10 ways to stay connected on the road

by Deb Shinder | Apr 18, 2006 7:00:00 AM

Tags: Wireless LANs, WIRELESS, Telecom & Utilities, Telephony, Deb Shinder, Wi-Fi, phone, VoIP, cell phone

Takeaway: Whether you need to catch up on a little work while you're on vacation or you routinely require mobile connectivity for your job, it's a good idea to know what technologies are available to help you stay in touch. Here's a look at some of your best choices.

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We live in a very mobile society, and that may be especially true for those of us in the tech industry. Seems we're always hoping on a plane or spending the day across town at a remote office. Even when we're on vacation, we're usually working or at least on call. The trick is to stay connected, no matter where we are. Luckily, today's technologies can keep you in touch almost anywhere.

#1: VOIP: You can take it with you

More and more people are dropping their landlines and moving to Voice over IP (VoIP) services like Lingo, Vonage, SunRocket, and others for their home telephone service. With unlimited calling plans (including domestic long distance and some international calling) for under $25/month, it can save you a lot of money if you already have a broadband Internet connection. Another benefit of VoIP is that you can actually take the VoIP box with you when you travel and plug it into a broadband connection at your hotel or other location. You can get phone calls at your home number anywhere you are, without forwarding, and make calls without paying high long distance rates charged by hotels or roaming fees sometimes charged by cell phone companies.

#2: The ubiquitous mobile phone

Almost everyone has a mobile phone these days, and as coverage areas expand, you can stay in touch via cell phone nearly anywhere in the country. Although technologies for cellular communications vary from country to country, you can now get tri-mode phones that will operate with different technologies and on different frequencies to allow you to use them internationally.

Another alternative, albeit an expensive one, that will give you coverage all over the world is the satellite phone. Available from companies such as Globalstar and Iridium, satphones cost $1,000 or more. They can also be rented on a weekly or monthly basis. Airtime typically costs around a dollar per minute or more.

#3: Wi-Fi enabled laptops

With 802.11 wireless hotspots becoming widespread and most new laptop and notebook computers coming with built in Wi-Fi network adapters, you can connect to the Internet in many places for a fee or, in some cases, at no charge. Wi-Fi networks are available at airports, coffee shops, restaurants, and hotels. Many municipalities are also getting into the act, setting up taxpayer-funded or for-fee hot spots in city parks and libraries and even covering the entire city. This makes it easy to get your e-mail, browse the Web, and connect back to your company or home network when you're on the road.

#4: Wi-Fi enabled handheld computers/PDAs

Don't want to lug a laptop around with you? Even with today's tiny portables (such as the Sony Vaio TX series, which weighs only 2.75 lbs.), sometimes you need to travel lighter. Many handheld computers (Pocket PCs and Palm OS models) now come with built in wi-fi capabilities, too. And if yours doesn't, you can probably add it via a Wi-Fi CF or SDIO card for under $100. Some of these combine the wireless I/O functionality with extra flash memory storage so you don't have to trade off one for the other.

#5: Pocket PC and smart phones with high speed Internet connectivity

Although they're becoming available in more and more places, sometimes a Wi-Fi network is nowhere to be found. If you want to be able to check your e-mail or browse the Web in locations where there are no 802.11 hotspots, you can buy a Pocket PC/Windows Mobile phone or a smart phone running another operating system, such as Symbion, and contract with your cell phone provider to use its high speed data network. For example, Verizon offers Internet connectivity on your phone via their EV-DO network at 400 to 700 Kbps in most major cities, and you can access a lower speed data network (144 Kbps) in other locations. Cingular, Sprint and T-mobile offer similar services, some using different technologies. Unlimited data plans run about $30/month and up, in addition to your cell phone voice package.

#6: Cellular WAN service for your laptop

If you don't like working with the small screen and keyboard of a phone, most cellular providers also offer high speed WAN service for your laptop. You'll need to get the provider's PCMCIA card. Some laptops even come with the cards built in; for example, Sony's VAIO TX computers come with the Cingular chip already installed so you can connect to its EDGE network (70 to 135 Kbps) or, in major metropolitan areas, its higher speed 3G WAN (400-700 Kbps) without installing additional hardware.

Most providers charge about the same for this service as for connecting to their broadband services with your phone (around $50/month for unlimited access).

#7: Mobile satellite Internet for the man (or woman) who has everything

If you're on the road constantly and pretty much live in your vehicle (truck drivers, RV owners, roving reporters), and if you have plenty of money to spend, you can get a vehicle-mounted satellite dish that will let you access the Internet wherever you have a clear view of the sky. As an added bonus, most mobile satellite providers can also give you satellite TV in your vehicle. These are two-way satellite systems (upstream and downstream) that suffer the same drawbacks as fixed satellite (such as latency that makes it unsuitable for some applications, like real-time gaming). MotoSAT Datastorm is one of the most popular products in this category.

Monthly fees for mobile satellite service range from around $99/month to thousands per month, depending on upload/download speeds, data transfer limits, and other features, such as static IP addresses and additional e-mail accounts.

#8: Public computers and Internet cafes

What if you need to use the Internet only occasionally when you're on the road and don't want to pay high fees for cellular Internet services or even higher ones for satellite Internet? What if you don't even have a laptop to take with you? In that case, you may be able to do what you need to do by using an Internet-connected computer available to the public.

Many public libraries now provide Internet-connected computers, and for an hourly or daily fee, you can access your e-mail or surf the Web in an Internet cafe. Many of these establishments also provide live entertainment, bars, and/or restaurant service. They usually have printers and scanners available and may support videoconferencing. A number of databases are available on the Web to help you locate one, such as www.netcafes.com.

#9: Staying connected in the air

A few airlines have begun offering Internet services on the plane. In May 2004, Lufthansa became the first commercial airline to offer high speed Internet access, using a satellite connection provided by Boeing's Connexion. In July 2005, the FAA approved United Airlines' request to install Verizon Internet access equipment in some of its 757s to be used on domestic flights. The service is expected to be available sometime in 2006 and cost around $29.95 for the entire trip or $9.95 for a half hour.

In-flight Internet service uses a combination of satellite and Wi-Fi. The satellite service provides the Internet connection to the plane and it's distributed throughout the plane to the passengers over a Wi-Fi link.

#10: Connecting to resources via VPN and remote control software

Of course, getting connected to the Internet while you're on the road (or in the air) may be only half the battle. To get your work done, you may need to access resources on your company's network or your home computer. Fortunately, there are a number of ways to do that.

You can establish a virtual private networking (VPN) connection to your company or home network if you have a valid account and there is a VPN server or gateway set up to receive your connection. If you run Window XP on your home computer, you can use its Remote Desktop service to see the desktop and run the applications installed on the home system. Or you can use a third-party program such as PCAnywhere installed on the home/office and laptop systems. Another option is to use a Web-based service such as GoToMyPC to connect to your home or office computer. All of these will require you to set up the home or office computer beforehand.

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