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My main internet connection is fast (when it's working), but unreliable. Right now I'm using my phone as a 3G modem. Even though the connection is slower it is more dependable. If I connect to both at once, will I get the best of both worlds or will my computer just end up using one or the other?

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migrated from stackoverflow.com Mar 1 '11 at 3:44

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Using multiple internet connections at once is not a simple process and generally not necessary for residential users, especially if one is going to be from a phone. The most common setups are to have one connection as a fail-over to another or to load balance two connections, both of which are impractical with a phone.

The real question here should be why your internet connection is consistently failing.

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Unfortunately my entire apartment building (~600 ppl) share the same internet provider. I've been told that at least part of the problem is with the building's servers having insufficient capacity. But I'm no expert on such things. (As you might have gathered from my question.) – Stainsor Mar 1 '11 at 13:44
An ISP shouldn't let the capacity on their switches go over 80%, although 70% is optimum. If your ISP has oversold and has no intention of adding capacity, its time to look for a new ISP. There are usually other options in most areas, either by switching technologies (ie switching from dsl to cable) or by going with a clec instead of the ilec (reseller like covad or integra instead of AT&T as an example). – MaQleod Mar 2 '11 at 5:58

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