US Cellular for Internet Connection?

[Joey Ketcham]

Well, last year ya'll may recall I tried and tried to get a way use dialup when in the field - nothing ever came of that except US Cellular telling me it wasn't possible - but I trust US Cellular Reps just as much as I trust the Customer Reps at Radio Shack...

Anyone here ever used US Cellular to dial up to the internet while storm chasing?

 

[Court Hubbard]

Good question. I'm anxious to know if anyone has either, because I use US Cellular for my regular cell phone plan and thought about using them for data in the field.

 

[Joey Ketcham]

I know when I tried they kept giving me this line about when they switched out from Analog to Digital it took away the capabilities of passing internet data through it or something.. who knows. But like I said.. I trust US Cellular reps just as much as I trust Radio Shack reps

 

[John Diel]

So far, I've found that when they change to GSM from Analog, even though the old phones work, they are now incapable of going through a modem or similar unit. Not being a radio engineer, I can't explain the hows and whys of the matter though. I use Cingular and I don't think there is a way of using the cell phone as a modem unless you are going through their service plan. This may be the same for US Cellular.

I've looked at all the different sites and forums and it still boils down to using their plan rather than bypassing it to create a dial up session using the old analog modem route. Believe me, If I can get it figured out, I will certainly let someone know.

John

 

[Jason Montano]

I am using Cingular Data Connect plan and use my cell phone to connect my laptop to the internet. It is all digital so my phone is not acting as a analog modem. However, regarding US cellular, I was driving through West Virginia the other day and used my phone on what I think was a US Cellular tower to connect to the internet. I think it was a US Cellular tower b/c I was roaming and when I made an outgoing call it said "welcome to US Cellular". Again it was digital not analog so it would probably take paying for data services to connect, though I am not very familiar with US Cellular. Not sure if that would be what you are looking for but seems to be an option.

 

[Tim Stoecklein]

Joey, I just happen to have a good friend who works for them in Omaha, NE. Let me check with him and see what he says. He's a tech, so we'll get a straight answer :wink:

Tim

 

[Joey Ketcham]

Originally posted by Tim Stoecklein
Joey, I just happen to have a good friend who works for them in Omaha, NE. Let me check with him and see what he says. He's a tech, so we'll get a straight answer :wink:

Tim

Awesome, thanks!

 

[Tim Stoecklein]

Straight from the tech's mouth.........."it is similar to Sprint, we are 1XRTT capable". He says it will also depend on the coverage in your area, but it should be doable. I'm not all that sure what 1XRTT is, but someone else can chime in on that. Sounds workable though.

Tim

 

[Joey Ketcham]

Thanks Tim for that info, I'll certainly get the data cable and give it a shot and see what I can do!

Joey

 

[Tom Burgess]

been there done it. had us cell for a while. requires you have a cellphone modem and cable for your phone. If you can use a headset you can do internet on dig. I now have cellarone and the same nokia 5100 phone and still use it the same way. no extra cost. 8)

 

[Joey Ketcham]

I sure hope so, I just bought a Mini USB Data Cable and external antenna online for dialup access... guess we'll see...