What's All This About "Internet Everywhere"?

Just check with your service provider. They can tell you what coverage they have in Europe and if your phone you have will work in the areas you will be going.

As to using the smart phone as a "hotspot" to connect your computer to the net. It works pretty good as long as you have 3G/4G service. If you have 1x, anything other than text like email forget it. I have see a few times when the cell system gets busy you can get dropped. You just reconnect and go on.

"Hotspot" is a WiFi enabled modem. Some are phones some are stand alone devices. Most smartphones are capable depending on the service provider and plan. No need to carry an extra cable. This is not the same as using the smartphone on a WiFi network to connect to the web. Instead through the phone carrier and using either your data plan or air time.

There is some speed differences Ive seen, usually just a little slower than cable but no by much. My usage is 3G and Ive been wireless for three plus years. I have used some free/unsecured WiFi sites from time to time. Nothing importance or unsecured through those connections. As a few people will setup "Open WiFi" to scan to get passwords or account information or credit card info from unsuppecting people who connect to them. Or to infect there computers.

Some plans you may have to pay extra to use your phone as a hotspot or tether to your computer. Even if you use your smartphone online. Something about connective times ....

I never could get a answer out of the rep. So far i have not incurred any more charges for using my phone as a hotspot. Ive stayed in my data usage plan. Though I have with another company exceeded my data usage a time or two. That hurt the wallet when i did. So I got a larger data plan and I monitor my usage with and app. to warn when high usage will cause me to exceed my plan before the month allowance is up. Then i plan my usage.

As long as you have the correct cell coverage and signal and service then you can be on the internet. If no cell coverage too bad. I guess you could get a sat link if you wanted to be where there no cell coverage at all. But just to be "that connected" you may need to get help.

Since I'm starting from scratch here--new 4G smartphone, new provider--which one works best in Europe? Which one has the best data plan? Is anybody unlimited?

I need to be online about 2-3 hours each day, and will download about 100MB a day--maybe more.

I bought an iphone 4 before going to Ireland and England this past summer. AT&T was my service provider. I signed up for their maximum plan for international internet access, and was glad I did. I did not have a laptop with me -- I wasn't trying to use excel or any other program that needs a laptop - so I used the iphone for email, keeping up with news, getting maps and directions (the NAV app worked great), locating the B&Bs, restaurants, etc., and calling, taking photos, and emailing the photos.

Be sure you sign up for the international data plan when you get the phone, otherwise they try to make you wait 6 months before you can add it. I had to go to an AT&T store to add it and they had to override the normal procedure to let me add the international data plan.

Keep in mind that there are free wifi hot spots, and if you use them the MB you download don't count against your data plan. Check with your hotels, look for pubs and cafes (even McDonalds) to see where you can get free wifi to avoid charges to your hotel bill and to your phone bill. I only had to pay for wifi once in the 2 weeks I was there. There were times wifi was not available, and within those 2 weeks I used most of the allotted MB of download of the data plan.

Make sure to take a car charger and a wall-type charger that will work to keep your phone and laptop charged up. The car chargers use the same 12 volt cigarette-lighter type plug used in the US, so I took the same one I use in my car at home. I also took a 12V-to-120VAC inverter that plugged into the car's 12V socket, to keep my DSLR camera battery charged and to keep my shaver charged.

If you have AT&T, and if you access an AT&T hotspot, you may have the option of logging in using your AT&T account info and be on a more secure connection. My HTC tells me automatically when there is an AT&T hotspot available and connects automatically.

By the way, you could just get a wifi dongle for your laptop and use wifi directly without your phone, if you go to an internet cafe or if the hotel offers wifi.

A lot of Cafes have free Wifi nowadays. It is unsecured networks and I would not do banking on it, but otherwise you just need a Wifi ready device (and why not a smartphone).

10 Euro an hour sounds too much but I am pretty sure if you get the wrong contract on your 4G you might even pay more!

Just the other day a guy at work spend 25.000 dollar with data roaming in an Asian country. Go figure. The rates might be expensive when you use your cell phone provider.

I would also check if you would be better off using a local contract. For this it is best to have a dual SIM mobile phone. Not sure whats on the market. This way you can still use your home number and have a smart option for cheap calls in the country you are in. To many options there and you have to shop around.

Check out some Backpacker homepages. These young folks never have money but thats why they always know about the best rates.

Good luck and have a fantastic trip.

IS

You could buy a SIM dongle for the laptop - from £3/ 0.25Gb over a month, no lock-in. See here for comparisons in UK. By now most hotels and B&Bs have free internet - and have password protection on the guest account.

I guess I don't understand how the dongle works.

Is it only in the UK?

Do I need cellphone service, too?

Where is the dongle getting its Internet signal?

Do such dongles work the same in other places, like Spain and Portugal? Do I have to buy one for each country?

When I visited Europe before and used the hotel wireless, my laptop worked fine--and I didn't need a dongle or a SIM card. Does this mean things have changed?

It's beginning to look like I am far behind in wireless internet technology.

A 3G dongle works like a mobile phone, but only for data. It contains a fixed SIM for the network, and can be topped up the same way as a PAYG phone, so no cellphone required. I used one for work when the phone data was 250Mb/month. For around £10/Gb (and 30 days for first use), it was cheaper than adding extra data to the phone contract. As you are not tied into a contract, the dongle can be left with no connection when you are not needing it an then topped up when necessary. The only issue might be that the network provider may disable the dongle if not used for more than 6 months.

Try here for Euro-wide coverage.

Free Wi-Fi is pretty much the norm in most of europe these days. Perversley it's only the 'expensive' hotels that charge for access. Just demand it before you book and even if it is normally charged for you can usually get it for free.

As previously said there are plenty of free wi-fi hotspots around, most bars and cafes, every Mcdonalds etc etc.

I use my Samsung Galaxy note as a hotspot all over the world, either with a cable connection (just the normal USB charge/sync cable) of a direct wifi connectin between the phone and laptop.

Don't even bother trying to get an international data roaming plan, it's either extortionate or the limits are so low its not worth having. Just buy a local pay as you go sim and get a good data allowance on it. I'm from the UK and am in Malaysia (not europe) and am on my laptop connected to my phone with a local SIM card and I am paying 7 ringit ($2.30) every 10 days for unlimited 3G access.

Local pay as you go SIMs are cheap and make for cheaper calls and SMS too. Just make sure your phone is unlocked before you leave.

HeHound says:

>Free Wi-Fi is pretty much the norm in most of europe these days. Perversley it's only the 'expensive' hotels that charge for access.

I have to agree.

I've learned the difference between an ultra-expensive New York City hotel and a cheap Motel 6 or Holiday Inn is that in a Holiday Inn the wireless is free, and it actually works. Looks like it may be that way in Yurp, too.

One thing, at some hotels they offer free wireless, but high speed wireless is an upgrade.

I have never needed to upgrade to high speed internet, but my only concern on the free wireless is security.

Just purchase a wifi card their that you can get up to 5 g of per month would be simpler than trying to pig back. I did this in Australia a few months ago. This way you can use your phone or lap top to surf the web.

A little more specifics of where in Europe you want to use it will give you a better answer. When you extend your "antenna" with a plug in type extender, the internet might fall out the sky in cities and from unsecured routers. Personally I tried a few spots in Belgium and could even watch my CCTV.

4G what 4G?
Im in Europe, the UK, theres all talk about having 4G, but its not there yet.

I keep getting updates on a few phones I have stating I have 4G coverage, but when checked its only 3G.
Inpractice the 4G service will take a few years to be come common place here.
Its fairly ponitless talking about 3G 4G till its inplace.

As others have said, free wifi is available, book a deceint hotel and youll have it for free, use free hotspots, MD or if you dont like that speak to your mobile provider or search on line and find the best deal.

Vitessess: Yes, I know.

There really is no 4G yet, but they sell phones claiming to be 4G. So when I say I want a 4G phone it just means I want one of the latest smartphones.

In the UK 4G is available in just a few major cities from just one provider at present. A similar situation pertains across the European mainland. Quite apart from that uselessness, a 4G phone bought in the USA works on a different frequency band from the European bands. I suggest you don't rush to buy another phone just yet.

It just gets weirder and weirder...

Thanks for the tip.

I'm not an expert on any of this, but my IT guy pointed me to Pdanet. It is a free app, $16 paid version if you want to access secure sites (https for shopping etc.), that you install on your phone and laptop. I don't have a data plan on my Droid, and as far as I can tell, it just treats my online connection like a regular phone call. The website is http://junefabrics.com/android/. It loaded easily. With my phone hooked up via USB port, it just installed on both the laptop and phone when I downloaded onto my laptop and ran it. Have a look and see if it might work for you.

jhammond

Love CR4--you folks are so SMART!

Here's what i've learned so far:

1.There apparently are Mobile Internet services worldwide (for data--not for making phone calls). To tap into one, I need a dongle for the specific country. The dongle plugs into my laptop. In the UK, this costs about $20-25 per month for 1-10 GB total data for the month. I don't know about dongles anywhere else in Europe yet.

2. If I want to use a smart phone, then I need a SIM card for the country, and I have to have an international data plan from my US-based cellphone provider. The cellphone connects to the Internet, and then connects to my laptop via Bluetooth or a cable. I can buy a SIM card when I get to the country. (Where do you buy SIM cards? Do they have data plans, too?)

3. Free wi-fi service is available at some hotels, McDonalds, restaurants and bars, but it's not secured. And I don't need a SIM card to access free wireless (or do I?)

Our first trip to Yurp may be bumming around Spain and Portugal for 30 days. I'm taking the laptop because I have a job that requires me to be on the computer 3-4 hours a day processing information--about 100MB a day.

If I buy a 1 GB dongle and a SIM card and look for free wi-fi, I should be able to find Internet service just about anywhere, right? And not run out of capacity on the data plans?

Later trips may last longer than 30 days, but we thought we'd try our first European tour for just 30 days to see how it works out.

Kindly correct any of the above assumptions.

1. Mobile services can be either calls, data, or both. PAYG data can be added to at any time.

2. Assuming your phone is unlocked, buying a SIM in any country uses that network, so does not require international data plan from your current provider. For international calls, try Skype as that uses VOIP computer to computer, or google and other email providers have their own versions. These are free with data access. For a short period, a Pay-as-you-go SIM will be best - most contract options lock you in to pay for 12 - 18 months. SIMs can be purchased at many supermarkets & mobile phone shops, as can top-ups. Card machines in the UK also allow PAYG top-ups (I have not tried anywhere else in Europe).

Nearly all laptops have Wifi, which will pick up available networks without charge or need of a SIM.

What's a locked or unlocked phone?

When a phone is bought on a contract, it is usually locked to that provider for the term of the contract. Some companies will allow it to be unlocked for use outwith the contract zone, others require use of their partner in another zone. Many small shops can unlock phones quickly and cheaply, allowing any other SIM to be used. Check your phone here.

Dang, I keep learning new twists to this every minute, it seems. I had no idea they did that locking business.

Seems like there are fabulous ways to get inexpensive worldwide Internet service, but you have to be very careful in how you do it. We have RULES!

Thanks!