Is it possible to get your own Internet connection to a motel room?

Forums › LAN (ethernet/Wifi/routers/Bluetooth) › Is it possible to get your own Internet connection to a motel room?

brand19

9 posts

Wannabe Geek

#97558 16-Feb-2012 19:06

Hi, my daughter just moved to Dunedin, she is renting a room owned by a motel, she has both ethernet cord and wireless to her room. If she uses the ethernet cord it's very slow (dial-up speed), she can't use skype, her ipad won't connect to wireless and the wireless keeps disconnecting (usually only has 2-3 bars max).. and shes paying for that service in her rent!! she called slingshot to ask about setting up her own internet connection up but they were unsure if it could be done because the phone line to her room comes from the motel and is an extension of their phone. she asked the motel owners and they have no idea either, can someone help out here? Thanks.

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396 posts

Ultimate Geek

#582538 16-Feb-2012 20:29

No one will be answer this question for sure I suspect. The motel needs to raise a fault if there is a fault with their SP. Or your daughter goes mobile data..........

common sense is not very common

n00dy

482 posts

Ultimate Geek

Lifetime subscriber

#582539 16-Feb-2012 20:29

It should be possible but there could be problems
1: needs to be sufficient line capacity into the motel
2: her room extention would need a free line pair (if the motel is wired cat4 /5 there would be a spare pair or even the old cables ran 2 pair
if there are no spare pairs she could have her existing line removed from the motels connection and put onto her own connection.

she would end up with her own phone number and broadband connection as a seperate / new customer
she would be paying a monthly line rental and broadband connection ( unless naked Broadband is available)

Downside, this most likly would not be a standard connection and could cost between $100 & $200 (depending on the work required)

chevrolux

4962 posts

Uber Geek
Inactive user

#582540 16-Feb-2012 20:36

She has a wired ethernet connection in her room? If so that means there is a patch panel some where which probably has voice wiring in their too. Has she got a phone in her room? (One on the motel's phone system). If she has either in her room it should be a simple job to swap this for an outside line from another supplier. The only thing that will stop her getting another line is the amount of them coming in from the street. She will have to pay for a new connection which is somewhere in the region of $100. Best thing to do is just apply for a new line and see what happens. Your chosen supplier will send Chorus out and I think you will probably be pleasantly surprised with the outcome as it should be a fairly minor job.

DrCheese

382 posts

Ultimate Geek

Trusted

#582541 16-Feb-2012 20:40

I'd go with the 12 GB data package from 2degrees for $150.

Reading between the lines, is your daughter studying at the University of Otago in university accommodation that used to be a motel just north of campus? If so, dealing with the IT department at the university might be more fruitful then dealing with the people at the front desk of the motel.

David.

mckenndk

911 posts

Ultimate Geek

#582547 16-Feb-2012 20:52

Would be best to get someone that knows what they are doing to look at the hotels setup starting with the ISP checking the router settings and then a wiring expert if that does not fix the Ethernet speed issue.

The wireless issue with her device not being able to connect would probably be down to their router not having enough coverage in her unit which if they get the right person to look at it they would be able to resolve this too.

Dion

Chuckles68

38 posts

Geek

#582552 16-Feb-2012 21:13

DrCheese: I'd go with the 12 GB data package from 2degrees for $150.

Reading between the lines, is your daughter studying at the University of Otago in university accommodation that used to be a motel just north of campus? If so, dealing with the IT department at the university might be more fruitful then dealing with the people at the front desk of the motel.

David.

I work in one of the main hotels in Dunedin and have a company that looks after Guest's internet for a fee. David may be correct but you need to find out whom the motel's provider is. If its similar or is the company that we deal with then you could be out of luck. This is because the company that we use installed and maintains the guests internet network as its separate to our hotels own network. Also this company controls the bandwidth that the guests use so once the guest has used a certain amount of data they throttle back the speed, unless the guest accepts further charges. We always get complaints over this. Wireless is also patchie.

So ask your daughter to find out whom the motels internet provider is and go from there. Most front desk have very limited knowledge of dealing with IT subjects but there should be someone there whom would be responcible for issues relating to the internet.

Rickie

semigeek

1606 posts

Uber Geek

#582564 16-Feb-2012 21:28

An option she could have is contacting unifone or WIC and seeing if she can get a wireless connection.

unifone.net.nz
wic.co.nz

If she is in a motel close to the UNI, WIC hotspots are probably not too far away.

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chevrolux

4962 posts

Uber Geek
Inactive user

#582587 16-Feb-2012 22:03

They probably just have the guest's LAN going through a captive portal and the bandwidth is throttled right down so everyone gets a fair chance if they all go online together.
If it were me, and I wanted my own connection, I would just apply to a provider and see what happens. Simple.

brand19

9 posts

Wannabe Geek

#582736 17-Feb-2012 12:08

Hi everyone and thank you for your quick replies. Yes she has a wired ethernet cable to the room (which runs slower than dialup) and has a phone in her room but to call her i need to call the motel and then type in the extension number.

Yes she is staying north of the uni in a building run by a motel (out back of the motel)

I will check out unifone and wic and get my daughter to find out a bit more about the motels internet connection.  she did ask about it at reception and they told her to go ahead and set up her own but slingshot wasnt so sure about it.

sorry I couldnt reply to you all individually, every time i clicked on 'reply' nothing happened.

raytaylor

4014 posts

Uber Geek

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#582986 17-Feb-2012 21:28

The main lines will be coming into the motel office. From there, they go into a PBX system and then to the rooms.

If she can get an ADSL connection installed onto one of the motels lines, she can install a modem at the pbx system, and run a cable over to her room's port on the ethernet patch panel.

Then she would have her very own modem and internet connection.

Auctually doing this however is going to require
- Permission from the account holder / motel owner to add a service to their line
- The PBX technician to install a DSL filter
- Possibly an I.T technician to setup the modem and connect the patch board to it.

Ray Taylor

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chevrolux

4962 posts

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Inactive user

#583028 18-Feb-2012 00:00

raytaylor: The main lines will be coming into the motel office. From there, they go into a PBX system and then to the rooms.

If she can get an ADSL connection installed onto one of the motels lines, she can install a modem at the pbx system, and run a cable over to her room's port on the ethernet patch panel.

Then she would have her very own modem and internet connection.

Auctually doing this however is going to require
- Permission from the account holder / motel owner to add a service to their line
- The PBX technician to install a DSL filter
- Possibly an I.T technician to setup the modem and connect the patch board to it.

Or she could just swap the current extension in her room for a line that is completely hers and not worry about anything.

Like I have said from the start, the only thing that would stop you doing this is pairs from the road. Easiest way to find out is to get your provider to put a line on and see what happens. It's not going to cost a dime if they cant do it so why worry.

nathan

5695 posts

Uber Geek
Inactive user

#583037 18-Feb-2012 00:19

+1 for 12GB of of 3G data from 2Degrees for $150 with 6 months to use it

brand19

9 posts

Wannabe Geek

#584060 20-Feb-2012 17:54

theres something i forgot to say, the motel is on a different street to the building my daughter is staying in, hers is behind the motel but her physical address is around the corner on another street. Would that make it easier for her to get her own connection to her room?

raytaylor

4014 posts

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#584132 20-Feb-2012 19:50

brand19: theres something i forgot to say, the motel is on a different street to the building my daughter is staying in, hers is behind the motel but her physical address is around the corner on another street. Would that make it easier for her to get her own connection to her room?

Nope. You need to look at a solution using the existing wiring which goes via the motels main office or comms room.
If you are wanting a new line bought in from the other street, then you are looking at thousands of $$$

Ray Taylor

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freitasm

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Geekzone

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#584140 20-Feb-2012 19:56

raytaylor:
brand19: theres something i forgot to say, the motel is on a different street to the building my daughter is staying in, hers is behind the motel but her physical address is around the corner on another street. Would that make it easier for her to get her own connection to her room?

Nope. You need to look at a solution using the existing wiring which goes via the motels main office or comms room.
If you are wanting a new line bought in from the other street, then you are looking at thousands of $$$

And probably a hard time convincing the property owner to let anyone ttouch their stuff - if something goes wrong during install and they have no communications because of that, then YOU would be in for a lot of trouble,

Get a wireless solution. Either a WISP or a mobile data solution.

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