By Andrew Liszewski
The two largest telcos in Canada, Rogers and Bell recently announced the availability of what they’re calling ‘portable high-speed internet.’ Typically high-speed access flows into a home via the phone lines or though cable tv and in both instances requires a seperate modem. The new portable high-speed internet still requires that modem (which is about the size of a thin paperback now) but does away with the need for a phone jack or cable hookup.
Instead, internet access is broadcasted via network architecture similar to that used by mobile phones, so in theory anywhere in Canada you can use your cell phone you can also access the internet. In reality though at launch the service is only available in major cities and the occasional border town but odds are this will slowly expand. Both companies are hoping people will embrace the idea of being able to access the web from their provider of choice anywhere in the country.
The service does cost a bit more than regular high-speed internet does, about $45-60 depending on speed and bandwidth usage plus the cost of the modem, but if you travel a lot and are use to paying for internet access at various hotels this will probably seem like a bargain.
If you look at the modems in the Bell site, all that is a Clearwire modem. Great setup and 54 cities in Canada is 20 more than Clearwire themselves support in the US.
I was excited when I read this post about Bell offering high speed unplugged. I already knew about about Rogers making the move but their coverage did not work for me. I was hoping that Bell would have different coverage and/or greater coverage but that is not the case. I need coverage for north of Barrie, Ontario where high speed is very limited and ultra expensive. You would think they would cover cottage country since that is an untapped area. I guess I have to wait and pray for their expansion plans.