internet providers?

[BUBSDAD]

Where i live the phone company does not offer DSL and there is no cable available, do any of you have suggestions other than plain old dial up? I figure theere is some company out there that offers reliable internet service to rural homes.

Things to consider, we dont have a telivision so a bundle package with a satellite company is out of the question. Hughesnet (satellite internet ) is available but in my experience it is not much better than dial up.

what are you folks using?

BUBSDAD

[momma_to_seven_chi]

We have DSL now, but in the past we used People PC, Netzero, and AOL. I have to admit AOL was the most fun, but also the least reliable and most expensive. People PC was probably the best (fastest, cheapest, most reliable) of the three that we tried.

[King Hugh]

Have you considered cellular? I don't know a lot about it, but if you have cell service where you are, it's an option.

[cinok]

Some thing to think about. I just got my BWHmag yesterday and there is a coupon code in the ad for hughes net after the rebates the equipment costs $99 instead of $399. We have been running a verizon air card but service has been getting slower we were just talking about going with sattelite after talking to some freinds in the area and bamm a coupon. :)

[DM]

Two of my friends had Hughes net, I used it quite a bit there, and it slowed down a lot in heavy cloudy weather, quit when it rained hard, or snowed. It even quit sometimes for no reason at all, so both have now dropped Hughesnet.

I have another friend who has Direct TV, and has the net through them. (Wild Blue ? ) She likes it very much and said it's been very reliable.

Me, i'm on dial up and hate it! lol

DM

[cinok]

I called wild blue and they are not taking customers from my area. They have over sold or something like that on the sattelites that I would point at. We know some poeple who had the same problem with hughes but they say that it is great now something about a new satelite orsomething. Our air card worked great till verizon bought out alltell now its slowwwwwwwwwwwwww. My wife takes a bunch of online classes and hughes net was recomended as the best alternative to dsl by tech support at school where she is going for her APN classes.

[Northern_bushrat]

We're also on hughes.net and I know 6 other households who are. One of them is happy with it, the rest of us are okay to dissatisfied with it.
While the system rarely breaks down (and then generally comes up again without us having to do anything), everybody I know who's also on it complains that the upload speed is often so sluggish that using it for Skype or if you need to get large files sent is an excercise in frustration. The upload speed picks up again suddenly and is decent for a few months, then craps out again.
And their plans are pretty expensive. If you have other options, I'd do more shopping around and talk to people who are actually using hughes or other providers to get real opinions.

[CastIronCook2]

Here's what we use on our off-grid mountain property:
http://starband.net/home.asp
Pretty reliable, faster than dial-up, but can't touch cable for speed. Also, latency issues (disparity between upload and download times) rule out voice-over programs such as Skype. Nevertheless, if you have a clear shot of the southern sky and any kind of electricity at all, satellite can be a somewhat satisfactory solution.

[fizzle7033]

Hughesnet is a complete ripoff!!!! I would really recommend you research heavily before signing a contract with them!!! Read everything, they will lie, or lie by omission!!

[AzLoneRider]

I would not use Hughs net. If am currently using a microwave internet provider. I am surfing, my daughter is on facebook and my son is watching a netflix movie online all through the wireless network I set up in my house. If you have a provider that offers it get it...

[cinok]

I guess this is one of the drawbacks of living in a rural communities. Kinda funny dont give a crap about TV but my internet is something that is a link for so much. For years they have been promising dsl for everyone but that is not going to happen. Maybe if they surround me with mcmansions the demand would go up. Our kids school pay a ton of money for the old style T-1(?) lines so the students have the best internet they can get.
What is a Microwave internet provider.

[CB54BS]

I use Dish for TV and Wild blue for internet and am very satisfied with both. Living in a rural area, my choices are limited to the above or rabbit ears and dial-up.

CB