The Frustrations Of Rural Internet AND Netflix

poncho62 · Dec 10, 2017

I am in rural Ontario too and had Xplornet.....Like most satellite internet, it sucked......Went to cellular for a few years, but its too **** expensive.....We are now on a local fixed wireless system that seems to be working well....We have unlimited data at 10 mbs for $70/month...There are more of these fixed wireless systems popping up

hayden · Dec 10, 2017

Net neutrality has been law in the US since 2015... at least until now. Prior to the law, Comcast, AT&T, and Verizon were all caught throttling data to select services. But now, thanks to Trump, the regulation is being repealed. That will make America great again, right?

TheMan419 · Dec 10, 2017

rekees4300 said:
Be wary of satellite plans. The word "unlimited" which has different meanings to different companies. IMO satellite should only be considered when nothing else or dial up is available. Had Hughesnet for 2 years and they suck. Switched to Verizon 4G LTE and recommend it. They cover 99% of Indiana.

I can稚 find a Verizon plan for any kind of decent price. Right now my option is 1.5 mb dsl that works most of the time sort of. Forget streaming.

Comcast has a line 1500 feet away. They do not seem interested in extending that line. If they did they would get me and the neighbor who is about to build.

RNeumann · Dec 10, 2017

hayden said:
Net neutrality has been law in the US since 2015... at least until now. Prior to the law, Comcast, AT&T, and Verizon were all caught throttling data to select services. But now, thanks to Trump, the regulation is being repealed. That will make America great again, right?

Point us to the repeal. I’m sure the signed document is all over the internet- hint it didn’t happen. Save your political hyper babble for your safe space.

OP is in Canada according to the profile. I don’t know the law or name there which is why the wiki page was hyperlinked. It will take some research to figure out if it’s the ISP on certain sites or just the overall speed.

bigdeano · Dec 10, 2017

TheMan419 said:
Can you point me in the direction of an unlimited sat plan? Been looking at my options.

Try this link. It may depend on your location. The new sat they put up is over the Eastern U.S. I don't know if it's operational yet.

Viasat Internet Plans – Satellite Internet Plans & Pricing

Redlands Okie · Dec 10, 2017

Point us to the repeal.

We will know for sure in a few days.

FCC net neutrality repeal opens door to higher prices, fewer choices - Business Insider

Lots more similar info if you search.

buickanddeere · Dec 10, 2017

We are 2-1/2 miles on copper wire from the central office is about as far as DSL will work fast enough for high definition video movies.

2ndhalf · Dec 10, 2017

We have a local provider that uses microwave technology; basically I have a dish on my house that is receiving signal from a transmitter on top a grain bin about a mile away. It is supposed to be 6mb download and 2mb upload. It rarely is. I think it is network saturation because during peak periods it gets dog slow. I sometimes turn my wifi on my phone off and hit the verizon tower nearby it gets so bad.

I guess that goes with being rural; I wouldn't trade it for high speed internet I'll tell you that.

k0ua · Dec 11, 2017

25 down and 5 up here. On suddenlink cable. I can't complain. Never a problem streaming anything, including Netflix.

Looking4new · Dec 11, 2017

I have Bell 4G LTE mobile stick. It works good enough to watch netflix in most areas in Ontario. There are still some areas where I cannot get I-net at all, but they are getting fewer every year.
I use the mobile stick in the winter as a fixed point for I-net and in the laptop all over Ontario in summer. Yes I pay $150.oo + tax for 100 gigs a month on a stepped plan. My last mobile provider charged me $5.oo/meg after my 10 gig limit. I had bills from them in summertime that were as much as $400.oo/month. With the Bell plan they charge me $5.oo/gig for overages. Way cheaper and better coverage. I also have my cell phone with Bell, so I get the 'bundled' rate on both plans.

poncho62 · Dec 11, 2017

Looking4new said:
I have Bell 4G LTE mobile stick. It works good enough to watch netflix in most areas in Ontario. There are still some areas where I cannot get I-net at all, but they are getting fewer every year.
I use the mobile stick in the winter as a fixed point for I-net and in the laptop all over Ontario in summer. Yes I pay $150.oo + tax for 100 gigs a month on a stepped plan. My last mobile provider charged me $5.oo/meg after my 10 gig limit. I had bills from them in summertime that were as much as $400.oo/month. With the Bell plan they charge me $5.oo/gig for overages. Way cheaper and better coverage. I also have my cell phone with Bell, so I get the 'bundled' rate on both plans.

The Rogers plan that I gave up was about that same plan......$145 for 100g...It was real handy when we had our trailer and were traveling around. We got tired of the trailer, so gave it up....plus, our grand daughter has moved in with us, so 100 gig ain't near enough......lol. The fixed wireless plan we have now is working out well, unlimited, 10 mbs for $70

Looking4new · Dec 11, 2017

poncho62,
my stepson and his wife were on the Rogers plan and most of the time couldn't connect. They switched to a Bell hub, got blistering speeds and eventually convinced me to switch from Telus to Bell.

radioman · Dec 11, 2017

Dont you hate it when internet providers only show download speeds and rarely advertiae the uploads? Then nearly every single person i know of dont get the exact download speeds they think they are paying for? They always say AFTER the fact oh.. It other people in area. Oh its normal. Oh its peak demand. Oh its your equipment.oh its whatever..... Sigh. All i can say is darnit...

3930dave · Dec 11, 2017

Sometimes, ya just gotta roll your own....

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/rural-living/387726-getting-done-down-farm.html

Long running project in the UK, and some pics from Andy about what he built (sorry if it's a dup, haven't read whole thread...)

Rgds, D.

thatguy · Dec 11, 2017

bigdeano said:
The satellite internet providers are now going to unlimited data plans. Exceed just put up a new satellite with huge capacity. Another even bigger one is scheduled for 2019. I have 1Mb DSL now. The only other option is satellite here. I'm going to switch when my contract is up.

Here in Virginia - my friend just switched to satellite internet.. they get 20 GB of data at high speeds (like 15 - 20 mbs/Mbs) then it gets 'throttled' to around 4 Mbs for about $70/mth.. when we had DSL on a good day, we only got 768 on a good day..

I would switch to satellite if our current ISP (a canopy system) gets bad

brian

kcflhrc · Dec 11, 2017

Keep in mind if you don't set up Netflix correctly it will use every bit of bandwidth you have. There is an option in your account profile to limit how much bandwidth it uses.

kcflhrc · Dec 11, 2017

Code54 said:
Kind of makes you wonder what happened to all the millions of dollars that was being invested to make sure everyone in the US has "high Speed" internet......

This is still going on. It's called the Connect America Fund. The first phase was 5 years and now we are into the 2nd 5 year phase. Understand also that millions of dollars certainly doesn't go very far in the broad scheme of things. Most don't have a clue what it takes to upgrade the systems and the Government Mandate is only 10 meg so don't get all excited about anything higher than that.

k0ua · Dec 11, 2017

kcflhrc said:
Keep in mind if you don't set up Netflix correctly it will use every bit of bandwidth you have. There is an option in your account profile to limit how much bandwidth it uses.

It isn't going to "use every bit of the bandwidth" I have that I will assure. Full HD streaming is about maybe 7 or 8 mbs for 1080i at max. Now if you went to 4K, then that is about 25mbs.. so yes, I guess it would use all I have. I would then be forced to spend the extra $10 a month to get 75mbs. But I just haven't ever needed it or needed more than the 25 I have now so I save the $10. I don't have a 4K tv... (yet)

Looking4new · Dec 11, 2017

kcflhrc said:
Keep in mind if you don't set up Netflix correctly it will use every bit of bandwidth you have. There is an option in your account profile to limit how much bandwidth it uses.

Can you draw me a map to it? Please?

kcflhrc · Dec 11, 2017

Here's a good Netflix resource for bandwidth settings

https://help.netflix.com/en/node/87

Adjust your data usage settings

Access your Account page from a web browser and select Playback Settings.

Select your desired data usage setting (please note that each estimate below is per stream, and that restricting data usage may affect video quality):

Low (0.3 GB per hour)

Medium (SD: 0.7 GB per hour)

High (Best video quality, up to 3 GB per hour for HD and 7 GB per hour for Ultra HD)

Auto (Adjusts automatically to deliver the highest possible quality, based on your current Internet connection speed)

Select Save

Note:
It may take up to 8 hours for these changes to take effect.

Data usage settings only apply to the Netflix profile you set them from, meaning you can have different data usage settings for each profile. If you are concerned about the total amount of data that Netflix uses, make sure to change this setting for each profile.

Using the Auto setting is a definite bad idea.