rural internet service

Hi all,

I am in a rural IL (central between springfield and decatur) outside
the range of standard broadband service (dsl, cable, etc). The two
alternative internet service technologies that I am familiar with are
satellite and cell phone. I would appreciate any comparison on the two
technologies (speed, coverage, cost), and any suggestions on service
providers. Thanks for any help on this,

Kev

(E-Mail Removed) wrote:
> I am in a rural IL (central between springfield and decatur) outside
> the range of standard broadband service (dsl, cable, etc). The two
> alternative internet service technologies that I am familiar with are
> satellite and cell phone. I would appreciate any comparison on the two
> technologies (speed, coverage, cost), and any suggestions on service
> providers. Thanks for any help on this,

Visit
http://www.verizonwireless.com/b2c/C...ype=NEWREQUEST
and http://www.cingular.com/support/maps.do
to see what coverage is available in your zip code.

The speeds range from sparkling, better than DSL, to fast dialup.
I'm in the moderate dialup range where I live, but Cingular works well for
me, and I can take it with me almost wherever I go, which isn't possible
with a normal satellite setup.

Around Decatur, I don't see the highest speed services deployed by either
of those Cellular providers. Do you have cellular voice coverage?

Satellite is more expensive to install by quite a bit, a little more
expensive monthly, might be faster or slower, depending on your location
for cellular, but would probably be available in areas where there is no
cellular coverage at all.


--
---
Clarence A Dold - Hidden Valley Lake, CA, USA GPS: 38.8,-122.5

(E-Mail Removed) wrote:

>I am in a rural IL (central between springfield and decatur) outside
>the range of standard broadband service (dsl, cable, etc). The two
>alternative internet service technologies that I am familiar with are
>satellite and cell phone. I would appreciate any comparison on the two
>technologies (speed, coverage, cost), and any suggestions on service
>providers. Thanks for any help on this,


Cellphone data service is barely better than dialup at its best with respect to
speed, is expensive and is limited in allowed transfer amounts. Verizon probably
has the best coverage in rural areas, but you'll have to check with each carrier
for your location. Cell data has its place, but substituting for fixed location
service is not one of them.

Satellite service works when there's nothing else available, but latency means
you won't be running games or VOIP applications over it and they also can limit
transfer amounts of data or throttle your service. It's also pricey.

There is a third choice: You may be surprised at the number of Wireless ISPs
that cover rural areas. All you need is line of sight to their tower, which is
typically on a water tower or grain elevator. WISP service is typically much
more economical than the other two and performance-wise, can be as good as wired
service.

Start at www.broadbandreports.com to see what's available in your area.

Rick Blaine <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:

> Cellphone data service is barely better than dialup at its best with
> respect to speed, is expensive and is limited in allowed transfer
> amounts.

I suggest that your comments are out of date.

Cingular:
"Theoretical peak downlink speed of 3.6Mbps and uplink speed of 384Kbps
Avg Download speed of 400 - 700 Kbps on BroadbandConnect Network
Avg Upload speed of 100 - 120 Kbps on BroadbandConnect Network "

Unlimited data plans would be $60 per month, maybe cheaper.
A 20MB per month plan is $39.99.

> Cell data has its place, but substituting for fixed location service is
> not one of them.

In urban areas, the newer cellular services can exceed some DSL.
In rural areas, the dialup is not always good. At home, I have a 21600
dialup, 30-40K cellular, and 6M cable.

At my previous location, there was no DSL, no cable, dialup was 24000 on a
good day, but EDGE is deployed on Cingular, at about 100k.

--
---
Clarence A Dold - Hidden Valley Lake, CA, USA GPS: 38.8,-122.5

Rick Blaine wrote:
> Cellphone data service is barely better than dialup at its best with respect to
> speed, is expensive and is limited in allowed transfer amounts. Verizon probably
> has the best coverage in rural areas, but you'll have to check with each carrier
> for your location. Cell data has its place, but substituting for fixed location
> service is not one of them.

Actually at worst, cellular is at least twice as fast as dialup. Unlimited
data plans are around $60 a month. While not the best substitute for fixed
location, many companies will use it as a back up.

> There is a third choice: You may be surprised at the number of Wireless ISPs
> that cover rural areas.

http://www.onelasvegas.com/wireless/IL.html shows several WISPs in the
trans Springfield - Decatur area area.

On Tue, 19 Dec 2006 21:47:58 GMT, decaturtxcowboy
<nope_none_@nowayspam.com> wrote:

>Rick Blaine wrote:
>> Cellphone data service is barely better than dialup at its best with respect to
>> speed, is expensive and is limited in allowed transfer amounts. Verizon probably
>> has the best coverage in rural areas, but you'll have to check with each carrier
>> for your location. Cell data has its place, but substituting for fixed location
>> service is not one of them.
>
>Actually at worst, cellular is at least twice as fast as dialup. Unlimited
>data plans are around $60 a month. While not the best substitute for fixed
>location, many companies will use it as a back up.
>
>> There is a third choice: You may be surprised at the number of Wireless ISPs
>> that cover rural areas.
>
>http://www.onelasvegas.com/wireless/IL.html shows several WISPs in the
>trans Springfield - Decatur area area.

verizon has 3 data networks. the slowest (quick-2-net) is capped at
14.4 kbps; mama bear is called 'National Access' (1xRTT) and has a
theoretical limit of 140 kbps but real world speeds are between 80-120
kbps. the papa bear is EVDO with speeds ranging from 300-600 kbps.
with both 1xRTT and EVDO users may experience occasional higher data
bursts. dialing an ISP on your cell caps your data speed at 14.,4
kbps.

73,
rich, n9dko

On Tue, 19 Dec 2006 12:52:36 -0700, Rick Blaine wrote:

> There is a third choice: You may be surprised at the number of Wireless ISPs
> that cover rural areas. All you need is line of sight to their tower, which is
> typically on a water tower or grain elevator. WISP service is typically much
> more economical than the other two and performance-wise, can be as good as wired
> service.

I have service from a local WISP and it works great now that I got onto
their 900 MHz system. I was on 700 MHz and it is apparently getting
interference from distant TV stations which just killed it at various
times. Like every other service provider, do your homework, but I'm quite
satisfied now again.

- Nate >>

--

"The optimist proclaims that we live in the best of all possible worlds,
the pessimist fears this is true."

<(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:(E-Mail Removed) s.com...
> Hi all,
>
> I am in a rural IL (central between springfield and decatur) outside
> the range of standard broadband service (dsl, cable, etc). The two
> alternative internet service technologies that I am familiar with are
> satellite and cell phone. I would appreciate any comparison on the two
> technologies (speed, coverage, cost), and any suggestions on service
> providers. Thanks for any help on this,

See if there is a wireless internet service provider (wisp), if not go with
the satellite service, as cellular would be about the same as a dial up
line.

>
> Kev
>

<(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message news:em9hh8$97l$(E-Mail Removed)...
> Rick Blaine <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:
>
> > Cellphone data service is barely better than dialup at its best with
> > respect to speed, is expensive and is limited in allowed transfer
> > amounts.
>
> I suggest that your comments are out of date.

Not for data over cellular.
>
> Cingular:
> "Theoretical peak downlink speed of 3.6Mbps and uplink speed of 384Kbps

That is fixed broadband, which may not be available in rural areas.

> > Cell data has its place, but substituting for fixed location service is
> > not one of them.

"Dana" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in
news:(E-Mail Removed):

>
> <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
> news:em9hh8$97l$(E-Mail Removed)...
>> Rick Blaine <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:
>>
>> > Cellphone data service is barely better than dialup at its best
>> > with respect to speed, is expensive and is limited in allowed
>> > transfer amounts.
>>
>> I suggest that your comments are out of date.
>
> Not for data over cellular.
>>
>> Cingular:
>> "Theoretical peak downlink speed of 3.6Mbps and uplink speed of
>> 384Kbps
>
> That is fixed broadband, which may not be available in rural areas.
>

Well, I just finished a project using EVDO, and saw consistant d/l speeds
of 800-900 kbps and uploads of 250-300 kbps.

I would say that is not just barely faster than dial-up, more like upwards
of 20x.