No the wii doenst have to be connected to the net, you just need a cheap card reader of ebay for 4$ or nearly every single laptop has sd slots on the side, just note your wii mac address (found in settings menu) and enter on the letterbomb website and it generates a custom letter bomb file on your sd card then you put in wii and go to calender and click on it as it appears as a callendar message. its all very easy and straight forward, il talk you through the process on aim while you do it.