Adventures in Dial-Up Networking

Mobile data cards are all the rage today. It's hard not to see someone on a train or in an airport, merrily typing away on his or her notebook, connected via a data card. These wireless modems, which are available in PC Card, ExpressCard, and USB form factors, are available from all of the major carriers and are usually inexpensive to acquire. Some notebooks even have wireless WAN technology built in - although you need to make sure that your notebook comes with a card compatible with your chosen carrier.

Monthly service, however, is another matter. You'll end up paying for two data plans, assuming you have one on your handheld. I was hoping, based on discussions with senior Verizon Wireless managers at this year's Consumer Electronics Show, that we'd have a "family share" kind of plan for data by now. This didn't happen, unfortunately, so multiple data plans are the obvious, if really pricy, solution.

On the other hand, Bluetooth has had a somewhat-inaccurately-named "dial-up networking" profile for years. This allows a Bluetooth-equipped device with a wide-area radio to act as a "modem" for something else that's connected to it. This kind of connectivity also works over USB, by the way, and has some advantages over BT (see below).

When I first tried to make this work between my notebook and my Verizon Wireless Motorola Q about a year ago, it just didn't. In fact, I went through three layers of Verizon tech support before I gave up. I just deleted everything associated with the process, and turned my attention to other matters. Of course, I was still paying the $15/month charge for dial-up networking, so I had some incentive to try again. And, I recently did. Verizon has finally cleaned up the process so any computer-literate user should have few problems.

Still, as it turns out, the process of getting dial-up to work successfully is a bit complex. First you have to locate everything you need on the Web. Then you have to install the Motorola USB drivers. Then you have to set your Q to "modem link" mode via the Accessories Folder. Then you plug in the Q via USB; I chose wire because (a) I don't have Bluetooth built into my notebook, and I'd forgotten to bring my Bluetooth dongle on the road with me, and (b) I assume battery life is going to take a big hit if the Q's in my pocket running two radios all the time. I will try BT shortly, but I'm pretty sure it's going to work regardless.

Anyway, next you download and install VZ Access Manager, which is actually a product of Smith Micro, configure this, and voila, you're connected. Throughput isn't great, but it's not bad either. And the convenience of using a big user interface is terrific. Just remember to put the Q back into local data mode when you're done - it seems this process (and much of the install as well) could be automated; convenience here doesn't match having a data card in your PC.

No matter. Being frugal (OK, cheap), this works for me. And, as Wi-Fi isn't always available, it will be a nice backup indeed.