Laptop WiFi & AirCard Network?

[Chad Morin]

Hello all...newbie here with one that is racking my brain...

I have a Compaq Laptop running XP.

I have it connected to the internet via a PCMCIA Verizon Wireless Aircard.

Can I turn on my built in WiFi on my laptop to transmit or open a network so I can use other Laptops with wireless capibilities to connect to the internet through my computer??

I have seen while searching for an open hotspot the image of two latop computers sending signals to each other on my 'View Wireless Connections' so Im sure this can be done.

Any suggestions?
Thanks in advance - Chad

[z1p]

Hi Chad and Welcome to CTH,

Sorry nobody's replied before now but Verizon wireless networking is not a topic that we deal with a lot around here. Speaking from a total lack of experience with Verizon, I'd say it should work. ;) Verizon uses different frequencies, so there should be any conflict. You'll need to set up ICS (Internet Connection Sharing) on the Verizon connection first.

The next piece is where it gets trickier. The simplest route is to create an adhoc network from another PC to the laptop. This will only support 1 other PC at a time.

The 2nd solution is to create a LAN. This is complicated because you are talking about having access to the internet through a wireless connection. I guess in theory you could do this with a wireless router, but I think a switch and a wireless access point would be a little easier. Either way getting this setup to work will require some work and patience.