it was impossible for home users to access the Internet without a telephone line. Unless you could afford a T1 connection, your only choice for Internet access was using a modem connected via your telephone line. Fortunately, with the advent of broadband and advances in cell phone technology, you no longer need a land line to connect to the Internet.
There are a few different options available if you want broadband without a phone line either because it costs an extra fee per month (which is expensive) or because you live somewhere that doesn’t receive any or a decent speed of broadband connection.
One of the options to get broadband without phone line is by choosing virgin media. Virgin Media are a fibre broadband company and don’t use BT’s copper network to deliver their services. Another company that uses fiber broadband is Verizon FiOS. Verizon FiOS was launched in 2005 and works through fiber-optic lines instead of cable lines. Verizon claims to offer higher speeds than their biggest competitors.
Installation of the fiber-optic infrastructure necessary for FiOS service is constantly being expanded to new areas, but it is not yet as widely available as cable. Customers interested in FiOS service should contact Verizon to see if it is available. Both services provide Internet connection without the use of a land line. However, with both companies, the packages start with an attractively low introductory rate that increases after a certain period. If you have no need, or desire, for a land line then the bundles will ultimately end up costing more money in the long run.
The second option of broadband without a phone line is mobile broadband. Mobile broadband is supplied by the mobile phone networks and gives you the freedom to use the Internet wherever you have a mobile phone signal. Recent advances in cellular technology, often referred to as a 3G network connection, make it possible for you to not only connect to the Internet without a land line, but connect to a cellular network anywhere you can get cell phone service.
The other devices are either a PC card, or more commonly a USB modem, that you plug into your computer and “dial” into the 3G network. There are a variety of contract and prepaid options available from service providers such as Verizon, Cricket, AT&T, T-Mobile and many others.
The technology with mobile broadband is always increasing and coverage is improving to offer more reliable network coverage and faster speeds. Broadband speeds from mobile broadband don’t tend to be as fast as standard wired broadband that you receive direct to your house. As mobile broadband is still relatively new the deals on offer are continuing to improve as competition for customers’ increases. Compared to wired broadband you don’t tend to get as fast speeds or as much data transfer for your money.
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