[QUOTE=dogle;11965073]
Originally Posted by
Grayfly
... She has health and mobility issues ....
There is very poor/non-existent phone signal in her flat so she can’t use a phone or connect laptop to essential services like NHS and banking etc. ....
Grayfly,
As nobody has yet stressed the point, it is said that the great invention of one Mr. Marconi was “The Elevated Electrode”.
For quite some years my internet has come, to my great satisfaction, via a USB ‘dongle’ connecting to one or other of the cellphone networks .... linked to my PC or laptop via a longish USB cable. Back in the day when the local signal strength was bad, I did some experimenting and found I could get a quite adequate signal strength by siting it by a strategic window .... and if I ever needed better, I was astounded by the increase in signal signal strength if I shinned up a ladder to raise it a couple of metres [ Fourier Envelope, anyone? ] .... but actually never needed to do that in practice.
I prefer the USB dongle to portable ‘MiFi’ routers both for security and to avoid the need for a separate power supply for the latter. Although ‘straight’ USB dongles are in short supply now, I see that there are loads of dirt cheap Chinese cellular + WiFi-enabled USB dongles available from the Usual Places.
Speed has never been a problem for me - I have neither the time nor the inclination to download entertainment like data-hungry video material ... after all, I have PPRune! ... and even heavy software downloads are quick now that we have a 4G service.
If as I fear your unfortunate friend may find herself now in somewhat diminished circumstances, here is the cherry on top of the icing on the cake .....
I simply buy a preloaded data SIM for the dongle to cover me for a year or more ..
- no contract
- no registration ... anonymity
- no monthy expiry of entitlement
- no goddam Direct Debits
- no hassle, I just fit a new data SIM when the year is up, and it just works.
- best of all, all of my internet use is costing me less than £5/month, with much to spare!
Call me Ebernezer, but that adds to my aformentioned satisfaction - I feel so sorry for all those less tech-savvy folks with limited internet use, especially the elderly, who are inveigeled into paying far, far more for a connection than ever is needed.
[PM me if you need any tech gen].
The only problem with a USB dongle is that it goes in the side of your laptop /back of your desktop, and where I'm sitting there is no coverage. The MiFi needs to be clipped to the curtains on the window facing the cell site. 4G coverage in Lincolnshire is poor and 5G is non-existent. So your solution may work in your location, but not in everyone's. I'd be interested to know how much data you get for £ 5 a month. I pay £ 9.95 for 70 GB, which in practice I never use. I could downgrade to £ 7.95 and 30 GB, which means I might run out some months, but for two quid a month I'd rather have the knowledge that I will never run out.