Internet, Oh Internet…Where Art Thou?

One thing that I never realized was so easily accessible in the USA is internet. If you think about it, you can pretty much log onto a WiFi network at any public place.

WE ARE SPOILED!

In Australia, internet is expensive and you can’t log on wherever or whenever. Some cafes have free WiFi, but very few. Also, there are places called “internet cafes” where you can use public computers, but you have to pay for how long you use the internet.

On campus, you need your Unikey (which is equivalent to your UCINetID) to log on to the computers in the library, but you are only allowed 1 GB at a time. If you use up this allowance, you have to wait until another day for your allowance to renew. Also, the campus computers are usually all occupied.

How in the world do you possibly measure how much internet you use?

Well, I still have not grasped how much internet usage is contained in 1 MB or 1 GB, but I do know that average email and Facebook usage should not exceed the allowance. However, movie downloads and sites that require a long time to load require more data.

From Sunday to Wednesday, I was without my own internet. This lack of internet accessibility was incredibly hard to cope with! I never noticed how much I log on to the internet until I was completely cut off.

I was desperate to find a way to set up internet in my room. I learned that I needed to buy a USB modem from a phone or internet company to put into my computer. I looked at Vodafone and Yes, Optus’s offers for internet, and it was super expensive! I could hardly believe it!

First off, I was completely unaware of how much internet I use and what exactly I would need. Also, all of the internet deals are either pre-paid or paid for monthly. Additionally, your internet data will run until either:

A. You run out of data (MB/GB)
OR
B. 30 days after purchase, even if you don’t use all of your data.

For example, 3 GB from Vodafone costs $99 and 3 GB from Yes, Optus costs $79. I was going to splurge on the $79 Optus deal when a study abroad student from Canada told me that there was a special offer on campus for students. Thankful that I did not fork out 79 bucks, I went in search of the student internet offer. I was very pleased when I came across the Vivid Wireless booth on campus that was offering a 3 GB USB modem for ONLY $19! This was EXACTLY what I needed! The only catch about Vivid Wireless is that it has a small coverage area; however, my room was within the service boundaries! Hooray!

So before you go and spend a load of money on internet with a major phone company, make sure there are not any student offers that are too good to pass up!