Quick help needed... Laptop modem questions (1 Viewer)

[Clinton McClure]

After being called up for active duty for almost 3 months, my dad has finally arrived in Iraq and has been there for about 3 weeks now. I get to talk to him about once a week when he calls. A couple of the guys in his outfit have laptops and they correspond frequently with their loved ones via e-mail. My mom is considering getting a laptop and shipping it to him but we do not know how the wireless modem thing works.

I'm guessing he will write his e-mails but not be able to send them until he is connected to a landline. What kind of dial-up access do people need in order to do this? Do local ISPs offer dial-ups like this for people who travel? (I can't believe our local ISP would offer a dial-up number for people in Iraq.) I know you guys here know more about this stuff than Carter has liver pills, so can anyone provide some insight as to how the whole thing works?

Thanks in advance.

 

[Jeff Savage]

This all depends on the country that you are in and what the service supports. In general they are probably using either a WI-FI (802.11b) device or a cell phone that supports data communication. Since there are such a wide range of products and services my suggestion would be for your Dad to ask someone who has a working configuration what equipment they are using and then try and duplicate it.

Laters,
Jeff

 

[Clinton McClure]

Thanks Jeff! I'll pass that along when I talk to him (hopefully this weekend).

 

[Jeff Savage]

Cool you can post his answers here and myself and others can help you figure out what to buy him. I have a bunch of experience with connecting overseas so it should be easy to figure out.

Jeff