Questions about multiple dialup acct users

[itambo]

All my entrepreneur friends work out of their homes, have their own websites and have broadband connections. But we all occasionally need to travel and when not staying in a hotel with broadband, need to dial up to get their email.

So here's the question: instead of each of the five of us having our own ISP (AOL, Earthlink, MSN, etc) at $20-25/month, that we use maybe 2 hours/ month, why don't we all just chip in and get one ISP account? I feel like an idiot for not having thought of this before. On the off chance that two of us would be traveling at the same time and trying to dial up at the same moment, perhaps only one of us would be able to get in (I know that AOL is like this, but perhaps the others aren't).

Is anyone of you currently doing this? Any other options that are cheap cheap cheap?

[Diana]

Hi,

I wish I had the broadband to leave at home,.. I don't, so Earthlink has been my choice for years. They do limit the number of connections to one instance per account. They used to allow multiple connections but they charged by the minute for the second connection. Now, you just get an error when you try to connect twice.

If you can work out the sharing details, I would suggest giving the chosen ISP a valid card to charge every month so that you don't have to rely on one person paying the bill. Check out NetZero for cheap access and national phone numbers.

But, before doing any of this, check to make sure that your broadband provider doesn't supply a dial-up account for "emergencies" or travel. Many do and most don't charge extra for it.

When I can, I purposely chose the hotel with ethernet/wireless access. It's amazing how many are providing that now and many are not the premier hotels so per room costs are still reasonable. Some provide the access at no extra charge. Since there are usually two of us traveling together, we carry a small ethernet hub and share access in the room so even if we dial-up, we limit the phone calls...helps where the hotel charges for even local calls.

(wishing I could figure out why our two laptops with wireless can't bridge to share the internet connection although file sharing works great..hhmm..another topic)

Here are some wireless links that may interest
Hotspot List

WiFinder

[ClayEM]

Itambo,

Yes, you can do what you have suggested...I have done it for years.

If a couple hours per month is all you anticipate using, I would recommend getting AOL's minimum account(3hrs for 4.95)...It would be charged to one account, but each user could have their own user name and password. If everyone used AOL's mail system, on line time can be minimized by accessing AOL, clicking on each message to open it and then signing off...With preferences set to save all messages to the Filing cabinet, the messages can then be read and replied to while logged off(logging on just to open or send a reply)

For unlimited access, I also have the ISP Intergate.com which (if available where you need it) can be had for 9.95/mo (7.95/mo if contracted for for a year)...they also provide multiple email accounts. Of course, each user would have to set up the same account name on their computer for access and only one could use it at any one time...and, of course, telephone access numbers would have to be changed whenever used in different cities.

Hope this helps,

Clay

[itambo]

Great input, many thanks for the ideas!