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Thursday, January 16, 2003 |
[Update] Internet access via cel phoneI was finally able to get my PowerBook connected to the Internet using my Motorola P280 phone!
The problem was that my T-Mobile account wasn't provisioned for Internet access. I had the $2.99/mo 1MB T-Zones GPRS service, which lets you browse text on the phone's matchbook-sized screen, but you can only access T-Zone's built-in services (no Internet).
To access the Internet, you have to increase your T-Zones GPRS bucket to at least the $5/mo 1MB data plan, the $9.99/mo 5MB plan, or more. I chose to start at the $9.99 level.
I have the Smith Micro QuickLink Mobile cable/software bundle, but couldn't get that to work. To be fair, I haven't try it again since the Motorola cable worked.
(Hang in there - we're almost done!)
Motorola's data kit software is Windows only, so, I downloaded Ross Barkman's Motorola GPRS modem scripts, plugged in the cable that came with Motorola's kit, then set up a location in my Network Control panel as follows:
I then opened the Internet Connect application and clicked "Connect". Ten seconds later, I had an Internet connection.
The first time opening a web browser using this configuration, it automatically connected to T-Mobile's proxy server
Went to http://bandwidthplace.com/speedtest, where my download speed was clocked at 123.9k/sec. (twice as fast as the internal modem!!) You can test your connection speed using the "bandwidth test" badge on the right of this page.
This is pretty exciting - I can connect my laptop to the Internet at very usable speeds anywhere that T-Mobile has coverage for a minimal monthly charge on top of my $39.95 nationwide plan.
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