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Post by Russ Koon on May 12, 2017 20:55:25 GMT -5
My 'net speed has always been a fraction of the 'up to' figure promised, but I was somewhat OK with that. We're not gamers or movie fans, so the one and half meg download on a good day was plenty for our needs for years.
Then a few years ago it dropped to pretty reliable six tenths of one meg, and I got sorta tired of having to sit and wait for it to download simple Utube vids of interesting stuff. I got aggravated and searched for alternatives, and found little.
Now the last month or so has seen the speed drop to less than half that, and most attempts to get anything at all are ending up with a message that there is no connection, which is technically in error, because if I wait long enough, that's replaced with a message that the request has timed out.
Our tech support guy (our son) did supply me with a "hot spot" device that plugs into a USB port and brings in the net at what I'm guessing is something less than a meg but pretty useful. The device does, however, charge by the 'gigs' and has a monthly limit, so there are some drawbacks.
Just wondering whether anyone out there has found an answer to the rural internet problem, or has had any good luck with one of the satellite providers. None of the highly advertised cable providers will even promise to look into expanding to our area. We're two miles from the courthouse square here in Morgan County, and it feels more like we're a week's ride on a fast mule from the nearest trading post!
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Post by jjas on May 12, 2017 21:48:52 GMT -5
Can you get internet through Dish Network or something like Hughesnet?
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Post by Russ Koon on May 12, 2017 22:56:24 GMT -5
Dishnet has been discontinued, apparently very recently.
Haven't checked with any Hughesnet users personally. Reading the reviews of that service online, it appears that almost everyone who has it wishes they'd never signed on, but I'm still looking for someone who actually has it for a first-hand review. Sometimes the online reviews can be misleading, although when they are as nearly unanimous as the ones regarding Hughesnet, they do seem to have some weight. The buy-in is kinda steep and there's a stiff penalty for early withdrawal, so I want to check the out as best I can without committing to hundreds of dollars of expense and finding out I should have believed all those others who tried to warn me. I am still considering them, just wanting to do some due diligence before signing up.
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Post by swetz on May 13, 2017 7:54:10 GMT -5
We have our cell phones through Verizon and got a 4G antenna installed. It's not great as we get about 1.5 Mbps, but you can check email and do some basic things.
It would probably be faster, but our cell signal isn't very strong out here. Verizon also started an unlimited plan a while back, but I don't know if you could get that with one of the antennas.
Unfortunately, I don't expect there to ever be a solution to the rural high speed internet problem. Given a small pool of possible customers no one is going to pay to run the required lines since it is so expensive.
It really is too bad though. The entertainment options are one thing, but is pretty much precludes anyone in a remote area from pursuing most types of remote work or telecommuting.
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Post by span870 on May 13, 2017 19:13:43 GMT -5
Satellite installer for 15 years. Been around every company out there. Dealt with happy and disgruntled customers from every provider. DO NOT GO WITH HUGHES NET!!!!! My mother had it for a time so I can give you first hand knowledge. Terrible company. I'm my daily work I have NEVER ran into a customer that was happy with them. From customer service to quality of install to quality of product. Zero happy customers. Everyone hates it. I truly believe they have a worse customer satisfaction than Comcast. There are several other companies out there that supply satellite internet depending on where you live. I'm not 100% if dish does anymore but frontier and exede and century Link are three I know provide service in Indiana. Problem is if there isn't a company that services your area, you can't get it. If you give me a general area where you live I can help out more.
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Post by span870 on May 13, 2017 19:23:43 GMT -5
My 'net speed has always been a fraction of the 'up to' figure promised, but I was somewhat OK with that. We're not gamers or movie fans, so the one and half meg download on a good day was plenty for our needs for years. Then a few years ago it dropped to pretty reliable six tenths of one meg, and I got sorta tired of having to sit and wait for it to download simple Utube vids of interesting stuff. I got aggravated and searched for alternatives, and found little. Now the last month or so has seen the speed drop to less than half that, and most attempts to get anything at all are ending up with a message that there is no connection, which is technically in error, because if I wait long enough, that's replaced with a message that the request has timed out. Our tech support guy (our son) did supply me with a "hot spot" device that plugs into a USB port and brings in the net at what I'm guessing is something less than a meg but pretty useful. The device does, however, charge by the 'gigs' and has a monthly limit, so there are some drawbacks. Just wondering whether anyone out there has found an answer to the rural internet problem, or has had any good luck with one of the satellite providers. None of the highly advertised cable providers will even promise to look into expanding to our area. We're two miles from the courthouse square here in Morgan County, and it feels more like we're a week's ride on a fast mule from the nearest trading post! Have you had a tech come out and check your service. More than likely you have the old silver lines and the corrosion is causing the loss of service and throttling of speed. Also if someone on your line has the TV service it's going to rob you of your speed. If you have an up to promise than they need to supply you with that. Working for the company I know the headache that it is but push for them to get out and check it. You can download an app that will tell you the speed that you are running and if it's not up to par then tell them to get their truck rolling. Getting a good tech is half the battle. Those speed on an att line are completely unacceptable. There is a problem and someone needs to see it through. Up to the house is their problem, inside is yours. Maybe run a fresh cat5 line to the dmark box. There could be an issue with the line in the house. The sat internet providers I mentioned in my other post are really for people that can't get anything else. I don't know about now but in the past excede wouldn't even hook it up if you had any other options. I'm being long winded here but if you have anymore questions feel free to pm me and I'll do what I can to help you out. I'm sure asking around I may be able to get a decent tech out there to help you out if you do set up a sc. 9 |
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Post by parson on May 13, 2017 20:02:01 GMT -5
After moving to New Castle, our AT&T service was much like yours seems to be. The tech ran a dedicated line for internet. Speed now is adequate- at least most of the time.
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Post by dbd870 on May 14, 2017 8:19:54 GMT -5
On AT&T; they are my only option. Well other than satellite and I'll pass on that. 2.56mbps download, .44mbps upload. That's about what the service specs are. Can't even get one of their faster options; the option I have is it.
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Post by 36fan on May 15, 2017 21:32:38 GMT -5
I live about 2 miles from Mooresville and 5 or 6 nines from Plainfield. I get a whole of nothing out here. We user our At&T cell phones as hot spots for the laptop. It's not the best, but it works. We have to watch the 30GB limit, especially with 3 kids.
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Post by esshup on May 16, 2017 9:12:37 GMT -5
Tested this am. 29.56 Mpbs download, 6.17Mpbs upload speed. Mediacom Cable. I had a satellite and when cable became available I ditched it. BUT, the satellite beat a land line by miles. Satellite lost signal in bad snow or rain storms, in the winter I had to clean the snow off of the dish or it wouldn't work, and the dish was on the roof of the house.
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Post by whitetaildave24 on May 16, 2017 15:19:49 GMT -5
I'm worried about this with the house we are building. AT&T is the only provider that I can find. With me working from home at least twice a week I can't have a weak or slow signal.
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Post by benj on May 16, 2017 15:58:16 GMT -5
You might try looking into this: www.verizonwireless.com/home-office-solutions/verizon-lte-internet-and-home-phone/The work I do involves internet access in rural areas for agriculture, and this Mi-fi device provides good speeds for our customers. We just got one in the office today for testing purposes and so far, so good. It has two external antenna hookups; so if signal strength is an issue, it can be boosted with the appropriate antenna. Another option, if available to your area, is a Wimax provider like Mercury wireless or Watch communications. I'm currently using Watch communications and get a consistent 5Mbps up with 1Mbps down, with NO data limits. A good search tool to see the providers in your area is : broadbandnow.com/ I'd stay away from any form of DSL service, as telecom companies are no longer servicing traditional phone lines. The industry is headed towards wireless comm with fiber optic backbones. I would also stay away from satellite service, unless there are truly none of the options I've mentioned. Good luck! |
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Post by parrothead on May 17, 2017 7:53:43 GMT -5
No home internet or cable for me.
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Post by whitetaildave24 on May 17, 2017 17:20:25 GMT -5
We haven't had cable in a long time, but with the kids homework and my work from home good internet is a must.
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Post by (Not Ronald) Reagan on May 17, 2017 18:29:31 GMT -5
Hughesnet is a joke. We've even had the business plan but they always slow down you wifi really really slow. If you want to download anything it'll take you forever, and a 4 minute YouTube video takes about 25 minutes to load after your "allowance" rolls over.
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Post by budga82832 on May 18, 2017 9:11:08 GMT -5
I have the same problem in my area. I live between Martinsville and Paragon. Only provider in the area is a local place that offers broadband. If you want the speed to be able to watch youtube videos, you pay $60 a month and have to sign a 2 year contract. No thanks...not that important.
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Post by parrothead on May 18, 2017 9:20:41 GMT -5
We have lots of kids here at school with no internet. So on the Chrome books they have to have the tab open at school before they take it home to do work at home.
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Post by whitetaildave24 on May 18, 2017 10:58:41 GMT -5
My kids can't take their chrome books home.
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Post by parrothead on May 18, 2017 11:05:13 GMT -5
I wish ours could not. Everything we do is on them. They forget them we don't have extra to use.
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Post by swetz on Jun 9, 2017 6:02:30 GMT -5
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