Rural Internet Options???

[cmccord]

Living in the country is a wonderful thing. However, getting Internet service that is reliable and relatively fast is quite difficult. Does anyone have any experience with satellite service providers? If so, which ones, and was the experience good or bad? Any help that anyone can provide is greatly appreciated. With no hope of DSL/Cable service in the near future, it is coming time to make some commitment to a service that is worthwhile but must maintain some cost conscious considerations along the way. Thanks for the help and suggestions any of you may be able to provide.

[Flanders]

I hear the huges net is good. Check it out.

http://www.hughesnet.com/

[wevans]

$70 for the slowest they got I'd be calling the phone company every day till they give in before paying that much

[Sea Dawg]

Well how much rural can you get than the ancky river banks..I have high speed dsl from fairpoint and its great kinda slow at times but sure beats nothing

[skeeter-eater]

I have never had satellite, but i've heard it's pricey and not as fast as DSL or Cable internet. I would look into an "air card" from your local cell phone provider. The speed is comparable to a DSL connection and it is probably cheaper than satellite.....you just need to be sure that you house is in the coverage area of the carrier....if you don't have service, it wont work well at all.

[big bend gyrene]

Hughesnet may be good but certainly comes with pretty steep pricing options... you either get gouged up front on installation or agree to getting gouged over time with high initial subscription rates.

As a cautionary tale, I looked at Hughesnet for about a year after being told I couldn't get DSL out in the Lloyd/Wacissa area and that it would be many years in the future before available in our neck of the woods, this after calling to inquire on multiple occasions. Then mysteriously one day I see them doing utility work down 59 and without getting any sales literature think what the heck can't hurt to call and ask again... WAS available, got installed, and works great. This despite getting doom and gloom predictions from Embarq themselves that it would be 5 to 10 years at best.

[SHOWBOAT]

I love my aircard. It is pretty fast and totally mobile. I use it like a GPS in my car sometimes.

[Sir reel]

Ain't deregulation great!!

[cmccord]

As a cautionary tale, I looked at Hughesnet for about a year after being told I couldn't get DSL out in the Lloyd/Wacissa area and that it would be many years in the future before available in our neck of the woods, this after calling to inquire on multiple occasions. Then mysteriously one day I see them doing utility work down 59 and without getting any sales literature think what the heck can't hurt to call and ask again... WAS available, got installed, and works great. This despite getting doom and gloom predictions from Embarq themselves that it would be 5 to 10 years at best.

I am certainly familiar with the Lloyd story. I fought with a few others to get it out there. Naturally, I moved all the way across the county just before they began installation. I think I will have to press a little more to see what may come of it.

I love my aircard. It is pretty fast and totally mobile. I use it like a GPS in my car sometimes.

I had an aircard through Earthlink a few years ago and it was ok, but if service was the least bit sketchy, it was difficult to get satisfactory reception and often required going outside the house, even in the Lloyd area. The totally mobile part is definitely a big plus, but cellular reception at home is sketchy at best.

[lizbeth]

if you will im me your telephone number i will tellyou in a min or two if and when you can get embarq dsl....it's what i do every day.

[RHTFISH]

I use a verizon plugin at Anky and the more overcast the better the service. Worst service is on a beautiful day.

[FishWithChris]

I can't vouch for the BigBend region, but during my "life" in rural Mississippi and the mountains of Tennessee and many different trials with different providers, the "air-cards" that were mentioned are your best bet; especially for simple internet/web surfing.

Check into Verizon/Att

[FUTCHCAIRO]

CHECK OUT WINDSTREAM.NET
PA

[procraftwes]

Keep in mind all cell companies have put a 5 gigabyte monthly cap on the wireless cards.. For a heavy user you will simply use this up in a week or so. I download alot and use my internet alot and have used over 800gb in a month on comcast(streaming dvds from netflix).If you like to download music/dvd's and watch alot of streaming video then you may want to consider something else. I work for AT&T and have a wireless card and I've gone over the 5gb cap in 7 days.. Also most companies have what they call 3G service which is high speed internet and most companies only have it for the city limits so when you go out to the coast your internet will be about 10x slower(dial up slow). Aircards are good for light web browsing and email or for occasional use. I just wanted to inform anyone to ask questions before you jump into a 2 year contract..

[Dubble Trubble]

For what it is worth, I have never had a customer that was satisfied with satellite internet. They always got rid of it, even if there was nothing else. It just is not a reliable service.

Now satellite TV on the other hand, That is the stuff !

Dubble