Internet in the Country

[edkemper]

I've never lived in a home with Cable or U-Verse... just have plain old DSL... so it is hard to miss something you have never had.

Just want to throw something over this fence.

To many of us, your complaint of not having Cable or U-Verse would be a blessing. :thumbsup:

 

[ultrarunner]

Just want to throw something over this fence.

To many of us, your complaint of not having Cable or U-Verse would be a blessing. :thumbsup:

Don't miss it especially in Washington... thing is it eliminates about 95% of potential renters...

In the SF Bay Area... get about 45 stations over the air with Rabbit Ears on top of the TV... half are English!

 

[kcflhrc]

Newsflash folks, U-Verse is DSL, sometimes bonded DSL but still DSL. Same technology, broadband over the existing copper phone line.

 

[PhoneFarmer]

U-verse is not DSL. Totally different technologies. DSL is an ATM based protocol. U-verse is an IP based protocol. And with 17 MHz U-verse, it's a totally different animal.

 

[wcampbell47]

If you're contemplating a move to the country, and especially if you have large data requirements (I'd say 100Gb/month is large, and would cost about $170/mo on my current Excede plan) I'd make Internet connectivity a mandatory requirement for any property I considered. As others have mentioned, just because DSL service is available in the area is no guarantee that there is capacity to add your connection. I'd make sure I had something in writing from the provider BEFORE I made an offer on the property. And I'd make darn sure there was a contingency in the offer to let me back out of the deal if service in my name couldn't be established at the address prior to closing.

When we decide to get off the coast I will make very sure that any property I contemplate will have near by cell phone towers. I drive through a small community about 30 miles off the coast that has a cell tower that maxes out the bars on my phone. Looking up there at present.

 

[ultrarunner]

My DSL modem of 10 years died last night in Oakland CA... went to the ATT store this morning and was signed in... after 17 minutes I was still number 3 in the que.

Since when did going to the phone/internet store turn into a "Car Buying" experience?

After 20 minutes I left... the place looked like an upscale coffee house... all I wanted was to buy a replacement Modem and was told I needed an advisor to accomplish this.

Today, I'm using my neighbor's WiFi with permission... maybe I can cut another monthly bill and the longer I go without Internet... the easier it will be...

Never lived in a home with cable and still have only corded phones from the 1970's...

When I pulled my 2005 DSL contract for AT&T is was $12.95 per month for 1.5 m and today it is $40 for the same 1.5 m.

The modem failing could turn out to be for the best...

 

[TomSeller]

.

Today, I'm using my neighbor's WiFi with permission....

Anyone have Xfinity and use their hotspots? Are they opening up your wifi to create their coverage?

 

[aczlan]

Looking at the Ubiquiti Networks link, I wonder if they could run it to a box 100 feet from the road and then I could line of sight the distance to the house? For those that have used that method, how expensive is it?

I have used a pair of Nanostation Loco M2 access points for a fairly long link (500-1000 feet?) and they have been rock solid since fall 2011.
They cost $50/each and weren't too bad to setup.
We have been replacing $900 Motorola access points at work with the same APs and have been very happy with them.

Aaron Z

 

[WM75Guy]

We started with HughesNet which was better than dial up but not by much. When CenturyLink bought out the previous provider they promised to provide DSL. I did get DSL at 4 Mbps down/.5 Mbps up. I have the CenturyLink modem/wireless router but run it in bridge mode to my own D-link wireless N router. I am on my third modem in as many years, I have two spares that the techs have given me so I can maintain service. While reading the contract I did notice I can use my own modem instead of renting at $10/month so I plan on getting my own modem to save the money. My house has all modular wiring with OnQ hardware modules and Cat5e drops so CenturyLink will not come into my house and touch anything as they only work on basic wired homes plus I will not let them.

The system resources in my county are now exhausted so sometimes the download speed is .1 Mbps. CenturyLink will not add any new subscribers unless someone drops service. It looks like CenturyLink has accepted money to upgrade my area so maybe I can get faster service sometimes in the future.

 

[ultrarunner]

Anyone have Xfinity and use their hotspots? Are they opening up your wifi to create their coverage?

There is one that pops up and it is strong... just don't have a way to log in.