Archived from groups: alt.cellular.verizon (
More info?)
"Roger Binns" <rogerb@rogerbinns.com> wrote in message
news:8sipq1-t9b.ln1@home.rogerbinns.com...
> Peter Pan wrote:
> > I'm wondering if a bitpim/bitfling combo running on one machine would
allow
> > other users on a network to use the connection from the machine that
> > actually has the hardware.
>
> Nope. It basically remotes the serial port the phone provides. The
> aircards do emulate a serial port and expose their embedded file system
> (all 800kb of it). But that is of no use to you at the networking
> level.
>
> You need to get the networking level sorted out with the card.
> One of the aircard models (I work with too many ...) creates a
> network interface that exposes the phone/card directly and then
> a second network interface that auto-routes between your LAN and
> the aircard.
>
> IMHO your best bet is getting a Linux box and putting the card
> in that, and then using the NAT stuff built in to Linux. You
> can use a desktop machine with a PCI to PCMCIA adaptor. The
> Sierra Windows drivers and software are over-engineered too
> userfriendly and get in the way if you actually know how you
> want to structure your network.
>
> Note that sharing the aircard in the way you want is probably
> against Verizon's terms of service.
>
> Roger
>
>
Thanks for the answer roger, sorry to bug you about this stuff.
Yeah, I know it's against the NEW terms of service, but it wasn't against
the OLD ones (new ones came out a few months ago). Consider the confusion
here, some (not all) cable modems or DSL modems can be shared resources on
wireless networks (actually all allow it, but some providers want you to pay
extra for a business account), and a cellphone with mobile office USED to be
able to be shared on a network, but now verizon has modified their software
so you can no longer do it.
They used to allow the old aircard (NA only) and the older phone/MO to be
shared, but now that they are going to broadband access, they specifically
put blocks in the software, so it can't be done anymore and people can't
share the faster Broadband connection, it just so happens to also block
sharing the slower NA connection.
I think what you are saying is that like a sat usually requires a separate
node on the network to handle the broadband stuff (although it can run under
windows instead of linux), have a separate linux node on the network and use
it with the aircard. Hmmm, gives me an idea, get an older used computer with
pcmcia slots, reformat it with Linux, add an aircard and a wireless card,
and just make it a stand-alone resource on a WAN that happens to provide
internet resources (like a node with Direcway can be). Should be able to
throw it together for well under $1000.
Marc