Satelite internet service

[rklacker]

I am looking for input concerning satelite internet service. We are in a remote off the grid setting near Watersmeet Mchigan where even cell service is iffy at best. We have to use an antenna and hardwire to the cell phone for service. Can anyone share their experiences good and bad with satelite internet providers? I am looking for input on reliabilty,costs,setup ......

Thanks in advance for any help, I am not a techno guy so all advice will be appreciated!!

 

[whitedust]

There is good fixed point service in Iron County UPMI don't know the name but better than satelite internet service because it shoots under the clouds. Don't know if it is available in Watersmeet but I would look into that first. Second would be Wild Blue. Works good for me & I have the same cell phone set up as you. Then Hughes but was more expensive than WB when I looked. Go satelite internet only when no other way just too slow but better than dial up. Also make sure you are there when they install or you will have wires running all over the place.

 

[m8man]

I have hughes.net at my place in the Keweenaw...I use to live in town and had cable and it rocked...I then went to dial up and almost lost it....I decided to go with hughes.net just from a couple of buddies who've also had the service..I've had it about 3yrs here.. If I remember correctly I put about $500 down and now pay $64.99 a month...I could save $5 a month by auto deduct from a checking or savings but I'm not doing that... I think I have 1 meg of download and about half that on upload..One thing you need to be aware of is the "fair access policy" if you exceed your download size limit you will go on a restricted speed for 24 hours, this really is not cool but I understand why...so a few don't hog up the goods...Anyway a few times when I've had a video file emailed to me I ended up downloading it in the middle of the night because it goes like 10x faster at 3am vs 6pm...

Let me know if you have any more questions..

m8man

 

[Deleted member 10829]

I had hughes.net until about 2 years ago when I was finally able to get DSL. I was pretty pleased with how everything worked, but it was frustrating if you violated the "fair access policy" as things would really slow down. You can't watch too many youtube videos etc. or you get the slow down. I still have the dish and all of the hardward needed and would be willing to give it to someone if they wanted to come and get it.

 

[xcr440]

Had Wild Blue, it was OK. Better than dial up, not nearly as good as DSL.

Another option that is becoming popular is the wireless access offered by AT&T, or AllTell, and maybe more. I have a slower connecting tower by me, but it was comparable to Satellite. If you have a better connecting tower, (I forget the 3 levels that are available, but one is pretty fast) that might be a better solution than the satellite.

 

[polarisrider1]

Wow! I have fiber optics running right to my house with ATT highspeed and it screams. ATT transfer station with boost is 2 blocks from home. $34.99 a month. The cable company internet which is also 2 blocks away is so bad that the cable employees said, "You really don't want this". (they won't even sell their own product).