Talk to me about your internet service

[Adaline'sMama]

I know this topic isnt usually hosted in Country Living/ Off the Grid, but Im really wanting to hear from folks who live in pretty rural areas.

DH and I are looking into getting some type of wireless card/airport card/ whatever each company calls their thinggy to make wireless internet happen on your laptop.

We currently are supplied with the crappiest internet ever by Wild Blue. They limit us on our uploads to the point where we cant even upload our photos onto facebook, much less even think about streaming a movie or even watching more than 3-4 youtube videos per month. We have a blog and would like to be able to upload photos every day without our provider slowing our speeds down to almost nothing.  Wild Blue works sometimes, unless its raining, or snowing, or if its raining in New York. (yeah, they actually give me that excuse). We've had the satelite adjusted, we've done the unplug the router thing over and over again, and this situation is just not working for us. Dial up would almost be less frustrating, but we dont have a phone.

So, we are thinking of getting wireless from either ATT or Tmobile, because that is the phone service we know works out here. Any thoughts or suggestions from other folks who live over the hills and through the woods?

[Arduinna]

Do you have cellular service with either one of those companies? Because the aircard is not going to be any better than whatever your cellular service is with them, and that is dependent on location. Some rural areas have no service at all because they are too far from the tower or signal is blocked by mountains for example. Usually the problem is that rural areas are on the slowest network speeds. I would talk to your neighbors, if you have any and see who gets the best service. And I would find out the connection speeds they offer for where you are before I buy anything.

Looking at Wild Blues data packages here, I don't see those upload limits as being a problem for normal average users. It really sounds like the problem is the connection rather than them throttling you but if it is that, then upgrade to one of the higher packages with faster speed and higher data limits.

[Adaline'sMama]

I have cell coveage with tmobile, but I have several friends who can use their Iphones at my house. Wild Blue is already costing me $70/month, so Im not upgrading to their more expensive packages. One of my biggest probmlems with them is the lack of service and their horrible horrible customer service, so Im not planning on paying them anything higher. I was contracted into a two year contract with them that just ended- I want out. We are really hesitant to go with any other satellite service because we dont want to sign a two year contract to not be able to use the internet when it rains. All my neighbors use hughes net or they live on the other side of the hill, where ATT has DSL.

I believe that the "average" user likes to upload pics all the time and stream videos from their netflix account. Id like to use Skype, which I also cant use with Wild Blue...I think these things are not that out of the ordinary, but Wild Blue has told me that no matter what package I pay for Ill never be able to stream videos, use skype, or use any phone service through the internet (for example, with tmobile, I can have a home phone line for $10 a month that runs through my internet. I want to watch hulu and get rid of my tv and Im wondering if there is any possible way to do all these things....not every moment of every day, but yeah, Id like to spend 30 minutes a week on skype, 3 hours watching hulu, and maybe even watch a movie or something :)

[crazyms]

I would check with some of the dial up companies anyways to see what is available. I believe some of them can still install it now with little hassle. When we were out rurally we had ATT dial up and it was surprisingly fast, no where near what I was expecting with dial up. I was able to use the internet and while it was slightly slower than our previous cable internet connection it wasn't that noticable so you may want to check into that anyways. Even if it required getting a home phone with the dial up most home phone companies offer packages now that are pretty cheap, especially if you don't add extras. I have no experience with Hughes net but I haven't heard very good things from people that have it in my area. My biggest reason for not getting it when we were rural was the cost. It was just so expensive like the Wild Blue. I couldn't bring myself to do pay that much with either of them and opted for the dial up instead.

[Farmer'sWife]

I've been thinking about this also.  I've only looked into T-mobile a little bit, because that's what our cell phones are and we get good service.  DH's cousin lives a few miles away and has a laptop stick through Verizion (I think) and she says that it's fast enough to watch a movie with very minimal loading time.  She said her stick is a 3G one, if that makes a difference with the 4G speeds you can get now.  I'll be watching this thread to see what other peoples experiences are.

[Alyantavid]

We have Qwest.  But we live in a valley and its nearly impossible to get any kind of signal here.  Qwest was the only internet provider we could use.  We have our phones through Verizon and can use them at home with no trouble now.  When we had ATT, we couldn't use them at all.  But our internet is slower than it should be. 

I'd probably have some other providers come out and see what they can offer you.

[Adaline'sMama]

Alyantavid-

We dont have Qwest in Ky. I wish we did, it looks awesome. So, do you have internet on your phones from verizon? We do get verizon cell service here.

Thanks everyone for the replies!

My husband has asked all the neighbors and done a lot of research, and it seems as though that other than cell phone providers, our only options for providers are Wild Blue and Hughes Net (Sattelite companies) and Kywimax (digital broadband that flies through the air with no wires like magic). We also live in a valley, so Kywimax is out because it goes straight over our house, and our metal roof interferes with it. Basically, we've had all the providers out here to tell us what they can provide. So, we are trying to go through a cell company instead.

There is only one phone provider out here, and its AT&T. I could get dial up from them, but it would cost me $30 a month, and for $40 I can get a wireless card from them. However, I dont really know how well a wireless card would work. Im really interested in hearing from someone who lives in a rural area who has wireless internet through a cell phone company and lives in a rural area. If you do have a wireless card from a cell company:

~Is it the same speed as the internet on you phone? (mines pretty fast, but i dont have a smart phone)
~Do you think you have gotten a good deal, or do you feel ripped off?
~Who is your provider and do you recommend them?
~Are you happy with the upload/ download limits?

We can get pretty much all the huge cell companies here except for sprint. 

[Alyantavid]

We do have internet on our phones through Verizon.  We have to have internet through the computer though for dh's school.

[Adaline'sMama]

I have to have internet on my computer too. We run two businesses, and I have to be able to sync Quickbooks with my bank account. :)

[crazyms]

Have you tried to tether your phone to your computer for internet? I think there are a couple of ways to do this but the easiest I can tell is to use bluetooth to connect. You can get a bluetooth device for your computer (I got one at Walmart for I think about $20). I have internet on my phone but haven't tried to connect it to my computer yet since we currently travel for dh's work staying in campgrounds that include wifi. I'm not sure how well it works but my brother and sister have the same phone and phone company as me and use it on their computers and said it works well. Might be something to try though. If it works well enough for your needs then you may not even need a separate internet provider and bill.

[Adaline'sMama]

I hadnt thought about tethering my phone. I think I will call Tmobile(my cell provider) and ask about that. Im not sure how that works exactly, but if we could figure it out, it sure would be cool.

[crazyms]

Try doing an online search for instructions. I've seen tutorials online that tell you how to do it I just haven't hooked it up because we're getting free wifi right now.

[treekidsandadog]

We have ours through hughes net...many people complain about them, but thus far I'm satisfied...I've never met their limit as of yet for downloads/uploads.  Pretty fast too!  We got a deal for living in a rural area where it was free installation, free equipment and no contract...we pay $40 per month...this is the only service we can get at our house as even our cell phones don't work here!