High Speed Internet

[Mrwurm]

I currently use a dial-up connection for internet access at home. It is really starting to fall short of my needs. There is no cable service available in my area so a cable modem is out. Is there anything else that runs off phone lines or sattelite that will speed up my downloads? I have DishNetwork satellite tv if that makes any difference.

Oh yeah, I should say that I'm in S.E. MIchigan.

 

[MikePA]

Jerry, check with your ISP/phone company to see if some form of DSL is available. The phone company might also offer ISDN service. Both run over standard phone lines. The only satellite service I am aware of comes from one of them.

 

[Tractor_Barn]

What part of Michigan? I have the same issue in Armada. No cable or DSL available. ISDN is an option but Ameritech wants way too much for that.

 

[Mrwurm]

Vince, I am in Almont. We do not have Ameritech phone service in Lapeer county. Verizon is the local provider and I don't believe they offer any internet service.

 

[Mrwurm]

Direct tv and Dishnetwork are in the middle of a merger right now. They claim that high speed internet for all will be one of the beneficial outcomes. I'm not sure how their system will work. I'll check that link you provided.

 

[Rowski]

Are you sure Verizon does do DSL in you area? They do here in the NorthWestern Vermont.

Try this <A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.verizon.net/>link</A> to see if you have Verizon DSL in you area, fill in your phone number.

 

[Mrwurm]

Derek, thanks for the link. I plugged in my number and it told me the service is not available for my area. /w3tcompact/icons/mad.gif

 

[MikePA]

I wouldn't completely trust the web forms, I would call them. I have had DSL for almost 1 year yet if I go to my provider's web site and type in my address and phone number, it reports DSL is not available in my area.

The only reason I have DSL is, in my monthly, frustrating visit to the web site to see if DSL was available, I made a mistake typing in my phone number. (I have two phone lines, each with a different exchange and final four digits. I had typed in the three exchange digits for one line and used the last four digits from the second line) It reported I could get DSL, so I signed up. When I discovered my typo, I thought about canceling then I thought I would see what happened. A human called me to verify my information and to confirm which phone number I wanted DSL on. I gave them the correct phone number. Poof, I got it.

 

[Mrwurm]

Mike, I'll give them a call tomorrow. Thanks. Your story reminds me of the pizza place by my house. They always say it will be ready in 45 min or an hour. I show up in thirty minutes and its always ready. /w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif

OK, I'll admit it. I'm not quite sure what 'DSL' is?

 

[MikePA]

Digital Subscriber Line. You have now plumbed the depths of my knowledge. /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif Here's a link to another place that can tell you if DSL is available near you.

 

[RanchMan]

DSL stands for Digital Subscriber Line.

Basically, it is a way of providing high bandwidth connectivity by using existing telephone lines to your home. Now before some smarty-pants "Jumps my case" /w3tcompact/icons/crazy.gif, this is a VERY SIMPLIFIED and PSEUDO-ACCURATE description. In reality, there's a lot more "to it."

If you're really curious and want some more detail, here's a link that I think describes things pretty well overall (diagrams, definitions, & such). Hope it helps! /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

<A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.howstuffworks.com/dsl.htm>How DSL works</A>

 

[exeter_acres]

I also am in SE Michigan, outside of Monroe.. Not DSL in our area, and every single resource in our area say no Cable internet either. I saw the local cable truck (Charter Communications) and stopped to ask when we might get it.... "Ya'll ready do..." was his answer!

Yep there is service in our area and I am on it now. No glitches and plenty of speed so make sure you call your local company.

Good Luck
Curtis

 

[Steven]

Check out <A target="_blank" HREF=http://dslreports.com>http://dslreports.com</A> they have a spot that will test your line for dsl service and list companies in your area that will provide service. I have had dsl for one year now and have had no problems. I use earthlink as my provider even though i have verizon as my phone service. earthlink provided faster connections for the same cost as verizon. on dslreports you can also test your download speed under dslrtools button and select speed test. hope this can help you out.

 

[Carl_NH]

Jerry,

I checked for DSL - from Verizon and then another local DLS provider. Verizon said no, the local provider said yes. The issue is the distance from the switch and the number of ports they have available. They will make exceptions (they did for the local school and installed a card esp for them) 13000' is the max for DSL from the local switch for a 256K connection plus they will want $$ for the service.

Interesting here we just got cable modem service, well guess what, the DSL guys from Verizon are calling now offering the service too - this is all about local competition and if one's not there the other won't be either.

As to satellite service, thius has good download speed - 300K but upload is still around 56K (land line) from what I understand.

Have patience, because the telco's are not building out any significant networks due to the distressed nature of the business at the moment.

carl

 

[MikePA]

<font color=blue>As to satellite service, thius has good download speed - 300K but upload is still around 56K (land line) from what I understand.</font color=blue>

This used to be the case with first generation satellite service. DirectTV has been offering 2 way satellite service for quite a while now... No land line is involved. It's still just as expensive, though. /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif But if there's no cable modem or DSL available, it beats a modem connection.

 

[Mrwurm]

Thanks for all the input. I checked the links and it looks like no DSL in my area and no estimate of when it will be available. /w3tcompact/icons/sad.gif

I'm looked at the direct tv DSL and it was a no-go. I'm going to look for the direct tv sattelite service.

 

[Wingnut]

you're gonna have to want it real bad ... to pay $500 for equipment and then $80 a month for service.

I'll keep my slow (42.6k) copper connections .... ain't nothin' out there that important to me.
Let's see ... $720/yr would buy me mucho diesel, part of an attachment, lots of steel to build attachments, several years of hay for the herd ....

 

[Steven]

I value my time that is why I got earthlink dsl. 1.5meg downloads 128k uploads. I can view all new posts and pictures each day on tractorbynet in about 1/2 hours time. this leaves more seat time for me outside. at $50.00 dollars a month for 1.5meg download speed you should only be paying about $1.42 a month for 42.6k. if you ratio out the cost per k. so in my opinion I think it's a better deal. and once you have the speed you wonder how you did anthing on a dial-up connection. try it and you will not go back. and there is no equipment fee.

 

[Mrwurm]

Yep, you're right. I looked at Starband for $70 a month and $625 to install. Then they limit and restrict what you can do with it. Not a good option.

 

[DavidInNH]

<A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.tractorbynet.com/cgi-bin/compact/showflat.pl?Cat=&Board=off&Number=154617&page=&view=&sb=&o=&vc=1>DirecWay 2 way Satellite update</A>
and <A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.tractorbynet.com/cgi-bin/compact/showflat.pl?Cat=&Board=rural&Number=175709&page=&view=&sb=&o=&vc=1>Direcway Satelite Internet -my lastest experience</A> provide some good background.

I finally decided to bite the bullet and ordered the DirecWay service. They installed the dish last Friday but decided to stop when the lightening started. They are supposed to finish the installation this afternoon. I'll report on my experience after using it a bit.

I found the money easier to justify when I realized that I am now paying about $22 (including all of the extra charges) for my second phone line and then another $20 on top of that for a big whopping 30 Kbps. There are always three computers here and when I'm working at home, there is a fourth one. If you think 30 Kbps is slow, try sharing it with your wife, a high school senior and a college student. Like Steven, I figure that it will ultimately give me more seat time - especially if I it enables me to occasionally work from home and avoid the 2 hours/day of commute.

Having said all of that, it still took me a long time to actually pull the trigger. I've had that second phone line since 1988...