Cisco-Linksys and Vodafone introduce a 3G/UMTS wireless LAN router

Cisco-Linksys and Vodafone have teamed up to provide a high-speed internet solution for situations where wired connections are simply unavailable. Although not the first of its kind, the new 3G/UMTS WLAN router (really a Vodafone Mobile Connect 3G data card inside a Linksys WRT54G3G Wireless-G Router) interests us because Vodafone is involved in the type of product that would seem to ruffle the feathers of their corporate step-child Verizon. This new take on the 3G router allows up to five users to simultaneously access the Vodafone network from their WiFi-enabled laptops, while also hooking up other devices such as printers to form a decent make-shift office. The 3G router is being marketed towards mobile professionals in the media, finance and construction industries, although we wouldn't mind using it for impromptu LAN parties in airports, hotels, or anywhere else we can snub overpriced WiFi.

[Sam @ Dec 19th 2005 2:37AM]

Is this financially viable in the US? I'd be worried about my phone bill in the UK with 5 users using data at up to a few �s per mb.

[austinkennethlee @ Dec 19th 2005 2:37AM]

Sam - we have unlimited data plans, so yes it is viable.

can anyone enlighten us on security issues using data card routers or any other limitations (other than bandwidth) versus regular broadband?

[matt @ Dec 19th 2005 2:37AM]

I can just imagine people with trench coats in coffee shops with internet going, "PSSST... I got your connection right here. Wan
t your mac address to be allowed for only 1 dollar an hour?"

[Anonymous Coward @ Dec 19th 2005 2:37AM]

Nice idea, shame about the pricing... there's no unlimited price plan. The best you can get is �53 ($96.50) per month for 1GB - and that's the sum of input and output.

1GB is not a lot of allowance considering how much traffic you can rack up just doing plain web browsing...

[Brad Knowles @ Dec 19th 2005 2:37AM]

Why not just use a Soekris net4521 for about $200? It would be a hell of a lot cheaper and smaller, and would not have the limitation on the number of users, although you would have to roll an OS configuration on CompactFlash card.

There are already a hell of a lot of people using these things, and there is probably already a CompactFlash image that can be used out-of-the-box for this function.

So why spend all that much more money?

[Walter @ Dec 19th 2005 2:37AM]

How is this similiar/different from a Junctionbox?

[Myself @ Dec 19th 2005 2:37AM]

The hardware is the least significant part of this. What's interesting is the change in terms of service that must be required to make this acceptable.

I've been quietly sharing my cellphone data plan for years, via routing software running on my 802.11b-enabled laptop. It works wonders when traveling with a group and stuck in a town where running water is a luxury, and a motel with wifi is pure fantasy.

I say quietly because, according to Nextel's terms of service, I can't share, redistribute, or otherwise provide access to anyone but myself. Everyone doing similar things with their own data plans has, until now, been violating their terms.

The willing offering of such a service by a provider is a welcome indication of a mindset change. Sort of like when cable TV companies stopped cutting people off for adding a second TV, and just offered to make the extra jack legit for an extra $2/month or whatever.

[Kimberley @ Dec 19th 2005 2:37AM]

This and the similarly-announced D-Link DI-725 http://www.ehomeupgrade.com/entry/1346/d-link_announces_new
never include dates when the product will be released (i.e., actually for sale somewhere). I wonder how much of these announcements will ultimately end up as vaporware because the cellular providers have put lots of lawyers on it.