Internet options for rural residents

[vineyridge]

For those of us who live where broadband from cable or the phone companies isn't available, i.e. country folk, what internet options are there other than dial up?

[clint]

We use Wildblue satellite. It works quite well, and the few times we have had problems their customer service has been good.

[dressagetraks]

Hughes satellite.

Don't ever believe anyone who tells you it is as good as DSL. Not hardly.

But it's a lot better than dial up.

[MintHillFarm]

I am in the country too with no cable or DSL options, yet...

So I have Hughesnet, it's better than dial up but it is way overpriced and not nearly like cable or DSL. It also goes out in bad weather and snow on the dish itself is a pain...if you get it, have them mount the dish on a pole, not on the roof like I did! You will be able to brush the snow off it without hanging out the window!

I need high speed for my job so I pay the 90.00 a month for the satellite.
I have had it for about 4 yrs, it was very expensive to install back then. It will be much less now.

You can check out their web site www.hughesnet.com and see what they can offer you...

[Bluey]

We use Wildblue satellite. It works quite well, and the few times we have had problems their customer service has been good.

Ditto.

Be sure to keep your phone connection, slow as it is, because in big storms or blizzards, the satellite won't work.
It needs a direct line of sight, that works fine thru rein and snow, but not extreme amounts of it.

Wild Blue has two speeds and there seems to be little difference between them for regular internet service, even video downloads, but if you need more, do some serious downloads, work from home, then you may need the higher speed.

[clint]

Some improvements were made to the Wildblue dish a year ago or so, and we now can get reception in rain, although it probably still wouldn't work in a torrential downpour. It doesn't snow on us, so that is an unknown. It is better than dialup, as noted, and not as good as cable, also as noted. It is way better than dialup.

[wsmoak]

I was just at a friend's house who has Hughes satellite.

It was slow compared to cable broadband at home, but surely better than dialup!

--
Wendy

[deltawave]

We have Starband satellite, and although we had to find a 2nd router to talk with the modem in a civil manner, (the first one just was not a good match) it is fine. When the weather is bad we will sometimes get no service for a little while, but that's usually brief, and we get some FIERCE storms here. A good excuse to do something else. :D

[MunchkinsMom]

I use Sprint Wireless, it is basically like a cell phone that fits into a special slot in your PC, acts like a modem, and uses the wireless data network for access. If you are in an area that has high-speed data (aka EVDO), it will be as fast a cable or DSL. Unfortunately for me I don't have a high speed tower in my area, so I am on the lower speed, but it is still faster than dialup.

I did use Verizon, but their service in my area has gone downhill, too many disconnects, and I have to use this for my day job all day long.

Oh, not very expensive, about 50.00 a month.

We looked into a T1 line, well, that was 650.00 per month!

[cssutton]

I use Sprint Wireless, it is basically like a cell phone that fits into a special slot in your PC, acts like a modem, and uses the wireless data network for access. If you are in an area that has high-speed data (aka EVDO), it will be as fast a cable or DSL. Unfortunately for me I don't have a high speed tower in my area, so I am on the lower speed, but it is still faster than dialup.

I did use Verizon, but their service in my area has gone downhill, too many disconnects, and I have to use this for my day job all day long.

Oh, not very expensive, about 50.00 a month.

We looked into a T1 line, well, that was 650.00 per month!

I agree.

I am an Alltel old timer. With them for over 20 years, but since Verizon has taken them over I am really sick of their service.

I have threatned several times to change to AT&T but have not because Verizon keeps promising to upgrade the service in my area. They promise that it will be done this quarter.

Of course, I don't believe it.

I have seen, when traveling, and that is the great thing about the cell system; your laptop can connect from almost anyplace in the US, 1,000 kbs.

But at home it runs about 24 kps. At the office, 120 kps.

That is slow when you are downloading something like a movie, but it is fast enough for most use.

But the disconnects make me mad as hell.

Go cell but get a carrier other than Verizon.

CSSJR

Protect your privacy. Replace Google with IXQUICK at www.ixquick.com.


If we do not wish to lose our freedom, we must learn to tolerate our
neighbor's right to freedom even though he might express that freedom
in a manner we consider to be eccentric.

[JSwan]

I use Sprint wireless too.

It's a teeny bit on the slow side, and sometimes I get a roaming signal.

But overall it's reliable and it's much faster than dialup.

[Risk-Averse Rider]

I use Sprint Wireless, it is basically like a cell phone that fits into a special slot in your PC, acts like a modem, and uses the wireless data network for access. If you are in an area that has high-speed data (aka EVDO), it will be as fast a cable or DSL. Unfortunately for me I don't have a high speed tower in my area, so I am on the lower speed, but it is still faster than dialup.Not as fast as cable, certainly - even the 3G service. Don't know about DSL.

I had Verizon Broadband Access for a couple years and was even able to get a signal at the startbox on the x-c course up in Flagstaff - a notorious dead phone zone.

Last October, we switched to AT&T's 3G service. It supports VPN better than Verizon did, and the 3G is faster than Broadband Access was (Verizon also has 3G, which presumably is faster than Broadband Access, too).

I have the USB Mercury modem, and since the last firmware upgrade, I've been suffering from repeated disconnects. Have spent hours and hours on the phone with tech support. Got a replacement modem (but not a new SIM). Still having issues. Yet on my husband's machine, the new firmware works fine through his Cradlepoint router. <shrug>

Check to see what kind - if any - of 3G towers from various carriers might be in your area.

Satellite does not support VPN at all well - that might not be an issue for you, but it is for me. And probably for anyone who telecommutes.

We pay $60/month for our 3G service, but there's a 5GB cap. If you download lots of videos, that might not be enough.

[dmalbone]

Definitely, DEFINITELY get a sprint data card if at all possible!! Find out if they have a 30-day money back guarantee to ensure you can get service. Generally, I get much better wireless internet service at my home than cell service, so those aren't always the same. My husband works in IT and thought he was going to die when we moved to the country lol! We always had really fast cable internet, so he didn't think he'd be able to make it. Aside from downloads (I have to limit the YouTube a lot) it's fantastic. He researched everything and the satellite services are NOT as reliable or as cost effective. Look into their data caps. If you use a certain amount of your "fair usage" during peak times, they will cap your internet and basically kick you off for a certain period of time. Many many occurrences of doing work, myspace, random googling during peak hours and then BAM... the next day they had below dial-up speed. They won't kick you off but they will literally make your internet unusable. Does this happen to everyone? Obviously not or so many people wouldn't be using it still, but it's fairly common if you do research. It cost me $0 to get started with mine as well and I can use it any time of the day, storms, wind, and all! Plus... when I go out or travel, I automatically have internet with me. You can use it anywhere you have a signal.

[Dance_To_Oblivion]

We went with HughesNet as Wild Blue said they could not service our area(?!?!). We pay 79.99 a month for speed that is much better then dial up but not nearly as good as cable or dsl. The speed varies from day to day and in the past two months only once day has the weather killed it and we've had some really bad storms. It is the best we can get so we make do!

[PalominoMorgan]

Wildblue user here. Goes out in extreme weather, but that's ok b/c we unplug computers during summer storms anyway. In the winter I go out and scroop snow off the dish if needed. An easy chore to do on the way back from the barn. I insisted they mount it on a pole and not on the house or roof.

[2DogsFarm]

For the Technologically Damned (like myself):
Which of these providers will do all the grunt work for me?

Even though I used to do PC Support - back in the Dark Ages BW (Before Windows) I don't have the willingness to deal with hardware install myself.

Even though I have AT&T wireless and landline & 4 LARGE subdivisions less than a mile away...AT&T doesn't have Uverse or highspeed internet in my area yet.

Anyone use Comcast?

[ReSomething]

Somewhere recently I read that in the last five years they wired just about the entire state of KY for DSL or BB. So up here I not only have cell phone service I have AT&T DSL. And you know what? Every time we have an electrical storm, or a heavy rain, we lose connectivity. Very annoying. But the version I have is fast and supports Youtube quite well.

We actually had access to Comcast at the last place but I got tired of the cable service BS and cut it off before we acquired a home computer, so I have no opinion about their BB services.

[WaningMoon]

Definitely, DEFINITELY get a sprint data card if at all possible!! Find out if they have a 30-day money back guarantee to ensure you can get service. Generally, I get much better wireless internet service at my home than cell service, so those aren't always the same. My husband works in IT and thought he was going to die when we moved to the country lol! We always had really fast cable internet, so he didn't think he'd be able to make it. Aside from downloads (I have to limit the YouTube a lot) it's fantastic. He researched everything and the satellite services are NOT as reliable or as cost effective. Look into their data caps. If you use a certain amount of your "fair usage" during peak times, they will cap your internet and basically kick you off for a certain period of time. Many many occurrences of doing work, myspace, random googling during peak hours and then BAM... the next day they had below dial-up speed. They won't kick you off but they will literally make your internet unusable. Does this happen to everyone? Obviously not or so many people wouldn't be using it still, but it's fairly common if you do research. It cost me $0 to get started with mine as well and I can use it any time of the day, storms, wind, and all! Plus... when I go out or travel, I automatically have internet with me. You can use it anywhere you have a signal.

I had the lowest costing plan which they assured me would be enough. NOpe, two months into it I got an FAP warning. Switched to the next better one and still get shut down from time to time. I am told that the FAP affects every broadband user who is served by satellite, cable or phone line. I still am not fast enough to watch a video most times. I pay $73 a month through Wild Blue. I had not much choice , dial up here was so slow it took 40 minutes to get into my bank account. Then they took our Tv away by switching to digital. Bought the conversion box, no signal in this area so we had to go with satellite for TV too. INternet goes out every single day and often for several hours. I am not a happy customer at all.

[mlranchtx]

I agree.

I am an Alltel old timer. With them for over 20 years, but since Verizon has taken them over I am really sick of their service.

I have threatned several times to change to AT&T but have not because Verizon keeps promising to upgrade the service in my area. They promise that it will be done this quarter.

Of course, I don't believe it.

I have seen, when traveling, and that is the great thing about the cell system; your laptop can connect from almost anyplace in the US, 1,000 kbs.

But at home it runs about 24 kps. At the office, 120 kps.

That is slow when you are downloading something like a movie, but it is fast enough for most use.

But the disconnects make me mad as hell.

Go cell but get a carrier other than Verizon.

CSSJR

Protect your privacy. Replace Google with IXQUICK at www.ixquick.com.


If we do not wish to lose our freedom, we must learn to tolerate our
neighbor's right to freedom even though he might express that freedom
in a manner we consider to be eccentric.

I must have gotten lucky with Verizon. I had the same bad coverage, dropped calls at my house, ect... I called, they looked at my area on a map and said there was no hope for improved service. They let me out of my contract with no fee and I have AT&T and have the laptop connect device for internet. Love it. Nope, it's not cable or DSL at my house but it's sure faster than the phone line and the same price.

[dacasodivine]

We use Cricket and are fairly happy. We don't do a lot of downloads but the kids do watch some youtube. We lived with slow dialup for a year before making the move. In comparison, it's fast and only $40 a month.

[Daydream Believer]

We have a commercial grade Hughes Net dish here. We got it when we were broadcasting webcams...and we can still do it if we chose to pay for the bandwidth. It is a bit more reliable in bad weather than the smaller residential dishes. It's still slower than high speed but beats the hell out of dial up. My biggest complaint is that we end up throttled down a lot for overusing our bandwidth or Fair Access Threshold... which seems incredible...as we are not downloading large files. I think there is something else going on.

We pray for the day we can get Broadband out here....

[RacetrackReject]

I have Wildblue as well. It seems to work ok, but my bf's son HATES it because he's a gamer and apparently it sucks for gaming. I wonder if one of the Verizon or ATT internet plans would work better for him. Anyone have any idea? Anyway, no service in rain generally and random outage during the day, every day, at the same time it seems, even with sunny. It lasts less than 30 minutes, but still a pain when you were trying to look up something.

[Calvincrowe]

We use Airspeed Wireless, with a "direct line-of-sight" to the broadcast tower (one of the objects on our horizon), and it is wicked fast. According to Mr. CC, still not as fast as DSL but pretty darn close. He can play online games with no delay. It has never gone out during any kind of weather--even our 75mph blizzard of last December.

My brother uses Wildblue, and experiences downtime in heavy rain/snow and fog.

I fear we will never get cable in our area. We live in a National Scenic Monument--where any modernization is frowned upon. Good for open spaces, bad for cable installers.

[Equibrit]

Don't you HAVE to keep your phone line if you have the Satellite internet. Isn't it Satellite down to you and phone line back to them ?

[LexInVA]

I have Wildblue as well. It seems to work ok, but my bf's son HATES it because he's a gamer and apparently it sucks for gaming. I wonder if one of the Verizon or ATT internet plans would work better for him. Anyone have any idea? Anyway, no service in rain generally and random outage during the day, every day, at the same time it seems, even with sunny. It lasts less than 30 minutes, but still a pain when you were trying to look up something.

Gamers need straight land-line broadband. Either via Cable or direct fiber-optic connections. DSL doesn't cut it most of the time unless you're in a great location with good wiring and sometimes, that's even sketchy at best.

[deltawave]

Satellite can stand alone. We're all cellular now, the phone line is there but disconnected.

[springer]

Wildblue here- but you do have to watch how much you download as they only give you a limited amt of Broadband, on a 30 day rolling cycle. We learned that the hard way, and had to wait about 3 weeks for the speed to catch up again.

[MunchkinsMom]

This whole internet accessability thing has been a thorn in my side since I moved here 5 years ago, so this post might be a bit of a rant.

Before we even put an offer on the property, hubby checked with Alltel (now Windstream) and they said, yes, you have DSL in that local - LIARS! So we move in, and oops - 2 miles too far from the 2 DLS boxes in our area, so basically we have about 40-60 homes with no high speed at all. I was on a first name basis with their head engineer, offered to let them put a box in the middle of my front lawn if that is what it took, got a petion signed by all the neighbors - no luck. Got to the point where the engineer would not return my calls. To add insult to injury, a new DSL box went in about a mile up the road, but does not service us either - made us all mad as wet hens.

Checked the one and only cable company that services our area, they only offer 24 channels and no internet to our area. Can you believe that crap?

I know there was some sort of government mandate that all the companies were supposed to provide service to all the USA - haven't seen that happen yet. And you would think with the stimulus money offered now, that the companies would be trying to do something to get some of those funds. Nope.

So, because I telecommute, the satellite/VPN issue ruled that option out, hence the use of the wireless. Supposedly Sprint was going to put a high speed tower in about 2 miles from our farm, well, that has not happened yet either, and I think Verizon must have dropped a tower or something, because for the past 2 months, my cell phone has been on Extended Network, which is draining my batteries daily. ARG! And I have yet figured out how to get out of the voice prompts and to a real live person at Verizon tech support to figure that out.

[RacetrackReject]

Thanks Lex for the information. That is what I was afraid of, but I thought maybe I could make it little better for him when he's here. Oh well. He will have to suffer..lol.

MunchkinsMom- I share with you my secret to getting a live person on the phone. If they think you can sell you something, you always get an operator so choose the option that says something about upgrading or new service. Then when that person gets on the phone, tell them that you didn't know what option you needed, so could they transfer you to the correct department. This has always worked for me. =)

I am in your same situation. I check often to see if I have anything else available in my area and am always told yes. Then when I press the issue, it turns out that no, I can't get it. I have paid for DSL on 3 different occassions after being told repeatedly that I could get it in my area, only to receive a refund later because I could not get DSL. My co-op even has a test market of high speed internet available, but it's not my particular area.

[WaningMoon]

We have a commercial grade Hughes Net dish here. We got it when we were broadcasting webcams...and we can still do it if we chose to pay for the bandwidth. It is a bit more reliable in bad weather than the smaller residential dishes. It's still slower than high speed but beats the hell out of dial up. My biggest complaint is that we end up throttled down a lot for overusing our bandwidth or Fair Access Threshold... which seems incredible...as we are not downloading large files. I think there is something else going on.

We pray for the day we can get Broadband out here....

I for the life of me could not imagine how in the world I was getting these Fair Acess Policy warnings. When I called them they went through some of the sites I visit including this one, my yahoo email, lj, and they said "Well, this one takes this much and this one this much." I Forget the numbers but they were incredibly high. I didn't even know that was considered downloading. Thats how dumb I am about it all. They said any time it says "waiting for" or downloading pic, and that, it counts. I am always going over their limit, even though I have now upped to their next higher plan at $73 a month. I know now though about logging into my account with them and checking my usage for hte month. They send out the FAP warnings once you have used 80% of what is allowed. They say we will eventually get cable or DSL here but it will likely be a long time. Now that Fairpoint took over our area from Verizon things are not going too well at all. They are right now being investigated for not coming through with all their promises and zilch for customer service. They have even let the 911 emergency system fail twice now and ppl had to call their local state police barracks for help, imagine , in this day and age.

[MunchkinsMom]

It is mildly comforting for me to see that I am not the only one in a technological black hole! I thought for sure I was going to be the last person on earth to get high speed internet access.

[pintopiaffe]

TIMELY thread. I usually have 28.8 dialup, which is a pain, but doable. Lately it's been coming in around 19.4 and that is KILLING me. Even for job searching it's not enough!

I have no cable options, and don't do TV, so satellite is a bit over the top for just internet, no? Or are some of them JUST internet?

Got a doorknob hangtag awhile ago about some rural initiative... called on it and it's about $80/mo plus installation. :no:

I was looking at the Verizon cards as that's what we use in the cruiser, and I could get the 2nd lowest plan for about $60/mo.But I don't know about service. We don't have Sprint or any other cellular...

Cricket?

Off to google

[Boomer]

If your cell phone works on your farm, your carrier might have an internet card.

That's what I do - fast than dial-up... I have Alltel, but they are now Verizon in my area.

but the biggest advantage to me over satelite.... it works no matter the weather as long as cell signals are available, and I have a laptop, so I can take the internet to horse shows or where ever I might go.

The speed can vary. In the sticks it's fast than my old dial-up, but near or in a big city it's really fast.

[Tornado Run Farm]

:mad:- Well, hell, I was totally unaware that there was such a thing as a "Fair Access Policy" with HughesNet. I guess it was in the contract somewhere, probably buried in the fine print along with their promise you can get good speed - sometimes.

All those times I called and was screaming about the speed, NO ONE there mentioned anything about this! I NEVER got a warning or notice. How do they send these? I was on HughesNet for 4 years - had to have it because I, too, telecommute. I HATE that service - slipping and sliding down the hill in winter to then stand on a ladder to dust snow off the darn dish or taking a pan of hot water to melt the ice praying I wouldn't fall and break my neck. Then there were problems with the initial installation - they would install it "free installation," but *I* had to take the pick axe and dig the tunnel under the driveway for the cable from the dish by my pasture all the way up the hill to the house so the dude could then drill a hole in my wall. He only left enough excess cable where I could move the computer about a foot either way.

Grrr... I couldn't use the cellular gizmo because I'm on the cusp of cell service here, but I tried. The little girl told me to hold my laptop by a window - What? By a window? For 8 HOURS?!?!

Then HughesNet sent an offer for a FASTER speed with a handy dandy NEW modem with an "S" behind it. So against my better judgement, I locked myself into another year of service. The serviceman who came here to fix the darn thing (whatever they tell yout, it's NOT easy to switch to another modem), told me that if I DID notice improved speed I'd be the only one HE heard of. What?

So right after I committed to the "new and improved modem", 2 months later DSL came here (LOVE it BTW, I'm actually Wireless!). Then I told HughesNet to stick it. Well, guess what - they stuck it alright - to me. Charged me $400 early termination fee! :mad:... I'm so mad!

Sorry if this turned out to be rant - Guess I need to start a new thread for what to do with a worthless satellite dish and modem. Guess I could take the dish and make a shallow bird bath out of it or a splash pan for the downspout... Guess the modem could look pretty on top of the X-mas tree with all those blue lights. Any other ideas?

[Renn/aissance]

We had WildBlue for about a year and were extremely unsatisfied with their customer service. The product was all right, and they were very helpful until we'd purchased a plan, but after they had our money they were not interested in trying to help us fix the problems that arose.

When Verizon Fios became available in our area we jumped at the chance and have been very happy. Anyone want a WildBlue dish? ;)

[foggybok]

Had Verizon when we moved up here, it worked fine for me, but I am really glad were were able to get cable!

[Daydream Believer]

I for the life of me could not imagine how in the world I was getting these Fair Acess Policy warnings. When I called them they went through some of the sites I visit including this one, my yahoo email, lj, and they said "Well, this one takes this much and this one this much." I Forget the numbers but they were incredibly high. I didn't even know that was considered downloading. Thats how dumb I am about it all. They said any time it says "waiting for" or downloading pic, and that, it counts. I am always going over their limit, even though I have now upped to their next higher plan at $73 a month. I know now though about logging into my account with them and checking my usage for hte month. They send out the FAP warnings once you have used 80% of what is allowed. They say we will eventually get cable or DSL here but it will likely be a long time. Now that Fairpoint took over our area from Verizon things are not going too well at all. They are right now being investigated for not coming through with all their promises and zilch for customer service. They have even let the 911 emergency system fail twice now and ppl had to call their local state police barracks for help, imagine , in this day and age.

We never get any warnings from Hughes Net either. We just go to throttle down and nothing will load or it loads very very slowly...worse than dial up. It really ticks me off when they do that and we haven't even been on the net or downloading at all!! We pay $129 a month for commercial level service too so it's a real stretch that is happening when no one is home! I've called and after 10 minutes of menus and then a service person who speaks very accented English I can barely understand, they will tell us it's a mistake and take it off. UGH...

Now if we upload our website or download music/audiobooks, we do it in stages or we do it in the middle of night when there are no restrictions. What a PITA!

I can see I'm not the only one majorly frustrated with internet service...or the lack of it!

[Daydream Believer]

-
All those times I called and was screaming about the speed, NO ONE there mentioned anything about this! I NEVER got a warning or notice. How do they send these? I was on HughesNet for 4 years - had to have it because I, too, telecommute. I HATE that service - slipping and sliding down the hill in winter to then stand on a ladder to dust snow off the darn dish or taking a pan of hot water to melt the ice praying I wouldn't fall and break my neck. Then there were problems with the initial installation - they would install it "free installation," but *I* had to take the pick axe and dig the tunnel under the driveway for the cable from the dish by my pasture all the way up the hill to the house so the dude could then drill a hole in my wall. He only left enough excess cable where I could move the computer about a foot either way.

The only way we know if we are throttled down by the FAP is by checking our system. There is some way to open a webpage that tells us what is wrong. I think we can do this because we have our own IP address here...that was so we could broadcast webcams. My DH is the expert on this stuff...I'm just the one pulling out my hair when it does not work. Of course that usually happens when he is not here.

My frustration is if we have a Nor'Easter and it blows our dish off the satellite. Do you realize how hard it is to realign one of those bastards by yourself in a downpour? :o You have go out, move it half an inch, run inside to look at the computer to see what the signal strength is, much more of the same....eventually you do get it right but it is a major PITA.

I've done the snow and ice thing too...no fun at all....:no:


-Sorry if this turned out to be rant - Guess I need to start a new thread for what to do with a worthless satellite dish and modem. Guess I could take the dish and make a shallow bird bath out of it or a splash pan for the downspout... Guess the modem could look pretty on top of the X-mas tree with all those blue lights. Any other ideas?

I would like to know why Direct TV and all these satellite companies never take their dumb dishes back too. Could you use it as a toboggan or is yours too small? Ours is big enough. :lol:

Maybe you could sell them on Ebay? I have no idea what they are worth.

[JanM]

If you want ideas for using outdated dishes someone should call Martha Stewart or maybe the Design Star show could have that for a challenge.

If you put a turntable under it you could use it for a lazy susan or chip and dip set. Salad bowl? Hold finger sandwiches? Cookie Tray? Popcorn bowl? Put foil on it and wear it to block the Martians controlling your mind?
Actually you can resell modems and satellite dishes once your contract is up. A friend bought a used one and found out he couldn't get service because the previous owner had a lien on it from the tv company. You can get internet only dishes-I think with Wild Blue, and the high speed for lots of internet companies is actually from the satellite internet companies. You can also get tv/internet dual dishes but the tv is Direct or Dish, and the internet is Wild Blue (at least around here).

There are test projects around the country where they do broadband over the existing electric lines-no modems just plug in the computer to the power source and somehow it works, but it's in very limited areas.

[deltawave]

I have no cable options, and don't do TV, so satellite is a bit over the top for just internet, no? Or are some of them JUST internet?

We have one satellite (Dish Network) for TV, and another (Starband) for internet. No cable options out here at all, so we have two dishes. My husband works from home so the internet is vital, but when the weather gets bad or the system goes wonky (satellite + VPN is not always a harmonious relationship) he goes to the bookstore, hospital or marina to use their wireless.

[ToTheNines]

Had satellite for years (Wildblue and Starband). Hated them both after they implemented the FAP. Switched to Sprint, and LOVE it. I am near a highway and have great Sprint cell phone service, so maybe that's why my Sprint broadband connection works so well. It is a tiny thing that simply goes into a USB port.

It is not difficult to get up and running, but I have had to make a few calls to Sprint's call center for help when it seemed slow. Help was excellent. Be sure you are properly connected as EVDO rev A and that you have the most recent "finder" update downloaded.

[BasqueMom]

We have a Sprint wireless card. Got it for DH's laptop. He sat there on the sofa with
high speed while I struggled with dial up on old phone lines in our area. A friend tuned us in to a special router for the card and ponied up $250 for the router. Viola! It has it occasional slower spells but compared to what I had.........

We have highspeed available nearby but years of promises haven't brought it to our place.
We did finally spring for satellite for the TV a few months ago but DH passed on the satellite
internet. Am glad we did as it gets intermittent every time it rains....sigh! This system is
Dish. In Colorado, we had Direct and the only time we had a problem was one the dish got
covered with snow. Had back up regular antennas for when that happened. We usually
could not get out on the deck to knock the snow off.

The Sprint card is about $65 a month. We also take it with us on the road. It however does not fit into my newer lap top.

[NJRider]

Ahhh- I have had the Alltel quick link access internet that I hook up to my laptop for $25 a mo but notice for the first time a lot of disconnects while online. The switch to Verizon explains it! It used to be pretty good. It is still overall better than dial up but the service is not as good now that it is not Verizon. I should beat the crap out of Chad......

[nadasy]

When I moved up where I am now, my only option was dial up. I'd never had cable, or DSL or satellite. I knew that certain people in my area had DSL, and was told I could get it, and then when they sent people out, they said no. This went on for 8 months while I was trying to build a 200 page website on dial-up.:( I just about lost my mind-what was left of it)

I persevered, and kept calling, because they kept promising, until finally after 18 months of alternating banging my head on the desk and falling asleep, I was able to get through to one of the managers. He came out and explained that while there was cable, it was buried, and there were - I think he called them 'loads' on the lines in the fields, that there weren't really enough people on this road to warrant digging them up. Well, he investigated and my neighbors on either side of me had DSL. One was closer to the tower and the other was further away. He really advocated for me with his boss, because there were others on this road that wanted DSL also for work. They finally came out and we all got DSL- I was thrilled.

When I went South this year for 5 months, I was in Ocala for part of the time, and got a Verizon air card. It was great, but didn't work when I came home, (I had already signed up and thought I could just keep that, because it worked great.) It didn't work at all, so I went back to my carrier and Verizon released me from the contract. I had the 5G plan, and was able to update 4 websites I manage plus my own and never went over 5G's. I have tons of images, but had all of them in place just adding maybe 50 a month, but also a fair amount of data.

Since my cell is Verizon, and it hardly gets service here, and my contract is up, I got an AT&T Rugby. I've been with Verizon since 1998. This new one is tetherable, and you only pay for it when you use it. So I can use it like an air card. No paying if you are not which means I can have my regular carrier when I'm home, and use the Rugby as an air card when I'm South.

Areas where I go have better service than Verizon. Also the Rugby is water and 'horse' proof pretty much. I know some people who got them, because they had dropped theirs in water buckets. I tend to drop mine on the floor, off the tractor or just indiscriminately :lol: The military uses them because they are pretty indestructible. It's no Blackberry, but I love it, and it's easy to use and I can see the numbers and use the number pad with my big thumbs. :D

[nadasy]

Munchkins Mom
I got tired of that as well, I just keep hitting '0'. :lol: Keep after them, I just posted a similar post. Dinah

[nadasy]

You can get internet only dishes Are these made by those of us disgusted with cable/satellite company's? Are we 'letting them eat cake'? or telling them to 'eat crow' pies? It's late. I can tell because everything sounds funny. Sorry, don't mean to giggle about this. Been there. Not happy with the cable/sat systems. Dinah

[RidingAllDay]

I use a Verizon Wireless device.

www.evdoinfo.com - they discuss and sell all the major companies.

It is nothing like DSL or Cable (which I used to have :()

But now it is all I can get.

Does the trick.

[pintopiaffe]

So, a question--how can you use LESS bandwith when just visiting BBs for example?

What's the cleanest, fastest way if you're doing mostly text stuff?

I know when I had Juno I used to turn off images. If I wanted to see a pic, I'd right click and download... I'd also download mail, sign off, and read. I rarely/never do that anymore since I'm on unlimited dial up... but if I went to something faster, there would be size restrictions, no??

Also thinking if there are ways to be downloading less, I might get better use of my dinosaur dialup and even older laptop. Poor baby just clicketyclicks away trying to do stuff.

[MaresNest]

Some improvements were made to the Wildblue dish a year ago or so, and we now can get reception in rain, although it probably still wouldn't work in a torrential downpour. It doesn't snow on us, so that is an unknown. It is better than dialup, as noted, and not as good as cable, also as noted. It is way better than dialup.

I must have had the old dish. I had WildBlue until about January, and found it to be a total ripoff.

Now I tether a Blackberry to the computer. It's faster than WildBlue and works anywhere that I get cell phone coverage. I've used it driving in a car, even. (As a passenger in the car, not the driver, btw. ;) )

A word of caution about going the cell phone route: They'll try to sell you one of those USB card modem things. They'll tell you that they work everywhere a cell phone works. They DON'T. At least, Verizon's don't.

[dressagetraks]

Thanks for the EVDO link above!

That was able to tell me pretty conclusively what I already suspected (from cell phone behavior) anyway. I live in a dead area for Verizon, AT&T, and Sprint wireless services. :lol: I do have a cell phone but never even have it turned on at home, no point. It's sole purpose is for calling for help from my vehicle if I break down, provided that I've broken down more than 7 miles from home so I can in fact use it.

I love my farm, but it is in the country. First comment of nearly all first-time visitors: "I know you said it was in the country, but I didn't realize . . ." People don't come this far off the main roads even to get lost.

Back to my Hughes.net. Sigh.

[MunchkinsMom]

Thanks for the EVDO link above!

That was able to tell me pretty conclusively what I already suspected (from cell phone behavior) anyway. I live in a dead area for Verizon, AT&T, and Sprint wireless services.

I want to say thanks also. It shows that my current Sprint service is not 3G - which I already knew, but what annoyed me is that it looks like it is about 3 houses on either side of mine. What is up with that?!?!? Same damned dead zone as the DSL?

Oh, I also finally got a person from Verizon, and they said no outages in the towers, but I have to go drive somewhere where I get regular service, then upgrade the roaming thing! She had me remove the battery to "reboot" the phone too! That in itself was a bit of a hassle.

Supposedly Verizon and AT&T have 3G coverage on my road, but I still have my doubts on that.

[Lori]

I have an ATT air card and run in 2G. It is still better than dial-up.

[Bar Lazy S]

The only way we know if we are throttled down by the FAP is by checking our system. There is some way to open a webpage that tells us what is wrong.

http://192.168.0.1/ should bring up the control console for most Hughesnet users. Click on the little icon to the right of "What do these controls mean?" in the gray bar for the advanced menu.

I'm on a ranch in the 'big empty' ~150 mi. west of Ft. Worth. No cable. No DSL. No wireless broadband. In fact, AT&T and a regional outfit are the only carriers w/ reliable voice and messaging cell service here (but in a house with a metal roof I'm still limited to two bars, at best). Satellite broadband is the only option. We have Hughesnet at one house & Wildblue at another. I haven't noticed much difference between them, except for the way the FAP threshold is calculated. I prefer Hughesnet's method for a household w/ a home network. Neither offers acceptable customer service by telephone, and I highly recommend getting to know their local sub-contractor (the people that actually do the work onsite), and calling them directly with questions and problems.


Ten years ago dialup was tolerable here, max ~33K, but that's dropped to a max of ~26K (usually closer to 14.4K) since maintenance of the landline infrastructure has diminished due to decreasing demand. Maintenance of modem banks has apparently declined as well. On the infrequent occasions when I have to use dialup it can take 3 or 4 tries just to get a connection.

[Lincoln]

Maresnest or anyone else clever... how do you tether a computer to your blackberry? I have WildBlue in rural NH and it is REALLY REALLY bad. Good point to get to know the local contractor. I wish ours were more competent, and that I wasn't so dumb as to lock into a two year contract. I feel like one of those people who got an adjustable rate mortgage and had no idea...

Anyway, my Blackberry works great with Verizon, so how would I hook up a laptop to it?

[JanM]

Lincoln-can't you just get a Verizon card or USB for your laptop? Actually I just looked and Verizon has mobile broadband with a PC card, or usb. Call them and I'm sure for a price they'll connect you.

[Desert Topaz]

My biggest recommendation for anyone considering/weighing the options between satellite internet companies is find out how often their techs are in your area. Wildblue's techs are only in our area once a month. So if something breaks we end up waiting a long time. It took them 2 months to hook our dishes up.

We also had the problem with running up against our bandwidth limit (darn 30 day roll over instead of the daily Hughes has) and I now religiously watch our usage. It took a whole month to get down to the 70% to get our speed back (I have no idea what in heavens we did to use 70% in the span of a week.) But, I'd rather take the slow down than the ridiculous overage fees laptop cards like to charge you.

[atlatl]

Ditto.

Be sure to keep your phone connection, slow as it is, because in big storms or blizzards, the satellite won't work.
It needs a direct line of sight, that works fine thru rein and snow, but not extreme amounts of it.



Actually, the satellite works just fine in the rain and snow; it's the receiver that has the problem closing the link. It's a trade off between link closure (quality of service) and the size of the dish. Buy a big enough dish for your ground unit and the link closes. It's just that big dishes are much much more expensive and not every one appreciates the beauty of a 14 foot dish.:)

[atlatl]

My biggest recommendation for anyone considering/weighing the options between satellite internet companies is find out how often their techs are in your area. Wildblue's techs are only in our area once a month. So if something breaks we end up waiting a long time. It took them 2 months to hook our dishes up.



The better questions to ask are about the actual coverage in your area. Is a beam dedicated to your area, is there handoff between beams? Are you at the hairy edge of the beam? Is there a guaranteed quality of service?

Inquiring minds want to know.

[vineyridge]

Thanks for the link for the wireless coverage maps. It appears that both AT&T and Verizon are available here, but you only get 5 Gs of bandwidth before they start charging 48 cents extra per something. That could add up in a hurry. My cell phone never has more than two bars, and I think it runs off ATT's network--I use Tracfone because I use the cell so rarely that it doesn't make sense to spend for a plan.

I get (supposedly) 49 kps on dial up; that's the fastest I've ever gotten but it's regular. ATT dialup is unlimited usage for $23 per month here. The minimum plan for the wireless broadband is $60 per month. DSL, if one can get it, is only $30 per month, and it is also unlimited.

When are the phone companies going to spend all that money they have collected for universal service and actually provide it?

[MaresNest]

Maresnest or anyone else clever... how do you tether a computer to your blackberry?

Hi Lincoln,

All you need is the right USB cord (there are a few different kinds) and the VZ Access Manager software installed on your computer. Also, you have to have a plan that supports internet. If you're on one of the low end plans, that might mean an upgrade. Not sure, as we've always had big-ish family plans, anyway.

JanM,

Though the folks in the store will tell you that the USB cards work everywhere a cell phone works, they definitely don't. I have a relative who uses mobile internet for her business, and she and her colleagues have had far better luck with simply tethering a cell phone to the computer than with the USB cards. When I got rid of my WildBlue service, I should have just listened to her experience, but I allowed the Verizon people to convince me to get a USB card. Although I get good cell phone coverage at my house, I didn't get any USB wireless card reception at all. :eek: So, though the people in the store will swear up and down that the reception is the same, in my experience (and the experience of about 10 other people who work with my relative) it is definitely not. At least not with Verizon. That's why I recommended tethering a Blackberry, and not going with a wireless USB card.

[yventer]

http://192.168.0.1/

Ten years ago dialup was tolerable here, max ~33K, but that's dropped to a max of ~26K (usually closer to 14.4K) since maintenance of the landline infrastructure has diminished due to decreasing demand. Maintenance of modem banks has apparently declined as well. On the infrequent occasions when I have to use dialup it can take 3 or 4 tries just to get a connection.

I still keep my dialup service even tho' I have HugesNet satellite for my main internet connection. The cable people tell me I'm too far off the road (300 meters!). So I pay $21.95 for MSN plus $59.99 for HughesNet, per month. I need to be able to access the internet through the not infrequent severe weather we have here, so even the 14-18 KBS I get on dial up is better than nothing.

You want to talk about angry?!? And frustrated?!? Don't get me started.

[LexInVA]

If you want cable Missy, here's what ya do:

1. Put a small utility shed on the edge of your property near the road. One of those cute little pre-fab jobs is fine.

2. Get the cable company to put a line in there. They will likely do it.

3. Pay someone to run an underground coax line from your home to the shed. It's what the cable company would do but refuses to because of the expense to them in manpower and such. There's no technical reason why you can't have it. They just can't justify the cost of giving it to you.


It's totally doable. I see it all the time with large estates.

[poltroon]

We have wireless broadband which works pretty well. There is signal bouncing around on the local peaks into the various valleys. If you're line of sight to a transmitter, you're good.

People are very flexible around here, because there are a lot of off-the-grid types. If you are line of sight to someone else who is line of sight, you can relay it from one house down to the next, and therefore into a valley with only one or two users. Of course, you should only do this with the permission of the provider and the relay, or else it is stealing. But, since it's a local company, they're quite happy to problem solve and get themselves new customers this way.

Try asking around your local area to see what people have. If there's a school nearby, ask what they have. It might be possible to get a line from the school to you, for example.

[MunchkinsMom]

When are the phone companies going to spend all that money they have collected for universal service and actually provide it?

My question exactly! Is there someone we can gripe to in authority in the government that can force them to actually DO something. From the looks of these posts, there are still way too many "dead zones" in the country.

[TripleRipple]

I use a Verizon Wireless device.

www.evdoinfo.com - they discuss and sell all the major companies.

It is nothing like DSL or Cable (which I used to have :()

But now it is all I can get.

Does the trick.

Another thanks for that link - going there now. Dialup has been slower than molasses this last week. Combine bad dialup with a local phone company whose switching devices start running slowly in extreme heat (or ice up and freeze in the winter, so we are without service until they can drive a snowcat up to a remote mountain top to warm them up) and it is major frustration.

I was just looking again at hughesnet and wildblue, and not liking what I saw. Our local cell company, Unicell, was taken over by Verizon, and oddly, our coverage is now excellent (you can't probably get more remote than we are). Maybe this card/wireless broadband thing will do the trick!

ETA: oops just read poltroon's post - that sounds as remote as we are:)

[cssutton]

My question exactly! Is there someone we can gripe to in authority in the government that can force them to actually DO something. From the looks of these posts, there are still way too many "dead zones" in the country.


In NC, the state utilities commission takes complaints very seriously.

How seriously FL would take it, I have no idea but it is a good place to start.

CSSJR

Protect your privacy. Replace Google with IXQUICK at www.ixquick.com.


If we do not wish to lose our freedom, we must learn to tolerate our
neighbor's right to freedom even though he might express that freedom
in a manner we consider to be eccentric.

[Bluey]

We are in direct line of sight to a transmitter, but they tell us we are too far at 9 miles, that all the signal will carry is 8 miles.:(
They came and tested it and so that is why we have Wild Blue.

Our phone is 13 miles from the company, also too far for our lines, so we are on old, slow dialup if not on WB.

[MaresNest]

Our local cell company, Unicell, was taken over by Verizon, and oddly, our coverage is now excellent (you can't probably get more remote than we are). Maybe this card/wireless broadband thing will do the trick!

I realize I'm becoming a broken record, so I'll drop it after this last post. :)

I, too, get great Verizon cell reception at my house. But the Verizon broadband cards DO NOT work here. I have found (as have about 10 people I know who use mobile internet for business) that tethering a Blackberry or other smart phone is a much, much more reliable way to go. The people in the Verizon store will swear up and down that the broadband cards work everywhere that the phones do, but they don't.

[TripleRipple]

Mares Nest - I just did enough reading now to realize that I'd have to sign up for a two year contract; and that some are finding that their USB modems are having major issues 3/4 of the way through that contract.

Most major problem: I don't do 2 year contracts for this kind of stuff, so unless I can find a monthly deal where I could cancel if there was a problem, there will be no broadband card for me.

[MunchkinsMom]

The people in the Verizon store will swear up and down that the broadband cards work everywhere that the phones do, but they don't.

I can vouch for that, unless Verizon has upgraded their towers and software that goes with the cards to be better than it was 2 years ago. My phone worked way better than the aircard did. Even the phones that can do internet stuff may not work as well as the voice functions on the phone, there is a difference between the voice transmissions and the data transmissions.

[Saidapal]

Ditto the cards don't work everywhere even when they tell you they do. I also live where there are very few options.

I started with AT&T because they have my cell....my God it was slower than dial up. It was absolutely miserable. Called them, spent 2 hours on the phone with them and the best they could come up with was move my furniture and get a cable. Before I decided to cancel I figured the cable wouldn't hurt.

Here's where I got lucky. I went to the local Radio Shack in my area and told them what was going on....and they told me AT&T stinks in our area, and that my best bet was Sprint. I went ahead and got the Sprint air card while I was there and I zipped, zipped, zip around. Cancelled AT&T before the 30 days ended (they weren't happy).

The air card (broadband) is as fast as the internet at work. I'm happy.

[LexInVA]

With the cards, it just comes down to what is running off the towers in your area. EVDO is more likely to work in urbanized areas because they have newer and upgraded cell towers. Out in rural areas, the towers are still relatively old or they are owned by specific carriers who do not support the standards and frequencies that other carriers use on their networks. That's why you have have Sprint data functionality in one area and no Verizon functionality in another. Such is life.

[poltroon]

Mares Nest - I just did enough reading now to realize that I'd have to sign up for a two year contract; and that some are finding that their USB modems are having major issues 3/4 of the way through that contract.

Most major problem: I don't do 2 year contracts for this kind of stuff, so unless I can find a monthly deal where I could cancel if there was a problem, there will be no broadband card for me.

When I was asking friends about this, they said that Verizon has a 30 day 'no questions asked' policy, where you can drop the contract in the first 30 days if you're unhappy. Worth looking into.

Also, I understand that if you buy the equipment outright, you don't need a contract. That may be appropriate for some situations.

I was looking for a mobile broadband connection to supplement my regular access when I travel, for example so I'd be online on the train, etc., so in my case I was looking for something where I might use it extensively for a month and then not at all for several months.

[Elfe]

If you want cable Missy, here's what ya do:

1. Put a small utility shed on the edge of your property near the road. One of those cute little pre-fab jobs is fine.

2. Get the cable company to put a line in there. They will likely do it.

3. Pay someone to run an underground coax line from your home to the shed. It's what the cable company would do but refuses to because of the expense to them in manpower and such. There's no technical reason why you can't have it. They just can't justify the cost of giving it to you.


It's totally doable. I see it all the time with large estates.

Can you elaborate on this? I am technologically challenged !!!!
My house is about a quarter mile from the road. Houses on the road do have cable.
If I lay regular coax cable all the way from the road to my house, then what ? How do you connect the cables at either end ? Or are coax and Comcast cables the same ?
Thanks in advance !

[Thomas_1]

Even though we don't have a robust electricity supply or mains water, we have broadband.

We got it as part of a government initiative following the foot and mouth crisis and to stimulate and revitalise the rural economy.

Don't ask me how that works...... It doesn't! But at least we got broadband!

[MunchkinsMom]

Even though we don't have a robust electricity supply or mains water, we have broadband.

We got it as part of a government initiative following the foot and mouth crisis and to stimulate and revitalise the rural economy.

Don't ask me how that works...... It doesn't! But at least we got broadband!

I'm jealous! Supposedly they have a similar initiative here in the US, but. . . lord knows if and when they will get off their collective behinds and make it happen.

Just asked my husband what he was using, he said Sprint for the whole house (they all connect wirelessly) and Verizon for his work laptop (supplied by the client). His Sprint is EVDO, probably because he put an antenna on the roof, and spend a few hundred bucks on a booster for it. Go figure. Here I am in the next room on lower speeds because I am too cheap to buy the booster and antenna.