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OT WIFI and DSL difference?



 
 
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  #1  
Old February 23rd 18, 06:21 PM posted to microsoft.public.windowsxp.general
KenK
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 444
Default OT WIFI and DSL difference?

Sorry, this isn't XP oriented but there are a lot of smart people here.

I have a 3G LG 440G cell phone. I'm seriously thinking of a smart phone.
I have CenturyLink DSL that I use with my computer for my internet
connection. I'd probably get CenturyLink wifi for the smart phone.

Are the two related? Can I somehow use the DSL for the smart phone
connection or vice versa? The DSL is in a separate building adjacent to
my home; I don't have DSL in my home; I can't use it without the DSL
modem and I understand only one modem connection is allowed; besides,
even if they are, two DSL modems would be rather expensive for as seldom
as I would like an online connection - usually Google and email - in my
home. Too much trouble to move the modem back and forth now as I don't
have a computer in the house.

I hate to pay for both services - my CenturyLink bill is already at $100
a month for landline and DSL.

Sorry, this old man just don't understand all this new-fangled stuff.

Explanations? Suggestions?

TIA


--
I love a good meal! That's why I don't cook.






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  #2  
Old February 23rd 18, 08:09 PM posted to microsoft.public.windowsxp.general
MikeS[_5_]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 74
Default OT WIFI and DSL difference?

On 23/02/2018 17:21, KenK wrote:
Sorry, this isn't XP oriented but there are a lot of smart people here.

I have a 3G LG 440G cell phone. I'm seriously thinking of a smart phone.
I have CenturyLink DSL that I use with my computer for my internet
connection. I'd probably get CenturyLink wifi for the smart phone.

Are the two related? Can I somehow use the DSL for the smart phone
connection or vice versa? The DSL is in a separate building adjacent to
my home; I don't have DSL in my home; I can't use it without the DSL
modem and I understand only one modem connection is allowed; besides,
even if they are, two DSL modems would be rather expensive for as seldom
as I would like an online connection - usually Google and email - in my
home. Too much trouble to move the modem back and forth now as I don't
have a computer in the house.

I hate to pay for both services - my CenturyLink bill is already at $100
a month for landline and DSL.

Sorry, this old man just don't understand all this new-fangled stuff.

Explanations? Suggestions?

TIA


You need to connect the DSL modem to a WiFi router if you don't have
that already. Then any smart phone will connect to the router WiFi and
hence the Internet. However, you say you have two buildings and the
router WiFi may not cover both of them, depending on where you locate it
and distance.

  #3  
Old February 23rd 18, 09:10 PM posted to microsoft.public.windowsxp.general
Paul[_32_]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 11,873
Default OT WIFI and DSL difference?

KenK wrote:
Sorry, this isn't XP oriented but there are a lot of smart people here.

I have a 3G LG 440G cell phone. I'm seriously thinking of a smart phone.
I have CenturyLink DSL that I use with my computer for my internet
connection. I'd probably get CenturyLink wifi for the smart phone.

Are the two related? Can I somehow use the DSL for the smart phone
connection or vice versa? The DSL is in a separate building adjacent to
my home; I don't have DSL in my home; I can't use it without the DSL
modem and I understand only one modem connection is allowed; besides,
even if they are, two DSL modems would be rather expensive for as seldom
as I would like an online connection - usually Google and email - in my
home. Too much trouble to move the modem back and forth now as I don't
have a computer in the house.

I hate to pay for both services - my CenturyLink bill is already at $100
a month for landline and DSL.

Sorry, this old man just don't understand all this new-fangled stuff.

Explanations? Suggestions?

TIA


A flip phone has only voice, and no data. When making a voice call over
a cellphone service, there are "calling minutes". Depending on your plan,
there could be Long Distance charges (say, outside North America).

A SmartPhone has both voice and data. The data can consist of "text messages".
The data can be an hours worth of Netflix ($$$). The data can be
SmartPhone OS Upgrades, SmartPhone security updates, or downloaded
Disney Apps you didn't want. And the data plan has a "low limit",
like 2GB per month. If you plan on running more data than that, you
have to trade "overage" charges, versus the size of plan you think
would cover it. And generally, "unlimited" doesn't mean "unlimited"
either. It means "we'll cut you off or slow your data service
when we feel like it". You cannot run Netflix on a continuous
basis for an entire month, on a SmartPhone.

The phone company will rope you into a multi-year contract, with
steep charge if you want to end the contract early.

Any time you can deflect SmartPhone data usage to Wifi, is a bonus
for you.

If you travel in Europe, it's probably not a good idea to
take a SmartPhone. Using SIMs purchased locally there, you
can make up a comm solution for less.

*******

If your ADSL modem has Wifi, the SmartPhone can use that instead
of the cell service.

https://www.techlicious.com/tip/how-...obile-verizon/

The SmartPhone can use the cell service when you're out driving,
and it can use the Wifi when you're at home.

If your ADSL modem already has Wifi, you might already be set up
for this. Otherwise, you may need a change of hardware, and get
an ADSL modem/router with both Ethernet and Wifi output.

*******

SmartPhone bills have many opportunities for "telco abuse".

If you're on a fixed income, there are a world of opportunities
for a telco to slap big charges on your bill. Why else do you
think telcos want to drop everything and just run cellphone
service ? Because the potential billings are so big.

And even if you go to the Mall, to the Phone Store and ask
a representative all sorts of questions, you're not necessarily
going to get an accurate answer. That's all part of the scam.
The humongous bill with the "crumbling infrastructure charge".
Half of the charges on the bill, make no sense. It wouldn't
be the phone company, if it didn't work like that.

The steepest learning curve, isn't the technology, it's dodging
all the billing tricks. Asking for texting to be turned off
entirely perhaps.

The latest scam here (seen a few days ago in a local news item),
is phoning people while showing a fake CallerID number, and if
you pick up, you receive a 1-900 charge instantly on your bill.
I don't pick up calls here, even on my VOIP, unless I recognize
the number.

Right now, for example, the idiots faking our Canadian
flavor of "Revenue Service", are phoning people and "asking that
they pay up right away", then giving contact information in some
foreign country as to where to pay. You can tell these calls,
because the entire call uses voice synthesis, and the voice is
"robotic". (This is intended to make it harder to charge a human
with a crime later.) The real revenue service, even if they were
talking to you, they'd take great pride in using a human. Even
if 30% of the time they offer bad advice, ad least you know it's
them. I received bad advice once that way, but it didn't cost me
anything so... all is forgiven :-)

You may be an old man, but "welcome to the World of Scams".

The SmartPhone will be your doorway.

Think of the fun trying to decode the bill every month.

And by the way, there will be an extra charge for this advice.
Send $39.95 in unmarked bills to...

Paul
  #4  
Old February 23rd 18, 10:38 PM posted to microsoft.public.windowsxp.general
Mynews
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 5
Default OT WIFI and DSL difference?

"KenK" wrote in message
...

Sorry, this isn't XP oriented but there are a lot of smart people here.

centurylink DSL
Have WiFi Build In


  #5  
Old February 24th 18, 03:17 AM posted to microsoft.public.windowsxp.general
Hot-Text
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 2
Default OT WIFI and DSL difference?


"Mynews" wrote in message
news "KenK" wrote in message
...

Sorry, this isn't XP oriented but there are a lot of smart people here.
http://www.centurylink.com/home/help...ce/veizon.html

centurylink DSL
Have WiFi Build In

Incredible Modems
Experience the ultimate WiFi connection to fast
Internet throughout your entire home.


My Wife Have Iphone She With Veizon
I Use Android With Stright-Talk


  #6  
Old February 24th 18, 06:18 PM posted to microsoft.public.windowsxp.general
J. P. Gilliver (John)[_4_]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 2,679
Default OT WIFI and DSL difference?

In message , KenK
writes:
Sorry, this isn't XP oriented but there are a lot of smart people here.

I have a 3G LG 440G cell phone. I'm seriously thinking of a smart phone.
I have CenturyLink DSL that I use with my computer for my internet
connection. I'd probably get CenturyLink wifi for the smart phone.


Despite what the service providers do their damnedest to make you
believe, they do _not_ provide wifi. Wifi is provided by the equipment
in your house - either (commonest these days) a router/MoDem with wifi
built in, or a separate wifi box attached to it. Of course, your service
provider may provide you with the router (most do, in UK anyway, and all
are ones with wifi built in). I give this longish paragraph because
there is no such thing as "CenturyLink wifi" (I assume CenturyLink is
your service provider); the wifi would come from a box in your home,
though that box might be _provided_ by CenturyLink.

Are the two related? Can I somehow use the DSL for the smart phone
connection or vice versa? The DSL is in a separate building adjacent to


A smartphone can use the internet via two routes: either cellular, via
the cellular network, or via wifi to something that is nearby and is
connected to an (A)DSL line. Using it via the cellular network is
usually more expensive: you either pay by the megabyte, or at least are
using up your monthly allowance if that's the sort of contract you have.
You can "turn mobile data off" to ensure that it only uses wifi, when in
range of something that provides wifi (your home, or a public wifi such
as a McDonalds, some public libraries, and so on). This is _separate_
from the voice (and texting) functions of the 'phone, which will still
use the cellular network. (Though if you install Skype or something
similar on the 'phone, you can use that via the wifi when you're in
range of it, thus getting your calls for free.)

my home; I don't have DSL in my home; I can't use it without the DSL


I'm a bit puzzled here - do you own the building with the DSL (and thus
presumably a DSL MoDem) in it, or are you talking about using a
neighbour's facility?

modem and I understand only one modem connection is allowed; besides,


It's not so much a matter of allowed, as won't work - on any one line,
you can only have one DSL MoDem/router.

However, you can have multiple devices connected to the internet via a
single router/MoDem: a typical one will have four cable sockets on it,
and if it has a wifi router built in, will allow somewhere between 7 and
many tens of devices to connect by wifi.

even if they are, two DSL modems would be rather expensive for as seldom
as I would like an online connection - usually Google and email - in my
home. Too much trouble to move the modem back and forth now as I don't
have a computer in the house.


I'm still not sure what you're saying/asking here. If you _do_ own the
building with the DSL service, and the MoDem/router that connects to it,
then - depending on whether it has wifi in it - you'd have to experiment
to see if the wifi coverage will extend to your adjacent building/house
(or which rooms therein). If it will but is patchy, you could experiment
with moving the router around in the building it's in. And/or, looking
into extender boxes (some of which use the mains power wiring in the
building). (If the building has a common electricity supply to the one
you're in, that may work out to be a good solution.)

I hate to pay for both services - my CenturyLink bill is already at $100
a month for landline and DSL.


That sounds a lot by UK standards! But I don't know what is the norm in
your part of the USA. (Mine's just under 200 pounds a _year_ for
landline and ADSL, including evening and weekend calls to non-premium UK
numbers.)

Sorry, this old man just don't understand all this new-fangled stuff.

Explanations? Suggestions?

TIA


Basically, there are three electronic functions:

The MoDem (modulator/demodulator), which translates the signals on the
line coming into your house into computer-readable signals.

The router, which allows several devices to use the signals coming out
of the MoDem. (As a bonus, helps them talk to each other as well - a
"home network".)

The wifi, which allows any devices with wifi in them (virtually all
laptops/netbooks these days, all smartphones, some desktop computers,
and USB dongles for desktops/old laptops that _don't_ have wifi) to
connect to the network.

Any or all of these functions may be combined into one box. In the UK,
if the connection to the outside world is via a normal telephone line,
they usually _are_ combined in one box, often confusingly just referred
to as the router. If the customer has a faster connection such as fibre
or cable, the MoDem is usually one box, and the router and wifi is
another. Usually (in the UK), service providers provide - often "free
but you pay postage" - the box that combines the three functions, as
part of the contract, and market it as if that's part of what they're
selling you (which I suppose it is), but you're _not_ obliged to use or
even take their box - you can buy your own.

There are routers that don't have wifi built in, and ones that do
(though in the UK ones without are rare). I am not aware of any boxes
which _just_ provide the wifi function but not the router function.

Most computers have an ethernet connection that can be connected by
cable to the router/MoDem to access the internet. Most laptops/netbooks
also have wifi, which provides a more convenient (though can be slower,
especially if you have lots of neighbours) means of establishing this
connection.

Smartphones can connect to wifi to access the internet that way, or can
connect to it directly (but at higher cost). [I'm unaware of any
_'phone_ that has a direct cable socket.] A very few _computers_ also
have hardware in them to use the internet via the cellular network (they
have a slot for a SIM card), or you can get "dongles" (like a USB stick)
that provide this; this allows those computers to be used anywhere there
is cellular coverage, but you pay for it.

To answer the subject question: DSL - digital subscriber line - is the
_service_ you pay your service provider for; wifi is a _short range_
thing that goes on the end of your (or someone else's, like McDonalds)
DSL line, that allows devices within a _short distance_ of the DSL line
end, to connect to it. So wifi and DSL are not _alternatives_; they
provide a different function. The range (of the wifi) depends very much
on the construction of the buildings involved, where within them you put
the "router", and how many neighbours you have who are trying to use the
same bands for the same purpose. (And on whether your "router" and
computers use both bands - the original 2.4 GHz band and the newer 5 GHz
band. Obviously both ends have to have both bands to take advantage.
Many cellphones do, few laptops do, more recent routers do.) Very
roughly, it will typically cover a typical house, and sometimes some
rooms in adjacent buildings; for some types of building construction,
there will be dead spots in some rooms. Here, moderately urban and I'm
in a flat (apartment), I can _see_ about 11 wifi networks belonging to
my neighbours (including a couple of hotels), maybe a third of them
strong enough to connect to if I knew the key. (I was surprised: I was
expecting it to be more like 30 visible.)
--
J. P. Gilliver. UMRA: 1960/1985 MB++G()AL-IS-Ch++(p)Ar@T+H+Sh0!:`)DNAf

Veni Vidi Vacuum [I came, I saw, It sucked] - , 1998
 




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