i have no dsl or cable. im looking into wireless internet connect. I want to keep my current cell phone so it must be seperate from that. I found att offers a Sierra 875U but they cant tell me for sure if it will work up north in the kalkaska area ( ihave to call back again). Does anyone have any info on it or other cards or services that might be affordable for me. The 875U card is $80 a month. this dial up is killing me.
Thanks Kelly

What laptop do you have? Not all devices work with all systems.

You should take a look at http://www.evdoinfo.com/ for information on different cards and plans. They *do* understand Macs there, too.

Also the card may be the least of your worries. If the service you go with doesn't have 3g service in your area, then the card drops down to the slower "dial-up like" speed. So you'd be paying $80 for a service that isn't much faster than what you have now.

I'm not quite sure what you want to do. Connect to the Internet anywhere in the Kalkaska area with "high speed" cell phone Internet service?

You may need to think through your needs, expectations, and what the carriers can deliver. It already sounds like your expectations greatly exceed their ability to deliver. High speed cell phone Internet service is not as fast as high speed cable Internet service, but more expensive.

Sprint and Verizon offer EVDO data networks, probably the only current and reasonable alternative for cellular Internet service. That service is only offered in major metropolitan areas. It's not cheap. AT&T might have portions of a 3G network operational late next year.

You might also want to review the ratings of cell phone carriers here and here .

So, if you're on vacation in Kalkaska, maybe it's better to relax, and forget about the attractions of the BIG city. Leave your notebook behind. Either that, or steal bandwidth from your neighbors' Wi-Fi networks.