# Not Dog Related - Rural High Speed Internet?



## K Armes (Jul 5, 2006)

We just purchased a small farm in a rural area. I signed up with the cable company for cable and internet only to find out that the cable lines end approximately 1 mile from our new place. The phone company does not offer DSL at the address. I need high speed internet in order to log in remotely to my office computer. 

Have any of you tried any of the satellite broadband providers? If so, any opinions? Thanks in advance.


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## JeffLusk (Oct 23, 2007)

we have the verizon wireless internet, it works anywhere that our cell phones can get a signal, which is a lot of places.. 
so far its working pretty good. my gf has online classes for college, so when we go on trips or she goes to work, she can still get online and do her classwork


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## roxie (Oct 23, 2003)

Kate...?

I use Wild Blue satellite at the house with good results. It's not quite as good as cable/DSL, but it's certainly better than dial-up. The only other downside is the price.


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## Vicky Trainor (May 19, 2003)

I have been using Direcway (now Hughes.net) for several years. Pretty good speed. Downside is it goes out in really bad storms  Just when I need it 'cause I'm bored and can't do much else than be on the computer!!


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## badbullgator (Dec 20, 2004)

Vicky Trainor said:


> I have been using Direcway (now Hughes.net) for several years. Pretty good speed. Downside is it goes out in really bad storms  Just when I need it 'cause I'm bored and can't do much else than be on the computer!!


Vicky
How was the start up cost? When I checked a few years ago the equipment was $$$$ in the $6-800 range I think. 
Hate Comcast regards


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## msdaisey (May 13, 2004)

I have had Hughes.net for about 6 years. It was $300 to purchase the satellite (including installation) and it is $70/month.

I recently also added the Verizon Wireless Broadband and love it. It is nice being mobile and having access anywhere. Will probably get rid of Hughes, but I am still not sure.


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## K Armes (Jul 5, 2006)

Does Verizon have usage limits? Thanks!


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## roxie (Oct 23, 2003)

Yes...

http://www.verizonwireless.com/b2c/...9&lid=//global//plans//wireless+internet+plan


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## birdog (Nov 20, 2007)

I have Starband satelite internet. All satelite internet servers are similar in speeds. Download is ok at best and upload.....well, stinks. You can usually "upgrade" your plan to receive higher down/up speeds, but it is hardly noticeable. Not worth the add'l $30-$60 /mo. 

Verizon cards are your best bet, especially if you are in a "Rev A" area for cell reception (which is generally just the big metro areas). I have a card for work (cell reception stinks where my house is located) and like it when I use it. You can get modems from Verizon that accept the card and then plug the modem into your desktop or wireless router.

Good luck....
bh


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## badbullgator (Dec 20, 2004)

What is the cost of the wireless service? I don't really know how much usage 5GB is?? What would one expect to pay for this each month and how much use is 5GB?


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## birdog (Nov 20, 2007)

BBG, try this...
http://www.uswitch.com/BroadbandUsage/Index.aspx


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## msdaisey (May 13, 2004)

I use my Verizon for at least seven hours a day, and have had no usage problems. 

When I watch one episode of Ugly Betty via Hughes.net, they shut me down for 24 hours!!!!


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## YardleyLabs (Dec 22, 2006)

I also use Verizon wireless ($60/month for unlimited usage) to connect from my laptop. The transmission speed can be painfully slow in areas with marginal cell phone coverage (e.g. parts of rural southwest Georgia) but generally the service is quite good.


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## taylormade (Mar 2, 2006)

Hmm, I'm not a techie, so I'm sure I'm going to make myself look foolish by explaining this wrong, but a lot of rural areas these days have high speed internet available locally through some sort of radio tower frequency thingie. You have a small satellite on your roof (like a DirectTV dish) but it is not really picking up satellite - it is pointed at a tower like a cell or radio tower.

I work from home full time in a computer-based industry, and mine is blazing fast. There was no charge for the dish, but they charged me $100 installation. The monthly fee is about $70, but you can get it cheaper if you take the slower speed (I signed up for the fastest).
It has occasionally gone out in a storm, but not often.

Only bad thing is these are usually small local companies and I don't know how to tell you to find out if there is such a thing in your area. Just ask around, I guess.

The verizon (or any mobile carrier) thing would be nice because you can take it anywhere, but I have heard it is not nearly as fast as whatever I have is called.

Vickie


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## Brad B (Apr 29, 2004)

taylormade said:


> Hmm, I'm not a techie, so I'm sure I'm going to make myself look foolish by explaining this wrong, but a lot of rural areas these days have high speed internet available locally through some sort of radio tower frequency thingie. You have a small satellite on your roof (like a DirectTV dish) but it is not really picking up satellite - it is pointed at a tower like a cell or radio tower.
> 
> I work from home full time in a computer-based industry, and mine is blazing fast. There was no charge for the dish, but they charged me $100 installation. The monthly fee is about $70, but you can get it cheaper if you take the slower speed (I signed up for the fastest).
> It has occasionally gone out in a storm, but not often.
> ...


Well could you share with us what the name of the company is that you're using? That might help out. 

I use the Verizon card when working side jobs and it's really fast. At times it comparable to my DSL at home. It's the new Rev-A service and as far as I know it's unlimited usage. But if you're out of a area with broadband coverage it's insanely slow.


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## birdog (Nov 20, 2007)

Brad B said:


> Well could you share with us what the name of the company is that you're using? That might help out.
> 
> I use the Verizon card when working side jobs and it's really fast. At times it comparable to my DSL at home. It's the new Rev-A service and as far as I know it's unlimited usage. But if you're out of a area with broadband coverage it's insanely slow.





I think she's talking about companies like Clearwire. You can do a search for them and their website shows areas it serves. There might be other cell broadband companies out there, I dont know. It is a faster technology, but is usually only set up in areas that have a larger population base....


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## Henry V (Apr 7, 2004)

I had WildBlue Satellite internet service installed last month. At this time, satellite was the only available option. I had no option for cable or dsl. The verizon network coverage is not yet available. The closest town does have a wireless service but it does not reach my location.

It was $211 for the equipment and installation was free. I regularly test my connection speed at www.testmy.net and downloads for the 512K service have been 300-450 Kbps. Uploads have been close to the reported 100Kbps speed. The monthly fee is $50. It would be $70 to double my download speed.

My service has slowed the past couple days. Apparently they have a "fair access" policy that you need to pay attention to. If you use the service too much they neck down your connection. Today, my download is only 75 Kbps and my upload is restricted to 26 Kbps. For $20 buck I can increase my speed. If I don't pay I need to wait a couple days so I do not exceed 80% of my limit. For those that only have satelite as an option, they've got you.............


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## Pushbutton2 (Apr 9, 2004)

I live in Wills Point, TX. We have the same problem.
When I was looking for internet options 2 years ago,I found Wild Blue(satellite), Rural Net(RF Tower), and one other. 
I couldn't do RF tower one because the Landlords house is in the Way.
I didn't do Wild blue cause of the $ for the equipment.
The third option I found the Tower was $1,500 and it was $70+ month for service. Went back to dial-up.

Looking at getting 2 Verizon Cards. 1 for me on the road and one for Wife at home? MAYBE! that'll be $120/month for internet......... I am thinking it is not that important to me. I have Wi-Fi for my laptop. It costs $20/month I get 15gigs of Bandwidth. 
BTW I am an over the road truck driver. I have been sitting a lot so I spend HOURS a day on the Net. I haven't run out of Bandwidth yet.

To get back to your Question. I just did a Quick Search using LIVE SEARCH for Rural internet and came up with several options.


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## msdaisey (May 13, 2004)

We do have Lower Shore Broadband in our area (repeater thingys are on towers around the area), but there are trees in the way, so I can't use it. 

If you get a removable Verizon card, you only need one. In order to share your connection at home, you will need a 3G router, which has a slot for plugging the Verizon card in to it. You are not supposed to share the connection, but have seen people do it successfully. 

If it is built into your laptop, as is mine, you can't do that.


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## taylormade (Mar 2, 2006)

Brad B said:


> Well could you share with us what the name of the company is that you're using? That might help out.


Brad B -
The name of my company is "Speed of Light" Broadband. Their website is www.solbroadband.com They operate in N Texas (north of Dallas in the Denton area).

I know these RF tower companies all operate under different names by location, though, so I don't know if that will help. But I get dpwnload speeds up to 8 Mb and upload up to 2 Mb - large enough to handle the large documents and spreadsheets I deal with daily in the blink of an eye. and service is very reliable.

Vickie


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## Brad B (Apr 29, 2004)

taylormade said:


> Brad B -
> The name of my company is "Speed of Light" Broadband. Their website is www.solbroadband.com They operate in N Texas (north of Dallas in the Denton area).
> 
> I know these RF tower companies all operate under different names by location, though, so I don't know if that will help. But I get dpwnload speeds up to 8 Mb and upload up to 2 Mb - large enough to handle the large documents and spreadsheets I deal with daily in the blink of an eye. and service is very reliable.
> ...


Thanks, that's interesting technology. I had not heard of that before.


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## Anthony Heath (Jan 3, 2003)

Alltel also offers the EVDO cards like Verizon so they may be an option for you. Typically they offer pricing that is better than Verizon for their services. I have been quite satisfied with my card and Kyocera KR1 router(a more robust model the KR2 has replaced this model).


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