Broadband in the Sticks... at last

[daveshoot]

I'm sure most people think southern California has wall to wall high speed internet. I guess I assumed it did, too, until I moved to rural NE San Diego county. My little spot was cursed... too far out for DSL, no cable (how did a certain company get the franchise?), no nada. I didn't like anything I had heard about the sat services.

There are 2 competing private wireless systems here, but neither would reach my home down in the little valley, even though it is one of the main thoroughfares to town. My neighbor to the north lives on a large steep hill that blocks line of sight to the mountain where the transmitters are. The only solution to that would have been more dynamite than I could likely purchase, and considerable legal fees.

For 3.5 years my connection has been the 4G cell tower nearby. This was better than nothing, but speed issues aside, you have the dreaded data cap. In this day and age, 5 Gb per month does not go very far, and the overage charges are outrageous. So for 3.5 years I have gotten out of the habit of clicking on video links, downloading music or much of anything else, and avoiding large email attachments. Had to save anything interesting to view at work.

Finally I had the wireless guys out for a site survey while I was home, and behold, there was a line of sight to the mountain from my little pasture, down by the well pump. They had not realized that was part of my property in the past, and the spot is about 200' from the house.

Time for action. Used my little DitchWitch to trench as part of the larger irrigation project. Rented an UnderWunder to bore 23' under a very thick concrete driveway. Ran most of 300' gel-filled CAT5e in 3/4" conduit (adding junctions and pull rope for future), routed through outdoor roofed area, bored through wall, and down the attic. Chipped, bored, and shoveled a 40" hole wider at the bottom, installed 2" OD galvanized pole (not standard fence post), and filled with 'crete.




And finally I was ready....

The guys were out yesterday. I took a vacation day to meet them. The dish is a 25" 5.8 GHz with receiver for the Motorola Canopy system they use to deliver the service. I picked up a new Netgear N750 wireless router and installed it in the centrally-located laundry room. I still didn't really believe it was gonna work, until they came out and said, "you've got net".



OMG... 8+ mbps download, 2.74 mbps upload, for the cost of my ATT data card! Movies, cartoons, music, came pouring into the house! All at once! No data cap! I played an old TV youtube of Rednecks, White Socks, and Blue Ribbon Beer, just for the heck of it! Also my phone and mommy's iPad thingie are now like instantaneous; she did a "face time" session with her mom and it was like ESPN coverage.

Folks, if there is such an option in your worlds, all I can say is that it's been life-changing. At least for the last 12 hours.

 

[radioman]

LOL! good story and at least you got seat time out of it! now you can enjoy TBN more! :thumbsup:

 

[3930dave]

Congratulations, that is a big, successful, transition. Always liked all of the Mot gear I came across in a past life, it should serve you well.

As with most things, there is even less competition here in Canada. I went cable in my little town here, DSL became available later. I can't afford the blood-pressure meds it would take to deal with Bell, and the cable company seriously irritated me re. dealings on my cell phone ( I am now an ex-18 year customer), so I will be making the time soon to re-assess what wireless options exist with independent providers.

I'm hoping to find a modern offering here, from an independent company, that comes close to what you just setup.

Enjoy,

Rgds, D.

 

[orezok]

I feel your pain. Out here in the Mojave the best signal I can get is with a USB modem from a 3G Verizon tower . My download speeds average 1.5 MB and uploads at 350K. I had SAT for a couple of years, but at times it was even slower than the WIFI, and more expensive.

 

[ozley]

For people that are using cell towers I like to tell them about www.millenicom.com but I only tell people not near my tower.

 

[daveshoot]

I manage to work seat time into about everything I do- a by-product of being ambitious and lazy at the same time. And yes, now I have to go back through 3 years of TBN and the airgun forums to see all the videos I have missed.

That Millenicom link looked interesting. If this hadn't worked out, that would have been worth looking into. Also, if you're a long way from the cell tower, Wilson has some street legal amps and a Yagi that can boost things a lot: For Cellular Modems | Store | Wilson Electronics

In my case I could have hit the cell tower with a pistol. ATT has glass running right to the base of the thing but wouldn't let me tap into it from 150' away. I will not miss them and will be terminating that service today, with glee.

I was really worried about loss through the long cable run, but signal is excellent at the router end. It's a power over Ethernet (PoE) setup from the house to their receiver in the dish. I have also been super-impressed with the Netgear wireless, a WNDR4300. No-brainer setup and excellent coverage so far on the 2.4 band. I am not sure what to do with the 5 gig part of it, but it's nice to have for future.

Next up: CCTV cams and a web-based gate control and call box. I can sure think up projects faster than I can do them, but this would be great peace of mind and convenience.

 

[RobA]

Can I ask approximately how much this costs? How can I tell if something like this is available where I live?

 

[fordmantpw]

Congrats! I made the switch to wireless from satellite several years ago. I have been super-pleased! Keep in mind that I work from home, have VPN connections active, use remote desktop, etc. I pay more than users pay for DSL, but since DSL isn't available, it's a moot point! Once you have true broadband, it's amazing all the fun things you can set up to do with it. Enjoy!

 

[daveshoot]

Rob, you're looking for a Wireless Internet Service Provider (WISP), but that means different things to different people. I don't know what's near you but they are usually locally owned and operated. The Motorola Canopy is a very popular system and there are some others like it, but that is just the hardware. There is a trade organization with a finder but I doubt it's comprehensive: Home | WISPA

Ours has tiered pricing, depending on the speeds you want and your signal strength, which determines what's possible. I chose from a list of about 7 different packages. My level 3 package is $60/month after the senior discount that I was not too proud to take (not even 60, fer cryin' out loud). It is almost overkill for my needs but I use the web a lot. The first month is no-obligation free trial, and then the monthly kicks in.

There was no charge for the dish and receiver itself, which are Ubiquiti products. Actually, there is a $200 fee which they waived because I was a cellular customer or some nonsense; I think it is just there to be waived. I'm sure I had more than that in my part of the installation, even with my low hourly rates! They did appreciate my installation and all they had to do was terminate the cable ends. They also helped set up my router, since they want a paying customer before they leave the site. I had max signal available and could opt for a ridiculously high package in terms of bandwidth and cost, but I am more than happy with what I got.

In fact, I just finished terminating the ATT data plan online. How very, very nice. Good luck in your search! Maybe some of the buzzwords will help.

Hey, I found a list for PA here: http://www.wispdirectory.com/index.php?option=com_mtree&task=listcats&cat_id=5&Itemid=53

 

[fordmantpw]

Can I ask approximately how much this costs? How can I tell if something like this is available where I live?

Rob, search google for 'Wireless (or WiFi) Internet Provider Chester County, PA' or your city name, or something of the sort. Start calling whatever comes up. Tell them you are interested in WiFi internet service and ask what they have available.

Good luck!