Internet service ?????

[Oldtom]

Hello all - We have Earthlink DSL internet at home. The internet has not worked for a month. My wife calls and gets a "script reader" with no knowledge of how to fix the problem. My wife does not really care since she has internet on her phone. I am done with Earthlink and am thinking about sat internet, since we live in a rural area with no Fios available. What are the pitfalls of sat internet? Any carriers to avoid?

I would like to be able to get Netflix and Hulu on any internet service we get.

Thanks in advance for any advice!

 

[haggler]

The pitfalls of satellite internet are data limits, over all speed, latency, and usually requires a contract. You're better off cancelling the DSL from earthlink. They are a reseller and cannot fix your lines. If you want to keep them, you need to have them escalate the issue to the telephone company in your region. If you cannot get this fixed with them, I would try to switch back to the landline telephone company provider for internet. Before satellite, I would see if your cell phone plan has any hotspot offering, this would be a much better option than satellite.

 

[14Accent]

How much internet do you need? How is your cell coverage/who is your provider? What type of cell plan are you on?

If you don't use much, and have a decent cell plan, you could just use your phone as a hot-spot when you need to use a larger computer. For example, I have 50 GB of full-speed tethering per month on my cell plan. If you aren't streaming or using a heavy amount of data you'd probably be just fine.

 

[Alfred_B]

If you ha e ATT cell service, get a Cricket unlimited data plan with hotspot

 

[azjake]

Here in Phoenix there are ads all the time on TV for HughesNet sat internet. It says it's 25mb, no hard data limits, and free wifi. They don't mention the cost, but based on the ad it sounds like they are nationwide.

 

[JeffKeryk]

We have Comcast Xfinity. Very few, if any, issues.
TV, Internet and Home Security bundle. Probably pay too much.

 

[Donald]

I have not tried but people who have did not have good luck with a satellite. 300 ms up and 300b ms down.

 

[PimTac]

Originally Posted by JeffKeryk
We have Comcast Xfinity. Very few, if any, issues.
TV, Internet and Home Security bundle. Probably pay too much.




Alright but how does this help the OP?

 

[Skippy722]

Do you have a local telephone company that provides internet access? That's who we used at my childhood home, best service hands down, even if they were slower than xfinity.

 

[wwillson]

Until you've browsed the internet on a connection with 600ms delay, you don't really understand what satellite internet is like. I would search very hard for any other alternative.

 

[Quattro Pete]

Another option would be to look into home internet service from a wireless carrier:
https://www.verizonwireless.com/home-services/home-services/

What carrier does your wife use on her phone? You might be able to get some kind of a bundled deal from them that would include home internet service.

These services have rather stringent monthly data caps. It may or may not be an issue for you, depending on how much video streaming you do.

 

[Kruse]

I'll be the first to admit that I live out in the boonies. I love it and want to keep it that way.
That being said, we had satellite internet because it was our only choice. My advice to you is to avoid satellite internet unless that is the only choice that you have.
Take wireless before satellite.
We managed to get fiber optic to our house on a hush-hush type of deal. The provider somewhat felt sorry for us and none of our neighbors were able to get it to this day.
We couldn't be happier with our internet provider.

 

[JeffKeryk]

Originally Posted by PimTac
Originally Posted by JeffKeryk
We have Comcast Xfinity. Very few, if any, issues.
TV, Internet and Home Security bundle. Probably pay too much.




Alright but how does this help the OP?

Ah, giving him an option?

 

[Quattro Pete]

Originally Posted by JeffKeryk
Originally Posted by PimTac
Originally Posted by JeffKeryk
We have Comcast Xfinity. Very few, if any, issues.
TV, Internet and Home Security bundle. Probably pay too much.




Alright but how does this help the OP?

Ah, giving him an option?

Me thinks, if the OP had that option (cable internet), he wouldn't be asking about satellite.

 

[rubberchicken]

Originally Posted by wwillson
Until you've browsed the internet on a connection with 600ms delay, you don't really understand what satellite internet is like. I would search very hard for any other alternative.

This ^ guy gets it.

 

[Donald]

I would also talk to town mayor and push. There are many programs to bring broadband to rural areas along with financial incentives.

 

[dlundblad]

We have antenna internet that's pretty decent from a mom and pop place. It's enough to stream too.

 

[alarmguy]

Skip the SAT, go with a cell phone data plan or to your local phone company and see what they can do.

Something just doesnt sound right to me that Earthlink doesnt want to help you clear up your issues though.

 

[Touring5]

Like others have mentioned, you might need to go to some cellular service as a best short-term solution.

Hopefully, the Starlink service will be available in Canada and Northern parts of the U.S. later this year, and then expanding next year.

 

[ArrestMeRedZ]

I spend a lot of time at a house in the country that I'm fixing up to sell. AT&T business phone line they would keep sneaking the rate up to $119 a month if you neglected to talk to their salesperson disguised as a customer rep at least annually. Internet service provider (via microwave link) company was about $65 a month for a 3.1 Mb system that became completely unreliable after the company was bought out. It was down more often than it worked.
I finally got fed up and transferred the phone line to a Verizon wireless account. Use the cell phone as a hotspot. Unlimited data, but hotspot is throttled at a certain point. I believe it's a $50 line on a family plan with a $10 military discount. I had considered satellite, but the latency/lag would have been a problem for the gaming I do.
I am not sure this plan would work well in all areas if you stream a lot of video, but when I've used up my hotspot data allotment I have not felt the effect of being throttled down.