I was enthusiastic about the potential for wireless portable Internet service available in Ontario from either Bell or Rogers.  We needed an Internet service we could use at home (Ottawa), at the cottage (Muskoka) and wherever we were traveling in Ontario.  The key was wireless service coverage particularly at our cottage.  Roger’s coverage maps told me it wasn’t possible and Bell – well – their people were less than helpful.  But I was advised to get a demo wireless unit from Rogers and try it out.  As well, I believe you can buy a unit from Rogers and return it and cancel the service if it doesn’t work out.

Once plugged in, the lights went on – literally!  Coverage on our side of the lake was perfect and I was dancing – really!  Here’s what we saved:
-  cancelling Bell’s Sympatico dial-up service  (dial-up was the only way to get Internet access at the cottage) saved us $25/month.
- cancelling home high speed Internet and replacing it with the portable wireless Internet was a wash – both services cost approximately the same. Note that we now must bring the wireless modem device with us when we go back and forth from  the cottage – or anywhere else for that matter.
- with cel phones we didn’t need a wire line phone at the cottage any more except to support dial-up Internet.  The cottage phone is now gone saving an additional $35/month.

Although total savings add up to approximately $60/month (one annual plane ticket to California paid for) we were likely to suffer added cel phone usage charges particuarly for long distance.  Maybe!  Now that we have high speed Internet available almost anywehre, time to try out Internet based phone service popularly known as Voice Over IP (VOIP).  Standby for the results.

Tony A!