G'day Q Riley,

First, let me tell you that we are almost neighbours as we come from Erina.

Just sold the house and are planning to leave in the first days of March. I find myself in the same situation with the "E-mail" issue and the information I have got is that all McDonalds stores have "Hot Spots" where you can connect and send e-mails. I don't know exactly how that works but I understand that the laptop has to have a wireless card inbuilt. The alternative is very expensive: I am talking Telstra's Next G which cost about $ 300.-  + a monthly plan. How good is that? No one could tell me as the "Next G" is still very new.

I guess it is a matter of trying first, sitting at a McDonalds and connecting, and watch what happens next! If that doesn't work, then I shall start looking at the alternatives.

 

Hi Q Riley,
I have just done a bit of run as I put it from Vic to Perth last Nov.
I took my wireless notebook (Laptop) and a new Next G phone, just to give it all a try.

Well the Mackers set up is the best thing, I order a coffee and pay $5 for internet use, sit down and read the emails, and relax.

Now to the next part, the New Next G service and phone, it was fantastic coverage.
Just imagin your at the top of Wave Rock 600k's inland from Perth, the peace and quite, sun shining. Just beautiful.

Then the mobile rings?????? Bugger, it was my local council calling to tell me my dog was in the pound as she got out from our gate, the kids 22, 20 and 19 had left it open.
Well to say i wasnt very happy is being polite.

So my friend in your quest for coverage the above is the way to go.
Telstra have it sorted, McDonalds use Telsta for the intenet, then you have Next G.

Hope this helps everyone in this lttle matter of coms.

Skip

Not for everyone, but Starlink covers all our needs all over Australia. Very fast internet, WiFi calling phone and all the normal TV and video streaming services

To use your phone as an access point for your laptop just go into Wi-Fi settings and turn on the hotspot feature, simple.

Unfortunately, Australia is geographically a very large land mass with a very small population, so once you are away from the east coast cities there is really no such thing as internet unless you are in a major town.

It just isn't commercially viable for Telstra or Optus to install a million dollar phone tower where no-one lives.

There are only 3 mobile carriers in Australia, Telstra and Optus, plus Vodaphone for Brisbane, Sydney & Melbourne.

All other brands are reselling or roaming on these 3 networks and not always on a carriers entire network, so cheap resellers like ALDI may work in the heart of major towns and cities but not in smaller towns or remote communities.

5km down the road out of town often means no mobile coverage at all, no calls, no texts, and certainly no Internet, for the next 100+km until you reach the next town.

Telstra has ever so slightly more coverage than Optus but Optus has way faster Internet.

4G phones perform better away from major cities as 5G phones are superior in major cities.

Hope that helps somewhat.

If you are looking for a cheaper alternative to the regular Telstra 4G connection, take a look at Boost mobile. They are the only Telstra reseller using
the complete Telstra 4G network. If you are not a big mobile data user they will supply 5 Gig of Data and unlimited text and calls for $20.00
month.
Landy