Wireless Boosters - worth it?

[wiredmom]

I'm stuck in a rough place - too far from DSL, just out of reach of cable. That leaves satellite and dialup. The lag time on satellite drives me crazy (I work from home and have to access company network). I'm not rich, so installing a T1 is out of the question. And of course, who has time waiting for dialup?

Looking into local wireless for my desktop from same company I have my cell with. However, the signal is 2 bars, not full.

I need reliable steady connectivity.

Will a wireless signal booster take care of this problem? Will it give me the steady, reliable signal I need to work?

I've been told I cannot network this type of connection with other computers in the house (5 all together). True?

I'm hoping I came to the right place. Any help on any of these questions would be greatly appreciated.

[cat5e]

Is the service is WIFI?

Boosting per-se usually does not work well since it Boosts the Signal and the Noise, and Signal to Noise ratio is much more important than the number of Bars.

Best is to consult with the provider they might have a specific solution that fit their type of service.

[SkyDog]

A friend of mine is in the exact same boat as you, and just as fed up with satellite service as you seem to be.

If you can manage to get connection via a cellular phone provider, it is possible to share the connection, but configuring it can be pretty clunky. You'd need to configure something like Windows ICS (Internet Connection Sharing) to use one computer as the router that connects the others to the Internet. If you do go with a cell provider, it's probably better to use a dedicated data service (Verizon EVDO, AT&T UMTS, etc.) than to use your cell phone as a modem.