How to Use an Aircard to Make Any Place a Hot Spot

Wireless technology now allows connection to the internet from anywhere within reach of a cell tower. An aircard makes this possible. These handy little devices are also referred to as connect cards and wireless broadband cards.

Whatever you call them, they make surfing the net while traveling much easier, because if your in a place with cell phone reception, you can most likely connect your computer to the world wide web, get email, and transfer files.

Just plug an aircard into the USB port or card slot on your laptop and you’re good to go. You’ll be surfing the internet wirelessly at high speeds.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

1. Decide if the price is right for you. Wireless broadband service through an aircard will cost you about $60.00 per month. This is the service fee you’ll be paying to the wireless company that provides your connection.

2. Find a provider. Ask around and find out which cell phone company has the best 3G signal strength in your area or in the areas where you travel. If you already have cell service and you’re pleased with the service, you may want to use the same company for your broadband aircard and your phone. This will make paying bills more efficient.
   
   All the big companies (Alltel, Verizon, TMobile, etc.) provide aircard service. At AT&T they call their products connect cards instead of broadband cards or aircards.

3. Connect the aircard to your computer. After you buy your broadband card and set up your data service with the company of your choice, set up your laptop or desktop computer to work with the new 3G device. Install any software needed for the aircard. This will either be on a CD or stored in the memory on the device. Follow the directions provided. You’ll also need to plug the broadband device into either a USB port or a card slot.

4. Connect to the internet. You are now ready to use your aircard to surf the web from nearly anywhere, even while riding down the highway in a car. You no longer have to find restaurants or hotels that provide wifi access, you can connect from anyplace.

Tips & Warnings

• Get your aircard for free. Most companies will provide your aircard for no cost when you sign a one or two year contract.
• Some companies limit your traffic to a certain number of megabytes and charge on a per megabyte basis if you exceed your data transfer limit. I use an aircard from Alltel. At the time I purchased it, Alltel did not have a data transfer limit for their 3G broadband service.

Resources

• This site has a lot of information about aircards.

[Aprilshowers]

on 10/28/2009 This is pretty neat! Great article and 5 stars!

[gotchacovered]

on 8/24/2009 My friend was looking for a company to go with as she travels lots, I will forward this article to her thanks.

[Mindee94]

on 7/7/2009 Actually was just discussing aircards with a friend of mine. Wasn't quite sure what it was all about. This information cleared up my confusion! Thanks! Mindee

[edwarde]

on 7/7/2009 I would love to have an aircard for traveling.