Expert: Huw - 10/6/2004

Question
Hi Huw

I'm not sure if you can help me, but can I connect to the internet using a mobile phone?
I know this sounds a stupid question but someone asked me and I don't know so I thought I would ask you.

regards Tony

Answer
Hi Tony, and thanks for your question.

It's not a stupid question at all!  Many, many people still do not really know what the Internet is, much less how to connect to it. :)

It is most certainly possible to use a mobile phone to connect to the Internet.  For starters, most modern phones can connect directly, displaying webpages on their screens.  This can be via WAP, which is the oldest method and slow, or GPRS which is much the same but faster.  There's also a newer protocol called UMTS but I don't know much about that.

You can also use your mobile phone as a modem for your computer (most probably a laptop).  There are several ways to do this.  The phone can connect wirelessly to the computer via bluetooth or infra-red.  It's also possible to physically connect the phone to the computer via a cable, but I don't know much about that either.

Of course, if you connect a computer to the Internet via a mobile phone, you cannot expect the high performace of a broadband connection, but it at least works.  Many laptop users make use of this method to access the Internet while travelling.

I hope that answers your question.  If you need any more info, just send a followup to this answer.  Thanks again for your question.

Huw