No Wireless Capacity - Can I Use Prepaid Internet?

by Jo Eadie
(Lake Macquarie)

I have an old computer without wireless capacity. Can i use prepaid Internet? Is there an adapter I could buy?


I want to give the computer to a friend at UNI.

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May 17, 2010
 Using Prepaid Wireless Broadband on Old Computer
by: PrepaidWirelessGuy

Generally speaking, you can absolutely use the prepaid wireless USB modems listed on the Prepaid Wireless Broadband Plans page. As they plug into the USB drive of your computer, they can be used on a laptop, netbook, or desktop that has a USB port. A couple of things to keep in mind:

1. Your operating system must support the USB modem device. You can find some notes on the page listed above, but you'll definitely want to check the prepaid carrier site once you narrow it down to see if your OS is supported. For example, if your computer is running Windows 98, there's a chance you might have trouble with the modem drivers. So definitely check beforehand!


2. Even if your computer operating system is supported by the modem drivers, a super old computer may also be super slow. Even a modem with very good speed can experience poor Internet speed if your computer cannot process the data quickly enough. Computer speed is a function of many things, including the processor(s), RAM, harddrive speed, etc. It's hard to know in advance how it will perform, however, if you're already wired Internet and not having any issues, you should be ok.


Please let us know how it goes!

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