My aunt (canadian) will be travelling in the usa for the next year in her motorhome. She wants to be able to access the internet using her laptop. She's not totally comfortable yet with using a computer or the net.
I want to know how I can help her prepare for mobile access while she's in the states, and am looking for something not too expensive, and easy to use.

She has a new ibm laptop and a motorolla cell phone.She doesn't use the internet a lot, probably only 10-20 hrs per month. She mostly uses it to send emails & images downloaded from a didgital camera.

I've been looking at options on the web... but I don't know which would be the easiest for her to use..

For example:
I found a few local isp's (like Bell canada or AT&T Canada now known as Allstream) that have a list of local access numbers in both canada and the usa. But these aren't really "local" numbers though right?. becuase when connecting using her mobile phone in the states, she'd be paying hefty long distance/roaming fees.

Telus sellls the "aircard" which fits into a standard PCMCIA slot on your laptop... no need to use your mobile phone... I think the set up fees & purchase costs are higher here... but if she goes for this, will the regualr monthly fees be the same as the first option?

THe there's global access providers such as net2roam, which will also give you a list of local access numbers worldwide... to get around the roaming fees, they suggest buying a SIM card within the country that you're visiting. Not really sure if this kind of isp is any better than our familiar ones (bell, allstream/at&t etc) because in my aunt's case, she'd only need local access numbers in canada & the usa.

I'm hoping that someone can offer some advice to make this easy :)
Thanks,
JD

This depends on what her plan states. This might be the best & easiest option in the long run. Call them & see what they have to offer. Let them know what she plans to do. You would have to look at their roaming area etc.

I do not think that they provide a service in the US. I mean I went to their site - and they only allowed me to choose areas in Canada. I chose British Columbia & nothing even came up on that one.

Well you say she will be in the US for one year. So she really does not need to worry about a local number for Canada right? The PSMCIA card might be your better option. Of course connectivity will always be sporadic at times. My roommate uses Sprint which is pretty good & the download speeds are usually about 56K.

Your best shot - find out where she might be travelling - in what areas of the US. Map that out & then see what is the best plan for her.

Depending on where she's travelling, she can find places that allow internet connection for approximately $2.00/hour. Most large truck stops, on the Interstate highways, have this type of service.

Often, larger hotels will offer this type of service; then, there are always cybercafes.

I use AT&T (US) as my ISP and I can access my webmail from anywhere, and from any connection. All I need is an internet connection; it doesn't have to be mine. I would bet, I could access my email from Canada as long as I could get an internet connection.

Rose