sharing mobile broadband access

[Ralph Pichie]

I have a Rogers rocket stick (ZTE 535) for mobile broadband access
from my current, temporary accommodation. I want to setup a temporary
office there for a week or two and would like to share access among
two or three computers, one a netbook running Ubuntu, the other dual
boot desktop running XP or Ubuntu.

There are two options, a) get a minimal Rogers cable service going,
with the wait, installation fee and cancellation issues that implies,
or b) figure out how to share my mobile broadband connection using the
equipment that I have or can reasonably afford to buy.
(I suppose that Rogers other portable option, the portable modem,
might be a third choice, but switching has it's own complications. DSL
will not work, and there are no open wireless networks within range,
unless you have a serious cantenna that you can lend me. Nor is
Starbucks an option for work requiring phone calls.)

I have a Linksys wired router that does not have a USB port. The
mobile broadband routers that I see advertised are $200 or more,
beyond what I want to pay for potentially limited use.

Anybody have suggestions for getting the router I have (a few years
old, but working last time i checked) to connect via a computer
attached to my 'Rocket stick'? Failing that, any suggestions on
finding a more affordable router that I could connect directly to the
device? Failing that, how about an Arecibo-scale cantenna?