Joined the 18th century

[Shazbat]

I feel your pain, I am able to work out of the house - provided I can get a connection usable for VPN service.

My wife and I bought a place in Upstate NY with the intention of working out of the house, and can't seem to get anyone to provide broadband at a reasonable cost.

Satellite is out, latency is too high, cable company doesn't want to do anything even after we offered to pay, Verizon isn't running new DSL lines (Have to wait 5 years for FiOS), and they won't install ISDN equipment at our CO, there's a wireless company in the area but they obviously don't want any business because they don't return phone calls and refuse to do a site survey.

A cell-phone connection would work if I put up my own antenna and repeater system, but again there are latency issues.

It's looking like we're going to have to bite the cost of a T1, and try to get some of the expense back through my wife's company and mine. At least with that we can get rid of the monthly phone bill out of the picture.

I should also mention that I'd be lucky if dial-up even worked, the phone lines are so bad they don't work if it's been raining - Verizon has been out twice to fix it to no avail.


Thanks for letting me vent /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

 

[slowrev]

Your phone is probably working on a carrier system, which will not allow much over 28.8K thruput. All the phone company has to guarantee is voice service.
Ben

 

[BlueRidge]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( What gets me is the cable and telco companies fighting over broadband customers, save a dollar here and there by switching companies. They use this logic instead of building out infrastructure. What gives?)</font>

Two words:

Capital Expenditures.

It costs big bucks to build networks. In rural areas there are just too few customers to make it pay.

It doesn't cost much to fight over customers in dense areas.

 

[riptides]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( It costs big bucks to build networks. In rural areas there are just too few customers to make it pay.)</font>

Yes, I'd agree with that train of thought if there were no massive build-out of homes in my area.

I offered up planning commission documents to any ISP that would listen to say "New Customers here". One 'burb that just popped up about 7 miles away must have at least 1000-2000 people in it. No high-speed broadband service.

I consider this myopic, no idiotic thinking. If I was an ISP I'd have someone full-time at the planning commission office.

-Mike Z. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[hobbyfarm]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( Why are we lagging in technology?)</font>

Oh,
Let's see, people like us tying up all the resources talking 'bout tractors 'n such! /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[hobbyfarm]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( Dialup = nothing.)</font>

/forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[hobbyfarm]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( ...connected directly to any of the jacks on the NID is a robust 2900bps.)</font>

So, what's the problem...you know when all this "internet" started, we had a 300k modem /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif and THAT was awesome! /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif Of course, there were only a handful of sites then. Nothing flashy, mainly text. /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif

My how times have changed! /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[riptides]

Bah!

I do remember 300 baud modems. And punch tape, and toggle switches on mainframes as big as rooms.

Hey,

Good news- maybe. I get home last night and I am no longer roaming on my cell-phone. I might have broadband via Verizons EvDO offering.

I am trying to get back with 'em now.....

-Mike Z. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[BlueRidge]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( 7 miles away must have at least 1000-2000 people in it )</font>


7 miles? 1000 people? Nope. Not even close to being good enough to justify the investment. Put a zero on the end of that figure and you might get someone's attention.

 

[BlueRidge]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( Good news- maybe. I get home last night and I am no longer roaming on my cell-phone. I might have broadband via Verizons EvDO offering.)</font>


Hope that works for you. EvDO is sweet - friend of mine's been using it for about 6 months now, here and there around the country. He says he's getting upwards of 300k, most of the time. Much of the time he's in the 500 ballpark. That ain't too shabby.

The downside is, you're not likely to find it in rural areas yet....