Rural Cable and Internet

[JDgreen227]

I am currently on AT&T DSL. The service is rated at 3MB/sec, but the speed tests results are about 2.0MB/sec. 2.0MB/sec is good enough for Netflix to stream at 720p. Sometimes Netflix drops to lower resolution, but most of the time it runs at 720p.

Next week I am upgrading to AT&T U-verse for DSL for the 6MB/sec service. Hopefully the new sevice will test above 5.0MB/sec. The upgrade was free and the new gateway is free. The monthly DSL bill will be $41/month with the new service, a $5 increase.

I am planning to cancel my DirecTV when my contact term ends. Then for TV I will have Netflix and the local channels over the antenna. I will miss a few of the DirecTV channels, but most of the channels are junk. Not worth the $70/month.

I SO ENVY THE FOLKS who can get more than the p*ssant 1.5 mbps download speed DSL I am saddled with...yes it is better than dial up BUT the guy 500 feet down the road can get Comcast cable that offers 4X the speed I have for only $6 a month more....

 

[daveshoot]

We've been pretty happy with Dish for TV, but with my microwave broadband connection and Netflix up and running, I am going to cut way back on the optional Dish channels.

We do have the Hopper. I have never had a hardware problem with the Dish equipment. I would shun their internet service unless it was the only option, however.

I would suggest the WISP/microwave/Ubiquiti provider route to anyone within range; may not always work out, but it's one of the least known options and worth looking into. Rocked my world.

 

[dmccarty]

I SO ENVY THE FOLKS who can get more than the p*ssant 1.5 mbps download speed DSL I am saddled with...yes it is better than dial up BUT the guy 500 feet down the road can get Comcast cable that offers 4X the speed I have for only $6 a month more....

Houses behind us are getting 10 mbps while we are stuck with 1.5. I just found out it could be worse, much worse. CenturyLink has NO capacity to provide new connections. They are working on expanding the network but currently they have no open ports. Unreal.

The Wall Street Journal had a very interesting report this morning on cable costs. The article was mostly about sports channels which was one of my pet peeves about buying TV service.

• In the last 10 years, the cost of sports TV channels has more than DOUBLED, I think the number was 117%.
• About 17% of the cable bill is for sports channels.
• Back in 2007, for every new house hold, three house holds signed up for cable/satellite TV service.
• Today, about a third of new house holds sign up for cable/satellite TV service.

I watch almost NO sports, I watched one or two BBall games this year because of UofL, and prior to those games, I can't remember watching any games in years. No interest or reason too. Having to pay 17% of my TV bill for a service that I will never watch is absurd. AND that part of the bill allows people who are good at playing games make millions in salary. I don't care if the players make millions from sports fans, since that is far enough, but I don't like paying for them to play a game I will not watch. This also goes with the so called music channels which ain't really music anymore.

The WSJ report said that 90% of households have cable/satellite service and it sounds like they have hit the peak and it is all down hill from there. People now have choices with streaming and just like over the air stations use to have a lock on viewers, cable/satellite will start to decline, especially if they keep their current business model.

Later,
Dan

 

[Larro Darro]

Houses behind us are getting 10 mbps while we are stuck with 1.5. I just found out it could be worse, much worse. CenturyLink has NO capacity to provide new connections. They are working on expanding the network but currently they have no open ports. Unreal.

The Wall Street Journal had a very interesting report this morning on cable costs. The article was mostly about sports channels which was one of my pet peeves about buying TV service.

• In the last 10 years, the cost of sports TV channels has more than DOUBLED, I think the number was 117%.
• About 17% of the cable bill is for sports channels.
• Back in 2007, for every new house hold, three house holds signed up for cable/satellite TV service.
• Today, about a third of new house holds sign up for cable/satellite TV service.

• 
  
  I feel your pain, Dan. If I could get what I needed from the web and air TV, I would lose the dish. But sports and music is about all I watch. [Nascar, F1 and Outlaw Country on SXM are my mainstays] All those cartoons, news channels, reality shows, police dramas and so called comedies that are on my Dish package are wasted on me. But I couldn't really drop them. Margie watches all that. [except the cartoons]
  
  They say that if you had to pick just the channels you wanted, it could cost more than you are paying now.

 

[ultrarunner]

There is more to the story...

My home is currently rented and my tenants use to live in the home where their signal originates and they now split the monthly bill.

The 100 meters is line of sight... following the terain would be about double the length because of the steep ravine.

The high cost quoted was mostly for the trench work...

I was told if a suitable 2" conduit just "Happened" to be available and I signed up for the basic business internet plan for two years there would be no cost using the "Existing" conduit.

 

[dmccarty]

I feel your pain, Dan. If I could get what I needed from the web and air TV, I would lose the dish. But sports and music is about all I watch. [Nascar, F1 and Outlaw Country on SXM are my mainstays] All those cartoons, news channels, reality shows, police dramas and so called comedies that are on my Dish package are wasted on me. But I couldn't really drop them. Margie watches all that. [except the cartoons]

They say that if you had to pick just the channels you wanted, it could cost more than you are paying now.

When we first got Directv, I listened to the real music channels they have, the ones that just play music but I found a local radio station I listen too in the morning and another station in the afternoon. I would bet you can find decent music on the Internet. Not sure about NASCAR and F1 but the WSJ article mentioned that many sports are being show over the Internet.

Heck, about the only thing we watched on Directv were cartoons! :thumbsup::laughing::laughing::laughing: But if the Wifey wants her TV shows, well, you are stuck. Unless she can get the same shows on the Internet.

Youtube on the tv has been a great time waster. :shocked: You can go from one show to another and the next thing you know hours have gone by. :laughing::laughing::laughing:

Later,
Dan

 

[dmccarty]

The 100 meters is line of sight... following the terain would be about double the length because of the steep ravine.

The high cost quoted was mostly for the trench work...

I was told if a suitable 2" conduit just "Happened" to be available and I signed up for the basic business internet plan for two years there would be no cost using the "Existing" conduit.

Back in the city they just laid the coax on the ground from the box to the house. Trenching was a word they did not use. My phone service was just trenched to the house and it is not in conduit.

Later,
Dan

 

[ultrarunner]

Back in the city they just laid the coax on the ground from the box to the house. Trenching was a word they did not use. My phone service was just trenched to the house and it is not in conduit.

Later,
Dan

I was thinking today how "Simple" many things were and how complicated they have become...

A friends parents built a cabin in Tahoe in the 60's and never had a single inspection... only person to come out was the tax assessor and he measured to make sure the square footage matched the permit.

They still have their electric meter and circuit breakers on a Douglas Pine tree a few feet from the house nearly 50 years later... simpler times for sure.

Who needs power poles when you live in a forest?

 

[rich_ncal]

My upgrade to AT&T U-verse for DSL for the 6MB/sec service has been a real pain in the .... The net result so far is I am still below 3MB down load and my upload speeds may be a little slower than when I started.

Twice the installation technicians said something was not ready on the line or central switch. Each time I had to spend 30-60min on the phone to schedule the next hookup appointment.

During the first attempt to install the service upgrade they disconnected the existing AT&T DSL service and when I called for the next appointment they said it would be about four days away. I had to ask them to turn back on the old service. At least they were able to turn that back on the same day. That took four calls with AT&T.

Finally the updated service with new gateway (Motorola NVG510) was installed. The evening after the installation I was experiencing on and off internet outages with message from router about the quality of the line and many web pages would not load. So I made sure it was not my home wiring by connecting the gateway to the terminal box on my house at the end of the phone company's line. Then I call tech support.

During the call the tech said my line did not test well and I was far from the central hub and he would try changing some settings in the gateway. After he changed the settings and I reset the gateway the web pages did not hang. Then I ran a few speed tests with the tech on the line he admitted his fix was to lower my DSL speed down to 3MB max.

So a great deal of pain for no gain, and maybe a step back in speed

 

[Larro Darro]

It is not just the 'boonies' where there are TV and internet problems. My coworker lives here in Blountstown. He dropped his land line phone and uses his cell. But the local cable company doesn't offer internet access, and he doesn't want to switch to Dish. Him and his wife both have smart phones, so they have some web access. But if they have to get on line with the laptop, they either walk up to McDonald's [about a 200 yards from his house] or drive to work. They keep talking about one of those hot spot cards, but so far they haven't signed up for one.