Staying in Touch By Email

ABOVE: The 3Com Global modem will allow you Internet access anywhere in the world - even from foreign telephones that will fry an ordinary laptop modem.

If you need to stay in touch with friends and family when traveling you’ll be happy to know that Belize is quite up to speed computers and Internet access. For such a small country, it has a large number of websites devoted to it. Computers are cheap compared to neighbouring countries. To stay in touch you basically have two options:

Bring your laptop or notebook. Before you decide to do this, weigh the inconvenience of dragging it around. Wise travelers know it’s best to travel as light as possible – some even recommend taking only carry-on luggage with them to make your trip as hassle-free as possible. Still others, such as your correspondent, wouldn’t survive a day without access to a computer.

Everything in Belize, from electricity, telephone system, to T.V. to cars is based on U.S. standards so you not need to lug around special voltage adapters or special modems (unless you intend to call your Internet Service Provider in the U.S. from your hotel room – more later in this article). Your laptop and all accessories will work fine in Belize. You can connect to the Internet by using your modem and a regular telephone to dial up to your provider in North America. While it works perfectly, you will need to re-configure your dial up settings on your laptop to dial 00-1 before your access provider’s number. The connection will be a little slower than normal since it’s a long-distance call. Worse, telephone rates in Belize are exorbitant especially at hotels so you should only stay online for a couple of minutes to pickup and send email, then disconnect. Otherwise you could be shocked when your phone bill exceeds your room bill.

If you intend to use your laptop to dial up your Internet Service Provider in the U.S. or elsewhere from a hotel, be careful in selecting your modem. Most laptops and notebooks bring built-in modems and they work fine with ordinary telephones, but not with PBX phones of the type found in hotels or big offices. The PBX telephone line voltage is slightly higher and could cook your modem. We recommend you invest in a modem such as the 3Com Megahertz 56K Global Modem PC Card. This modem card has a digital line guard to detect potentially damaging digital or PBX lines. The software allows your laptop or notebook to instantly set itself for worldwide use by simply selecting the flag or name or the country you are visiting.

Next page: Cyber Cafes