| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| chicken necker |
Posted - Feb 26 2008 : 08:29:32 AM
Does anyone here have satellite internet access? How does it work for you? Is it worth the big chunk o'change to get it?
I am so fed up with our dial up service. The rest of Maryland seems to ignore the eastern shore. We are only 15 minutes from Annapolis, the capital! And only 40 minutes from Washington DC and Baltimore each. We've been waiting forever for DSL, and now they are promising that we'll definitely have it by 2010! We can't even have cable because they messed up when they built the house and didn't connect it actually to the house! In order to get cable, we would have to dig up our driveway and the neighbors as well. Not a good way to make friends. We have to have Directv so we can get any stations at all.
I am trying to justify the expenditure, so any advice would be great!
FarmGirl Sister #123
Crafty Bay FarmGirls Chapter
Don't argue with an idiot; people watching may not be able to tell the difference. |
| 17 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| abbasgurl |
Posted - Feb 26 2008 : 9:10:34 PM
We have Dish Network for cable tv and high speed internet service. It is pricey, but our service with AOL was so unreliable...you can't imagine. We live in the boonies with ancient phone lines, it took 50 minutes just to log on-IF we were lucky. Any phone call booted us offline and of course it w as S-L-O-W. After getting high speed I see graphics and content I had no idea was ON some sites!  We called about 6 companies, had two actually install and neither worked. Sooooo...we gave in and got Dish.
Set up was $200 (I believe it was lower because we already had the cable service), $100 is refunded over ten months as a credit to the account. You can get different packages starting at $50 per month (We paid $25 for terrible AOL service!). You sign an 18 month contract just like you do for their cable service. If you watch online they have specials. The service has been VERY reliable and lightning fast! I LOVE their tech support-always polite and helpful. Anything I have called about has been fixed in under ten minutes! After dealing with AOL & Dell support for years, I must say DN is very impressive!
We can't get Hughes Net, verizon or any of the local services here. Had installers climb on the roof a number of times & had no signal. Oh, almost forgot...Dish Network only works if you have an unobstructed southern exposure. Any company will come out to check that for you at no cost. Hope that helps!
Rhonda
I thought of a few more things...We have neighbors who use local services not even 1/4 mile from here. The "lay of the land" & distance from a tower is everything. Probably why you can't get the verizon service. Also Dishnetwork/Wildblue was just taken over by google. They say they expect service to improve even more. This just happened last week.
I will sing at the top of my lungs, and I will dance even if I'm the only one...
http://www.kattywhompus.etsy.com |
| PlumCreekMama |
Posted - Feb 26 2008 : 12:14:15 PM
I have Wild Blue through Dish Network. It was $200 for equipment, but we got a $100 rebate. It works nicely-we got tired of waiting for DSL also. It's only $50 a month, which was what we were paying for dial-up, when you figure in the phone line we only used for internet.
http://plumcreekmama.blogspot.com/ |
| Peanut |
Posted - Feb 26 2008 : 12:05:50 PM
Sherri... if it doesn't work for you, you can return it within 30 days (I think - you get a certain grace period anyway).
My new blog! http://thecottonwife.wordpress.com/
"What is a farm but a mute gospel?"
Ralph Waldo Emerson
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| mikesgirl |
Posted - Feb 26 2008 : 11:52:58 AM
I went to the site and put my zip code at the cabin in and they say there's no service available. We have Verizon cell phones and we can use them down the road about a 1/2 mile, so I don't know what the deal is. That spot, where the cell phones work, is still the same zip code.
Farmgirl Sister #98
Check out my new online store
http://www.shopthefrontier.com/VFstore/index.php?manufacturers_id=79&osCsid=6be4b25bf9555031c6e2e86bbde23dba |
| Peanut |
Posted - Feb 26 2008 : 11:21:54 AM
I know Sherry, I was so happy when I learned about Verizon. It's the same cost per month as satellite, but you don't have to have anything installed and of course you save that $300!
My new blog! http://thecottonwife.wordpress.com/
"What is a farm but a mute gospel?"
Ralph Waldo Emerson
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| one_dog_per_acre |
Posted - Feb 26 2008 : 11:00:13 AM
I can use you tube no problem with verizon, but can't see tv online, it skips, and drives me crazy! Also if are looking to download movies, you only get 600 MB, or something like that.
Farmgirl Sister #91
Make cupcakes not war! |
| chicken necker |
Posted - Feb 26 2008 : 10:49:35 AM
Thanks! Just what I need! You just saved me money!
FarmGirl Sister #123
Crafty Bay FarmGirls Chapter
Don't argue with an idiot; people watching may not be able to tell the difference. |
| Peanut |
Posted - Feb 26 2008 : 10:44:14 AM
We did put our internet on the same bill as our cell phone, just for convenience's sake. If you combine your landline, they usually give you a discount on your bill.
I don't have a laptop either. This thing plugs right into any computer - as long as you have a USB port (a really, really common thing unless your computer is super old).
And all that stuff you want to do?? Consider it done. This is just as fast as the T1 connection my school had.
My new blog! http://thecottonwife.wordpress.com/
"What is a farm but a mute gospel?"
Ralph Waldo Emerson
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| chicken necker |
Posted - Feb 26 2008 : 10:35:10 AM
I also have Verizon wireless cell phones and they are relatively reliable here.
Would it be connect to that account?
FarmGirl Sister #123
Crafty Bay FarmGirls Chapter
Don't argue with an idiot; people watching may not be able to tell the difference. |
| chicken necker |
Posted - Feb 26 2008 : 10:31:14 AM
Jennifer (Peanut) I'm really computer illiterate, so bear with me if I have some wonky questions! How exactly does that thing work? It said something about a laptop, but I don't have one just yet but I'm planning to get one.
Maybe if I explain a little more of what I am looking for... Nothing with video or audio works with dial up. News clips, You-tube type things, even blogs with music! It plays exactly 2 seconds at a time, rebuffers, then plays 2 seconds and on and on. Pictures and emails downloads are extremely slow. I got one this morning with only two medium sized pictures and it took at least 10 minutes to finish!
I wouldn't spend near as much time "on-line" if I didn't have these problems. Ok , maybe I would, but I'd be able to actually do something!
FarmGirl Sister #123
Crafty Bay FarmGirls Chapter
Don't argue with an idiot; people watching may not be able to tell the difference. |
| Peanut |
Posted - Feb 26 2008 : 10:28:53 AM
Yeah, we use the antenna too. I didn't really care about the wireless part - I just wanted something fast and it sure is!
My new blog! http://thecottonwife.wordpress.com/
"What is a farm but a mute gospel?"
Ralph Waldo Emerson
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| one_dog_per_acre |
Posted - Feb 26 2008 : 09:48:58 AM
We also came close to satellite internet. Verizon wireless only works here if you are hooked to an antenna, so it really isn't, "wireless." It is $60/month which is expensive. I don't like having a contract, even though we can get out of it due to no signal w/out an antenna. I used to work for a major wireless company, and you can't get out of contract if you can get a signal anywhere on your property. I could see a bit of a headache if we tried. You can easily buy the equipment you need on ebay, etc. w/out having to pay Verizon. We were existing Verizon customers, and weren't offered any rebate. Anyway, the reason we didn't get satellite, is that DH's boss has it, and it was out around here for about four days, and all he got was a sorry that he lost thousands of $ worth of business. I know that Verizon techs would be fixing any problem immediately, because people would be looking for account credit immediately. The best part is that you can travel with it. FYI Dish Network is cheaper than Direct TV.
Farmgirl Sister #91
Make cupcakes not war! |
| Peanut |
Posted - Feb 26 2008 : 09:45:54 AM
The Hughes service included a $300 set-up. I am so happy to have avoided that!
But if you couldn't get cell service there, I'd imagine you'd be happy to spend that money.
My new blog! http://thecottonwife.wordpress.com/
"What is a farm but a mute gospel?"
Ralph Waldo Emerson
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| Linder |
Posted - Feb 26 2008 : 09:44:05 AM
Check out Hughes, they are really good. We use them for a property out in the mountains with no coverage and it works great! Not sure about the pricing. I think it's a bit more than what you'd normally spend, but totally worth it!
"And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom" |
| Peanut |
Posted - Feb 26 2008 : 09:10:38 AM
I came thhhhiiissss close to getting satellite a couple weeks ago, Sherry. Get this thing from Verizon Wireless instead: There's no set-up fee and my equipment cost was refunded to me.
This isn't anything that someone has to hook up. If you can get Verizon cell service where you live, you can use the USB wireless internet connection. Here's the link to the thingie:
http://www.verizonwireless.com/b2c/store/controller?item=phoneFirst&action=viewPhoneDetail&selectedPhoneId=3324
There's unlimited access per month. Also, they're completely portable.
My new blog! http://thecottonwife.wordpress.com/
"What is a farm but a mute gospel?"
Ralph Waldo Emerson
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| mikesgirl |
Posted - Feb 26 2008 : 09:08:37 AM
I will be interested in finding out about satellite internet as well. When we move to the cabin I won't have any conventional internet access and in order to continue my business, I will need to check on sales everyday. So, I'm looking at different possibilities for this. It's a long way to a library from there!!
Farmgirl Sister #98
Check out my new online store
http://www.shopthefrontier.com/VFstore/index.php?manufacturers_id=79&osCsid=6be4b25bf9555031c6e2e86bbde23dba |
| Prairie Princess |
Posted - Feb 26 2008 : 08:37:43 AM
I'm a tad bit on the Internet-illiterate side, so I'm not sure if broadband Internet classifies as satellite-based, or not, lol. But I use Clearwire broadband, and it works great, so I'd recommend that to anybody! The service isn't TOO expensive--their fastest connection is under $40/month. It's faster than DSL (or perhaps the equivelant of a highspeed DSL connection), and all you have to do is plug in their modem, and then run the cable from the modem to your computer--and you have Internet, that simple. They might list their coverage areas on their website, could be worth looking into. :)
~Jodi
"Women are like teabags...you never know how strong they are until they get into hot water." Eleanor Roosevelt |
