dsl/cable/direct tv

heehaw · Oct 10, 2003

i need to get internet service into a new office, no dsl or cable internet are available...anyone know how much the dish or direct tv uplink cost these days??
heehaw

millsnhills · Oct 10, 2003

heehaw,

Its not a pleasant deal. I too am in your boat in that I just moved a mile from my old house, renting an older farm house while building a new one. In my old house I had cable and work from home maybe 3-4 days a week. The cable modem spoiled me rotten and now I can not get cable, dsl, ISDN or squat.

I have researched the heck out of my options. The DIRECTWAY satelitte setup requires an uplink modem and a downlink modem. The speeds are 56k uplink and i think 256K downlink. I am dialed in right now at 46.k. To get Directway you have two options. Buy the equipment at 600.00 and then pay a 60.00/month or 100.00 per month with no up front cost.

It still cost me to dial-in to my companies network via dial-in on a minute basis so I am still considering. The other options are Wireless via mobile operator or binding two dial in lines together it still cost too **** much. I however would not trade where I live for a faster connection and just like everything else it will make its way out here. Good luck

jeff

OkeeDon · Oct 10, 2003

From what I've discovered, the more you spend, the more you get. The $60 deal mentioned above is , I think, a limited service. The more-or-less standard service is around $80/month and has approximately 400K up/down. For around $100 or so you can get a small business plan that has around 700-800 kbits down, maybe a little less up, also with a static IP address and ability to network it easier, although that involves more equipment.

You can continue to spend more -- $150, $200, $300 and up, and get even more speed and FAP.

FAP is Fair Access Policy, and is a limit on how much you can transmit up/down. The current limit on the $80 plan is around 167 Mbytes/day. That's plenty for normal surfing, but if you up/download a lot of graphics, music files, etc., you can quickly exceed it. When you do exceed it, they cut you back to 56Kbits until your "bucket" of FAP fills up again - 12 hours or so.

Networking is problematical because the modems as USB, and there aren't any cheap routers with USB input and output for the broadband. You have to set up one computer as a broadband server and rout all the other computers through it. The alternative is a nifty hardware setup that costs about $2400.

Check out a site called Direc PC Uncensored for a lot of tips, and a program called FAPMON to monitor your FAP usage.

I don't have it yet, but I've been doing a lot of research because I want to set it up when we move away from our cable setup. I'm planning to network it with a combination of wired and wireless networking that will cover 2 houses and the barn in between, so I've been doing a lot of research on wireless antennas and such, also.

Here's a link to Direcway.

kensfarm · Oct 10, 2003

Heehaw.. I have the Direct-Duo from Earthlink.. if I remember.. the initial equipment cost was $1000.. my
monthly bill is $69. I've had the system for over 3 years now. When I first got the system I was downloading at speeds close to a T1 line.. over time.. since more people have gotten the service.. the download speeds have slowed way way down.

Wow.. just visited the Earthlink site.. the price hasn't changed much.. they have a $100 savings special going on.. check it out at...

https://register.earthlink.net/cgi-bin/wsisa.dll/broadband/satellite/pricing.html?drn=b496de66976781dfae6369fe3d6f62ae

Hank · Oct 11, 2003

<font color="purple"> Networking is problematical because the modems as USB, </font>

The new DW6000 (just now being delivered) is supposed to hurdle this problem. Both modems and a DW router in one box, and the DW software runs in this box (no more dedicated PC needed). The box has an ethernet (RJ45) out, so you can go directly to a home router for your home network setup. No more ICS !!

None of this, however, solves the latency issue inherent in satellite. If you need to do interactive stuff (such as VPN) you're almost better off with dialup. I've had this service, and saw latency, during the business day hours, climbing to the 2,000ms - 3,000ms range.

OkeeDon · Oct 11, 2003

That's good news about the networking, and shows that DirectWay may actually be listening to its customers! Wouldn't that be novel!

The latency can be a problem for many, but we don't need VPN out, and are not gamers, so it shouldn't cause us any problems.

One thing I've wondered about is VPN in - or any kind of remote access - so we could have full access to our home network when on the road. I know it requires a static IP. but have wondered if there are any other roadblocks. I'm not talking about hosting - just private access for ourselves. Speed wouldn't be important, because our service on the remote end will likely be a laptop hooked up through Nextel's packet switching service at ~56K virtual, 19.2K actual. At best it would be through a wireless hotspot at RV parks, etc., which are starting to offer the service, but only if they offer it for free. /forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif

rockyridgefarm · Oct 11, 2003

If you can get Cable, get it. DSL might be pretty slow, if you can get it. Don't forget ISDN, It goes very far and has ZERO latency. Wireless ISPs are another possibility.

I can get none of the above, trust me, Direcway smokes my old 21.6kbps dialup. My (beta) software is a big improvement. I use ICS without a hitch. The only time I hear about FAP is from discussions like this.

It ain't perfect, but I am glad I can get it.

Mrwurm · Oct 11, 2003

Yep, what Mike said.

I've been using Direcway for over a year. I have it setup on my primary computer and two others share the connection via ICS. It's much faster than dial-up and it's always connected. With three users in the house, (often on at the same time) we have never even come close to the FAP limit.

wallyand · Oct 13, 2003

heehaw, here is a link to a support forum for satellite internet by direcway. I had the dial return system for a while but was not satisfied with it and went back to dialup. Some of the same problems still exist it seems. Had considered getting the new 2 way set up but not until it is better. I'll post it a couple of ways to make sure it works.
http://www.dslreports.com/forum/sat~root=sat~mode=shut;start=0
dslreports satellite forum

heehaw · Oct 17, 2003

long distance charges for dialup can be a killer...but if you have mci available in your area, they have a "neighborhood" plan, where you get all you phone service, local and all you long distance for a flat rate of $50 a month...SWB has the same plan..
we have an office with a T1 about 8 miles from where the new office is going, so i am pricing a line directly to that office now. may be my fastest, cheapest way..will let you know what kind of price i get..
thanks for all the responses
heehaw