The Basics:
1. Confirm 'CSD' capabilities of your cell service plan.
2. Establish connection between cell phone and computer.
3. Configure dialup networking to dial BAMnet's modem.

If you are connecting your cell phone to a handheld / PDA type device, see our Cell Phone to PDA section.

The Details:
1) Confirm that your cell phone service provider allows for fax/data type connections on your cell plan. Please note that we are not referring to high-speed wireless data services, or SMS (simple messaging services). We are referring to your cell service plan's ability to transmit a "fax" type of a call connection which for years has been widely accepted as part of cell service plans. This feature is typically referred to as CSD (circuit switched data).

Notice: As of January 2006, all new Cingular cell plans permantly block CSD. You will need to call them and ask to have CSD enabled for your cell service plan.

To test and determine if your cell service plan has CSD enabled, see the Tips section at the bottom of this page.

2) Establish a connection between your cell phone and computer. The most common connection types will be either bluetooth or using a data cable between your cell phone and computer.

Bluetooth connections are usually simpler to manage and don't require the purchase of additional equipment. However, using bluetooth versus a data cable will drain the battery life of your cell phone and computer faster then if using a datacable.

Data cables usually can be found on the cell phone manufacturer's website, not the website of your cell service provider. Or, you might find it discounted on these websites:
- www.yourmobiledesk.com
- www.mobileplanet.com

This cable will have an adapter on one end specific to connecting to your cell phone. The other end will have a USB plug which connects to your computer. Once you have your data cable, plug it into your notebook and install the software that came with the cable. This needs to be done before plugging your cell phone into the cable.

Once the data cable software has been installed, plug your cell phone into the data cable, and connect to your computer. Then install any additional phone/modem drivers that came with the data cable (if any). If no drivers, then go to your computer's control panel, click modems, and follow the steps for manually installing a new modem. As a result of the software you installed, you'll notice that you can find your cell phone model listed among the list of available modems - install your cell as a new modem.

Notice: Nokia cell phone owners can simply download from Nokia.com's website the data connection software suite which does all the configuring for you. In fact, after installation, from within the Nokia software you can insert BAMnet's dialup modem number, username/password and that's it! -- you're done.

3) The next step is to configure your computer's dialup networking by creating a new connection. Follow our directions on our configuration pages (find operating system at left). During the process of creating a new dialup networking connection, be sure to choose the newly created "cell" modem which you created in the previous step.

When ready to connect to the Internet, click the new dialup connection. Your computer's dialup networking will know how to make the cell phone dial BAMnet's modem number. Once connected, open Internet Explorer and browse the Internet.

Tips:
Nokia cell phone owners can install the Nokia software suite and use Nokia's dial-up software to dial BAMnet's modem number.

If during modem software installation, you could not find your cell phone model listed, choose Hayes Compatible or Microsoft Generic. You'll need to manually configure the modem by going into properties and uncheck the option for "wait for dialtone" as cell phones do not have a dialtone when compared to a 'land line' phone in your home or office. Additionally, you might need to guess a few times at which COM port is being used by the data cable connection.

Does my Cell Phone support CSD? Here is a trick you can try to see if your cell service plan supports the ability to dial a data connection such as a fax (or BAMnet's modems). Follow the steps above for connecting a data cable and installing a new modem, or use the bluetooth option between your cell phone and computer. When configuring a new dialup networking connection, set the number being dialed to a phone sitting near you. In essence, you are configuring your computer so that when you click "connect" to start the dialing process, at least you get to hear the phone near you ring. If it does in fact ring, then you know your cell service plan supports data connections. Otherwise, if the phone near you does not ring, then it's either your cell plan does not support data connections or you improperly configured the data connection between your cell phone and computer. One item to watch is the screen of your cell phone. When you click "connect" on the computer to start the dialing process, you should see the number being dialed on the screen of the cell phone. If there is no activity on your cell phone, its likely that the data connection is not configured properly. If the screen of your cell phone does light up with the number being dialed but then immediately drops the connection and your local phone never rings, that usually indicates the cell service plan does not support CSD (circuit switched data) connections.

What can I do if my cell service plan does not support data connections? Call your cell service provider and let them know that you have been trying to send faxes using your computer connected to your cell phone. Ask for the feature CSD (circuit switched data) to be enabled. Do not mention you would like to connect your cell to an Internet modem as they will then tell you that CSD is not available. As you can guess, they would like to sell you their own high speed Internet services for between $45 - $80 monthly fee.