Rural High Speed Internet

[Z-Michigan]

I know it's a bit late for RobS, but we struggled with this issue when we moved into our new house. Choices we saw were basically dialup (too slow), satellite, and cell phone internet. The latter seemed like a good idea but I got to test it using equipment my employer owns and it really didn't work well - neither fast nor reliable, and usually dropped a connection within an hour of opening it. YMMV. We stumbled upon T1 service from a local internet/phone company. T1 is only 1.5Mbps (not faster than normal DSL) but is a dedicated digital line and could be run to our house. We got the T1, despite the $200/month with 3-year contract price tag (installation was another couple 100). In terms of speed and reliability, we are very happy. In terms of service from the particular company, we aren't so happy, but after a horrendous 3-month battle to find someone to get it working right in the first place, it is finally working well and great to have. Caveat emptor if you go this route.

 

[EastTexFrank]

Guys, I'm so jealous.

All I've ever had is dial-up until 6 weeks ago. Did all the research. Wildblue had closed their books and weren't accepting additional subscriptions. HughesNet could accomodate me but wanted to install a 65 pound dish on my roof and got peeved when I wouldn't let them. I don't have a shingle roof and didn't want them drilling holes in it. They weren't helpful about alternative installations so to heck with them. Finally went with a local company that sell what is basically WiFi. They have an antenae close enough for me to pick up a signal. It can be a bit flaky, especially when there is a lot of traffic but there are no weather issues to reception - so far. The download rate is 540 kbps and the upload is 120 kbps. I know that's not going to impress most of you guys but hey, that's 20 times faster than dial-up. Now a 5 Mb attachment takes about 2 minutes instead of 40-45 minutes to download. That keeps my wife happy and if momma ain't happy .....

Me too actually, the internet is almost fun again. At one point I had almost stopped using it, it was so frustrating.

If I take the laptop into a friend's place who has a T1, it's so darned fast it leaves skid marks on the monitor.

Anyhow, it's as good as I'm going to do in the forseeable future.

 

[MasseyWV]

We get 6000kbps download and 256kbps upload on cable. Definitely glad to be away from dialup and satellite.

 

[SPYDERLK]

Yee haw!!! This message is brought to you by Rural High Speed wireless courtesy of imBroadband!!! Details and pics once I get over this excitement!!!

(and I don't feel any ill affects from it at all)

Dont be impatient. Update post #73 in 2018.
larry

 

[SPYDERLK]

Originally Posted by jimg
So far you havent produced a contract.

I'm not ATT. If you don't believe me, show me a bill for an unlimited DataConnect service where you were charged for data.

Originally Posted by jimg
Just for the record I did make more than one point. Sorry you missed the others.

Thanks, but I'm not sorry I missed them.

This was dispensed with back in #40 by coolheaded analysis of actual published service information of the provider.
larry

 

[RobS]

Dont be impatient. Update post #73 in 2018.
larry

Hey, at the rate technology is changing, in 2018 the internet will be fed directly into my brain!

 

[SPYDERLK]

Hey, at the rate technology is changing, in 2018 the internet will be fed directly into my brain!

Hopefully not as microwaves.

 

[wjoerob]

It hadn't even occurred to me that some people try to let their neighbors use their connection. I got it because my son takes on-line college classes, my daughter was living with us and does website design. Me, I just play around and get on TBN. Younger daughter likes to get on website for WWE! If anything, I was concerned with security on our home network, though we are hundreds of yards from the nearest house. As for the usage meter, you have to be able to connect in the first place to see it. Those usage levels sneak up on you. And it's not the limits I was upset about. It was the total lack of customer service as I tried to solve the problem. I couldn't have gone to a more expensive level of service if I had wanted to -- nobody home! The local telephone company (Embarq) will be glad to take my money, once they get DSL available to me!

 

[WarrenF]

It hadn't even occurred to me that some people try to let their neighbors use their connection. I got it because my son takes on-line college classes, my daughter was living with us and does website design. Me, I just play around and get on TBN. Younger daughter likes to get on website for WWE! If anything, I was concerned with security on our home network, though we are hundreds of yards from the nearest house. As for the usage meter, you have to be able to connect in the first place to see it. Those usage levels sneak up on you. And it's not the limits I was upset about. It was the total lack of customer service as I tried to solve the problem. I couldn't have gone to a more expensive level of service if I had wanted to -- nobody home! The local telephone company (Embarq) will be glad to take my money, once they get DSL available to me!

And for that you have every right to complain. I am quite vocal when it comes to customer service. That would make me angry and I would do as you suggest.....end the relationship when your contract is done.

Only to have full disclosure, I am involved with WildBlue from the service/install side since they began their service. I have seen every type of scam run. Understand that having others connect through your service is not technically "illegal." My complaint is simply this. Some think they are pulling a fast one, when in essence they are only hurting their own service.

For those who want straight talk....here is the bottom line on WildBlue, in my opinion. Wildblue is a wonderful service for those of us who live out far enough that DSL or Cable will be at our home....in twenty years. Direct connection through copper or fiber is still the very best. WiFi is good, however there are many factors to consider. Many of the WiFi systems are in an unregulated area of radio frequency. That means there could be interference from many things like garage door openers, etc.. Pay attention to the fine details if you are purchasing this service.

Satellite Broadband will always have a minor problem....that being the law of physics. Consider that your transmit and receive can not go faster than the speed of light....so there will always be latency issues. That is the nature of the beast.

wjoerob...sorry since it looks like I misunderstood your original post. Should any of you need "help" or pointers with regard to WB...please feel free to PM me and I will give you as much information as I can. I have been involved with Hughesnet also...however stopped that relationship more than three years ago, primarily because of their insistence on using India as their call center.

 

[AlanB]

Well Warren, let me try a question, not even sure I know enough to ask an intelligent question though.

Ok, have Wildblue, mid level, unfortunately at work I am "direct" if you will, so unfortunately I am used to it working faster then me (which is not all that fast)

My question is, I cannot decide if it is my computer, or the Wildblue that is making me so slow at the house.

I bought system mechanic to help with download problems, of course the first thing it wants to do is download a huge file.. I should be a software designer.

So I am going to outthink it (yeah, right) and take the internet offline, and run off disc. Well, I jump through hoops, this that and the other thing, and at the end, you have to hook too the internet to verify the code I just typed in, so when it hooks to the internet, it wants to again do a huge download!

So, my thoughts are, take it too a computer place and have them evaluate my computer and look at the internet there with it, then run it at the house and compare it too see if my Wildblue looks tragic.

Or, bribe my buddy a wildblue installer into coming too the house and evaluating my wildblue setup and seeing if it is functioning OK.

Which way would you go.

 

[riptides]

Hook up to the net. Open a browser to a web page of your choice.

Start -- Run -- type in CMD

In the window that opens type

Ping Google

Post your results. Min Max and Average.

-Mike Z.

 

[WarrenF]

Well Warren, let me try a question, not even sure I know enough to ask an intelligent question though.

Ok, have Wildblue, mid level, unfortunately at work I am "direct" if you will, so unfortunately I am used to it working faster then me (which is not all that fast)

My question is, I cannot decide if it is my computer, or the Wildblue that is making me so slow at the house.

I bought system mechanic to help with download problems, of course the first thing it wants to do is download a huge file.. I should be a software designer.

So I am going to outthink it (yeah, right) and take the internet offline, and run off disc. Well, I jump through hoops, this that and the other thing, and at the end, you have to hook too the internet to verify the code I just typed in, so when it hooks to the internet, it wants to again do a huge download!

So, my thoughts are, take it too a computer place and have them evaluate my computer and look at the internet there with it, then run it at the house and compare it too see if my Wildblue looks tragic.

Or, bribe my buddy a wildblue installer into coming too the house and evaluating my wildblue setup and seeing if it is functioning OK.

Which way would you go.

WOW, Let me see if I can explain this....I have started this reply four times to try to explain a process....and give up. Bribe your buddy and ask him if your computer has the wildblue optimizer installed on it. Then check to see if page loading is faster with it turned off or turned on. Also, do you regularly clear your cookies and history? Are you sure you have not run into the FAP policy? Go to the customer portal and look around....you can see your usage rate in there.

Also you might ask your buddy to check the admin site and see if your system is running at optimum performance through the SVT scores. If you wish, you could PM me your mac address and I could check that for you and see if your system is running good.

I will just simply say this as an observation. Check with some computer geeks who really understand virus programs. MacAfee, and Norton really seem to run conflicts with computers. That is simply my observation.

I can make the Wildblue systems run....but when you get INSIDE the computer....I am not smart. I have "Dumb Kid of an Idaho dirt farmer" tattooed on my forehead.

 

[AlanB]

Ok, I ping google I click on start, then run, then if I type in CMD in the dialog box and then type in ping google it says it cannot find host google.

If I click on start then run, then type in Ping Google in the dialouge box, it blinks up then disappears....................

I will write Joe tomorrow and see if an offer of hot steaks and cold beer has any allure

 

[bearhawk]

What you didn't see is that tbn fixed the actual thing you should have typed in with a hyperlink.

So

start >> run

type in cmd

opens a command prompt

then type ping google(.)com without the ()

 

[AlanB]

Will try again tonight, thanks for the clarification, I should have thought of, realized that, but did not.

That said, if it has any relevance, I was coming to type my answer here this morning as I sat there trying to get my response to post for 10 minutes last night and never had any indication that it went, but obviously it came through.

Think I will Ping JOE today, heck, cold beer and steak sounds good too me

 

[txdon]

AlanB, I did the google ping with Wildblue, mid level, central Texas, noon, and the results were:
Min - 1121ms
Max - 1463ms
Average - 1285ms

(Now if I just knew what it means.)

 

[Alan L.]

I have wireless. The signal comes off a transmitter on top of a water tower 5 miles away. I have an antenna that points to it. The signal comes into the house where it plugs into my wireless router.

I pay $40 a month for about 500K download and 380-400K upload.

Weather doesn't affect it, although it does give some trouble every few weeks.

 

[srjones]

AlanB, I did the google ping with Wildblue, mid level, central Texas, noon, and the results were:
Min - 1121ms
Max - 1463ms
Average - 1285ms

(Now if I just knew what it means.)

That's your latency in milliseconds. Basically, from the time your system send a packet to the time it recieves a response is anywhere from 1.1 seconds to 1.4 seconds.

Unfortunatly, for gaming and/or VPN it's unbearably painful to the point of unusable. However, for large files and streaming media it should work well.

 

[srjones]

While we're all on the subject, keep on WiMax which should be rolling out soon on a large scale soon. Clearwire, for example...

Clearwire Coverage Areas and Maps

 

[riptides]

Unfortunate by the time Clearwire gets National they will will be roadkill from Sprint, Verizon and AT&T. Verizon just made a major investment in frequency bandwidth and, well, they have infrastructure.

I see the telcos uping the ante every year. It will be interesting and a great time to ba a consumer in 2010.

-Mike Z.