What internet provider do you use in rural areas?

[mutigerfan]

Time to make a change.
Need reccomendations please.....

 

[TxArmadillo]

For the most part, you either have satellite or wireless DLS (broadband). There are pros and cons to each.

As for actual providers, that will depend upon your local service area.

 

[Terrel L. Shields]

I have DSL from Century Stink..er, Link. It is awful. It has come and gone all day and last night. It's running half the speed that I pay for at best. It up loads and downloads slowly. I had satellite. Downloaded pretty fair, but uploads could take an hour for a simple report...was about landline speed.

I am thinking of dropping the DSL. I have a MIFI and we have 3G speed at the house. This is from Verizon and it actually is faster than the DSL by a bunch. The issue is you pay for the time/data you download, so a busy month can run your bill up pretty high. You might inquire as to the speed of your line and with something with unlimited data... hmm.

 

[TxArmadillo]

Terrel, I feel your pain. I initially had Wildblue Satellite for a couple of years.

It's pretty common for you to lose internet connectivity when the weather is crappy outside. The worse the weather, the more likely you'd lose the signal. But when the weather is good?

On a beautiful day in South Texas, I'd be losing internet. Drove me crazy. Finally got hold of Tech Support only to learn that my "gateway" was in Minnesota. WTH? So, when the weather is bad in Minnesota, I'd lose my internet in Texas?

m2:

Anyway, broadband is better (fast speeds and less ping) and much more reliable. Short of having cable internet, my vote goes to broadband.

 

[Ca Ar Independent]

I'm using HughesNet..the only game in this town and it's not too bad actually. Slow to connect sometimes but better than nothing and MUCH better than the wireless hot spot I tried using.

 

[Terrel L. Shields]

I am on the wireless Wifi now because the DSL is on the fritz again....

The wifi causes a hum in a speaker, but is twice as fast as the DSL. Client needed a report so I logged on - uploaded in a fraction the time of CenturyDinks.

 

[Vermonter]

Just hooked up to DSL this winter. Was using satellite (Hughes Net) and it was down more than it worked. Useless. Tried Verizon Wireless because there's a 4g tower not far away. Worked great except for the data cap. I hit it in 2 weeks.

DSL isn't great, but it's the only reliable game in town.

 

[Randall Garrett]

FWIW, I have been through several solutions for Internet access at our place in the sticks. I am currently using Verizon's "Home Fusion" product - basically a wireless broadband connection (4G) that is more substantial than a "Mi-Fi" type thing. It is expensive compared to DSL, etc., and more comparable to the Hughes & WildBlue rates, but the speed and reliability is MUCH better. I posted info and pictures in the thread listed below. If you have access to conventional broadband, that is likely your best option, but if Satellite is all you have available, you will want to check the Verizon Home Fusion page to see if you can get this service. If you can, I believe that it is far better than satellite... And if you are currently using a "Mi-Fi" type wireless broadband and running into caps, this services offers more.

http://appraisersforum.com/showthread.php?t=194066


Hope this helps!


-Randall Garrett-
..Apex Software..

/end/

 

[Terrel L. Shields]

I don't think we have many 4G towers yet, but Mifi is still a lot faster than our DSLs...and I am only 1 mile from the "end of the line". It's another town from there.