# Rural internet



## PlayingInDirt

Hoping someone can help me pull a rabbit out of a hat.

Let me preface this by saying I have no expertise in computers whatsoever.

I'm hoping to work from home but am only able to get satellite. My employer tested hughes out with another employee and the latency made it impossible for our system to work. Is there anything I can do? I work for a large company and there's a lot of bureaucracy involved, but I was really really really set on working from home.

Any pointers on getting at&t to provide service would help also. We're just outside the border of a company than can provide line of sight internet, but I'm not sure it's fast enough, and legally they can't give us service. I know there's some kind of service through the phone system but I'm not sure how much that would run. Might be worth it if my employer moves to a reimbursement program.

Any help is greatly appreciated.


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## Bearfootfarm

PlayingInDirt said:


> Is there anything I can do?


You can spend a small fortune for high speed wireless if you're close enough to a cell tower. If not close it might require expensive antennas and signal boosters.

The best you can hope for through the phone lines is DSL, which may or may not be fast enough.


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## hiddensprings

I worked from home and had the issue with Hughes myself. I ended up using a WiFi hot spot from Verizon. Yes, my bills were higher then Hughes BUT I figured that by not commuting an hour one way, having to buy office clothes, etc, I was still saving money.


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## po boy

hiddensprings said:


> I worked from home and had the issue with Hughes myself. I ended up using a WiFi hot spot from Verizon. Yes, my bills were higher then Hughes BUT I figured that by not commuting an hour one way, having to buy office clothes, etc, I was still saving money.


I switched from Hughes Net and At&T Wireless to Verizon Unlimited and cut my cost by one third.


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## PlayingInDirt

I'll have to see how much the wireless internet runs. I heard about the verizon unlimited but typically the only reliable cell coverage is through at&t.


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## PlayingInDirt

Wish we could get DSL... might have to resort to a shovel at this point.


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## Belfrybat

ATT&T has unlimited wireless internet through a hot spot. A friend in a dead zone for just about everything else got it. I think she pays a bit under $100.00 a month. But she also has her cell phone through them as well, so it is considered bundled. Her download speed is around 25 and upload is 10 or 12 -- can't remember.


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## po boy

PlayingInDirt said:


> I'll have to see how much the wireless internet runs. I heard about the verizon unlimited but typically the only reliable cell coverage is through at&t.


My cell phone was 4g and 90% of the time could not make or receive phone calls with AT&T. I don't have that problem with Verizon


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## PlayingInDirt

I think I'll try the hotspot thing, see if that works. I'm hoping my employer decides to do a reimbursement instead of just outright saying I can't work from home. Ugh.

I've had multiple people with Verizon unable to use their phone at my place, but at&t works outside usually, and inside the house if you're by a window.

Kinda a culture shock, going from streaming Netflix and Pandora to no internet. And of course At&t has no idea when they'll expand service. My area isn't being built up like others so who knows when they'll grace us by taking our $$$


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## GTX63

The internet folks go where the money is first, to the populated areas. They get the new toys, the upgrades, the bells and the whistles. Our township is 321 people and many are in low ground surrounded by tall oaks, so they are currently limited to phone lines with 1.6 mb max. Technology is coming but I expect we won't be where a typical city is for another 5-7 years.


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## arabian knight

PlayingInDirt said:


> Wish we could get DSL... might have to resort to a shovel at this point.


 In my three counties surrounding me anyone in those counties no matter where you are how deep in the woods you are as long as you have phone service from this independent co-op phone company, you can have broadband internet plus cable tv coming over the fiber optic cable directly to your house. It is called FDTH Fiber Direct To Home. and even the lowest speed of 20 Mbps at 50 bucks a month is a good deal with unlimited use. Sure is nice to have a independent phone company and the best part it is a Co-Op. Cool


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## PlayingInDirt

There are small companies that provide good service in small pockets in the greater area and surrounding counties, one local provider is as close as a couple miles down the road. But legally they can't provide service because we're in AT&T "territory," yet AT&T won't provide ANY internet service, dial up, DSL, xfinity, anything. 

So, it seems like the big companies like Comcast and at&t are dragging their feet on getting service to rural families. It's 2017. We're not really that far out from "civilization," we have neighbors etc.

I grew up outside of Seattle area. We were considered rural, now it's more suburban sprawl, but at the time it was sparsely populated. We had dial up internet in the 90s. I just don't get it.


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## Back2Basix

I feel your pain PlayingInDirt and hotspot will be the way to go. Don't waste your time with Hughes or DirectTv satellite 

Our power co-op just ran fiber and i can't be more happy


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## big rockpile

Bearfootfarm said:


> You can spend a small fortune for high speed wireless if you're close enough to a cell tower. If not close it might require expensive antennas and signal boosters.
> 
> The best you can hope for through the phone lines is DSL, which may or may not be fast enough.


Only cost us about $1000 to set up, not sure what it cost us a month on Internet but we have Unlimited.

big rockpile


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## PlayingInDirt

big rockpile said:


> Only cost us about $1000 to set up, not sure what it cost us a month on Internet but we have Unlimited.
> 
> big rockpile


The antenna and booster did?? Dang...

We are high up, clear view, and decent signal. So hopefully we won't need anything extra. But truth be told, I'd be willing to pay for the set up. I'd save that in 3 months of commuting. The time saved alone makes me willing to stretch my budget.


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## tiffanysgallery

Fiber would be great if you can get it. If not, see if you can get a dedicated T1 line installed. Sometimes if you can get a phone line, you can get a T1.


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## 92utownxj

We have internet through ATT on our cell phones. We have a package deal with DirecTV for tv as well since ATT own Direct now. Since we have TV with them we can have unlimited data. It's one of their requirements since so many people use internet to get out of paying for tv. For us it works out perfect. We use our phones as a hotspot. We have a smart tv and have amazon prime. The internet is plenty fast for that. 

We have some grandfathered discounts and tv package. With free HBO our tv bill is -$10. We do have about the lowest package they offer since we can watch amazon prime.


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## mnn2501

You said you're just out of range for "Line of sight" internet. You might want to offer the local line of sight company space at your place to put up another antenna to reach additional customers in exchange for free internet for you. You'd have a tower on your land, but for me it would be worth it.


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## HDRider

It is unconscionable that technology exist that could give everyone, rural or urban, high speed internet, but government red tape, and companies forgoing quasi-monopolies stop it before it ever leaves the starting gate.

Has anyone here heard of white space internet?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_Space_Internet

http://www.techrepublic.com/article/white-space-the-next-internet-disruption-10-things-to-know/

https://www.carlsonwireless.com/tv-white-space/


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## Steve_S

Geez, I wonder why Hughes is so terrible, makes no sense to me.

OK, I am Canadian and have no access to Hughes Net BUT we have our own version XplorNet which has Direct to Satellite, 4G & LTE fixed wire services. They are on the newer series of EchoStar XIX and ViaSat-2 Satellites and provide 25MB down, 10MB up with low latency... I can stream videos, video conference, play very heavy interactive on-line games including VR & Virtual World simulation stuff too... Magz uses it to connect to her work, including having the ability to hold Real Time classes (she's a professor) online. All for < $100 a month with a 100GB cap (per my plan).

Maybe it's time the good folks south of the 49th get on Hughes and the FCC or whoever and start making noise about joining the Global Internet... Imagine the money lost to potential online businesses and more that could be run from rural / remote areas with decent service... seems rather counter productive in todays world of interconnection.


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## PlayingInDirt

There was some kind of satellite service I found that was designed for rich people on yachts or something that was crazy expensive, I'm talking 3k just for equipment. 

I seriously considered posting a big sign on my road, hiring a lawyer, and forming a coalition. I don't even know where to start with that though because my county knows nothing, my city knows nothing (but we're in the unincorporated county), at&t (who's "territory" we are in) hires numbskulls that don't know anything about anything. I don't have a bunch of money I can throw at this, wish I did. I'm still in a state of disbelief that there are still areas where you can't get any service outside of very poor satellite connection. Especially considering the push for more telecommuting, environmental impact, etc. Tons of people work from home.

We almost pulled out of the house because of this. Whole goal of moving to the boonies was to work from home and get some livestock. My employer assured me they could make it work with satellite, up until they tried it with someone else and now there's some renegotiation going on with the requirements behind closed doors. Cue twiddling thumbs. 

When I spoke to hughesnet, they sure were eager to take my deposit and then oh whoops, a network connection would slow down by 75%. The other employee who tried to work from home couldn't even bring up our system, let alone try to do any work.


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## PlayingInDirt

mnn2501 said:


> You said you're just out of range for "Line of sight" internet. You might want to offer the local line of sight company space at your place to put up another antenna to reach additional customers in exchange for free internet for you. You'd have a tower on your land, but for me it would be worth it.


I tried to pay to hook up service, they said they legally couldn't. Our place is down the mountain a bit so they'd probably want a higher location, but even if they would, I wouldn't put a tower on my land. I'd rather commute for 30 years than look at a tower every day. Maybe if we had a larger parcel I would, but we're on 9 acres.


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## CajunSunshine

ATT Uverse through existing phone lines... ask them about this possibility.


.


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## PlayingInDirt

CajunSunshine said:


> ATT Uverse through existing phone lines... ask them about this possibility.
> 
> 
> .


Won't do it.


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## po boy

PlayingInDirt said:


> Won't do it.


At&T are pushing Direct TV even though they are losing internet customers.


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## PlayingInDirt

po boy said:


> At&T are pushing Direct TV even though they are losing internet customers.


We don't want tv, but I'd be willing to sign up for DirectTV if they provided internet. But they won't either. 

We haven't had tv in years. Used to stream everything, now we get dvd service from Netflix.


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## anniew

I had a mobile hotspot from Straight Talk. It worked ok (not great) on my Windows 7, but when I got a Windows 10 (new laptop) the size and frequency of the Windows 10 upgrades made the cost prohibitive. Each download (more than a couple a week was costing about $20 each. Too $$$ for me.


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## arabian knight

Maybe this will help some of you.
*Microsoft to help expand rural broadband in 6 states*
FARGO, N.D. (AP) -- Microsoft says it will team up with communities in North Dakota, Wisconsin, Virginia, Texas, Wyoming and Washington state in a program broadly aimed at fostering economic growth in rural and smaller metropolitan areas.

Company president Brad Smith launched the TechSpark program Thursday in Fargo, a metropolitan area of more than 200,000 people that includes a Microsoft campus with about 1,500 employees. Smith says the six communities are different by design and not all have a Microsoft presence.

Smith says TechSpark is a multi-year, multi-million dollar investment meant to help teach computer science to students, expand rural broadband and create and fill jobs. North Dakota currently has more than 13,000 job openings.

The company has also selected Appleton, Wisconsin as one of the sites. The other communities will be announced later.


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## PlayingInDirt

Bearfootfarm said:


> You can spend a small fortune for high speed wireless if you're close enough to a cell tower. If not close it might require expensive antennas and signal boosters.
> 
> The best you can hope for through the phone lines is DSL, which may or may not be fast enough.


Who would be a good knowledgeable contact for getting a booster or antennae to boost high speed wireless? I'm less than faithful in at&t to know what they're talking about. I need at least 25 mbps, the exact requirement is "at&t high-speed internet from a broadband internet service provider (ISP)." I'm thinking they'll work with me on the requirements. Radioshack? Some small business tech company? I don't want to pay a fortune. 

They're finally about to put out some positions, there was some renegotiation going on. The internet thing is stressing me out though, I hope I can make it work.


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## Bearfootfarm

PlayingInDirt said:


> I don't want to pay a fortune.


I've not seen any solutions that aren't pretty expensive.
You can buy some antennas relatively cheap, but they still won't help if the signals are too weak.
When you start pricing boosters and amplifiers the costs rise even faster.

One of my biggest problems here isn't just the location, but the proximity of so many large trees.
I'd need a 100 foot tower to get an antenna above all the obstructions.


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## PlayingInDirt

We get pretty good cell signal so I'm hoping it'll work. Lucky for us we're at the edge of a big valley.


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## mmoetc

Ask Google for a balloon?

https://x.company/loon/


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## PlayingInDirt

I called a local tech company and he thought I might run into security issues with hotspot....... has to be secure, its for a medical company.


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## PlayingInDirt

mmoetc said:


> Ask Google for a balloon?
> 
> https://x.company/loon/


I think my neighbors would shoot that down. If not, my husband would.


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## Bearfootfarm

PlayingInDirt said:


> I think my neighbors would shoot that down.


That would be some fine shooting:



> We have flown over 25 million km of test flights to date since the project began - with one of our record-breaking balloons surviving for 190 days aloft in the *stratosphere*.





> strat·o·sphere
> [ˈstradəˌsfir]
> NOUN
> 
> the layer of the earth's atmosphere above the troposphere, extending to about *32 miles* (50 km) above the earth's surface


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## PlayingInDirt

Bearfootfarm said:


> That would be some fine shooting:


Hahaha!!!! Yes it would.


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## Esteban29304

I use to have a " line of sight " provider, but cancelled it due to it being VERY slow & going offline for days at a time. I now use a WiFi Hot spot thru Verizon.[ other phones services offer the same ] Even though they say it is " unlimited," they WILL slow it down once you exceed a certain amount of data, something like 20 GB , per month. SO, if you are online, watch much video, even youtube, etc., it will slow down every month to 3G, which is barely better than dial-up. They may not accept new customers on unlimited plans, either.
This is a note from Verizon ;

What happens after I use 22 GB of data?
Most of the time you'll continue to enjoy the same great network experience once your line exceeds 22 GB during your billing cycle.

What happens if I exceed the 22 GB, data in a month ??

If you've already used 22 GB on a particular line during your current billing cycle, and are on a cell site that is congested at that moment, your download may be temporarily queued behind other Verizon Wireless customers, which may result in slower download speeds relative to another Verizon Wireless customer's experience on the same cell site at that moment.


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## po boy

Esteban29304 said:


> I use to have a " line of sight " provider, but cancelled it due to it being VERY slow & going offline for days at a time. I now use a WiFi Hot spot thru Verizon.[ other phones services offer the same ] Even though they say it is " unlimited," they WILL slow it down once you exceed a certain amount of data, something like 20 GB , per month. SO, if you are online, watch much video, even youtube, etc., it will slow down every month to 3G, which is barely better than dial-up. They may not accept new customers on unlimited plans, either.
> This is a note from Verizon ;
> 
> What happens after I use 22 GB of data?
> Most of the time you'll continue to enjoy the same great network experience once your line exceeds 22 GB during your billing cycle.
> 
> What happens if I exceed the 22 GB, data in a month ??
> 
> If you've already used 22 GB on a particular line during your current billing cycle, and are on a cell site that is congested at that moment, your download may be temporarily queued behind other Verizon Wireless customers, which may result in slower download speeds relative to another Verizon Wireless customer's experience on the same cell site at that moment.


I had AT&T for cell service for about 15 years but when I upgraded to a smart phone the 4G signal was so bad I would have t go outside to make a call. I switched to Verizon jetpak for phone and internet and have no problems making or receiving calls. I had company at Thanksgiving and ended up using 33 gigs last month. It did slow down, but didn't bother me since I watch very few videos.


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## big rockpile

Ok we have Verizon with Unlimited Minutes. We wasn't getting Good service in the House but got a Booster and have good service. We got a Jet Pack to run off of instead of our Phone. seems to work great.

big rockpile


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## royB

If you have a good wireless signal, you might look into this place https://unlimitedville.com/ 
Its not cheap but it is unlimited, I know a couple places that use it, one their signal is spotty but when it works it works well, the other is solid. They have plans for each of the major carriers.


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## KandCfamilyfarm

PlayingInDirt said:


> Hoping someone can help me pull a rabbit out of a hat.
> 
> Let me preface this by saying I have no expertise in computers whatsoever.
> 
> I'm hoping to work from home but am only able to get satellite. My employer tested hughes out with another employee and the latency made it impossible for our system to work. Is there anything I can do? I work for a large company and there's a lot of bureaucracy involved, but I was really really really set on working from home.
> 
> Any pointers on getting at&t to provide service would help also. We're just outside the border of a company than can provide line of sight internet, but I'm not sure it's fast enough, and legally they can't give us service. I know there's some kind of service through the phone system but I'm not sure how much that would run. Might be worth it if my employer moves to a reimbursement program.
> 
> Any help is greatly appreciated.



If you got a friend with verizon or you have verizon you could check to see if their cell phone service works at your place. It is important to know if it works before buying into a contract.

If it does they have a wireless usb card that picks up a cell phone signal and allows you to get internet that way. We live in a dead zone here and can only use the land line which is owned by a co-op then at&t then charter which makes our internet bill $90 a month for 3meg service. seems redundant considering the dead zone is created by the high voltage lines form the power plant partly. But ya check verizon!


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## KandCfamilyfarm

O ya and they make GMS boosters. that will boost a cell signal


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## PlayingInDirt

KandCfamilyfarm said:


> If you got a friend with verizon or you have verizon you could check to see if their cell phone service works at your place. It is important to know if it works before buying into a contract.
> 
> If it does they have a wireless usb card that picks up a cell phone signal and allows you to get internet that way. We live in a dead zone here and can only use the land line which is owned by a co-op then at&t then charter which makes our internet bill $90 a month for 3meg service. seems redundant considering the dead zone is created by the high voltage lines form the power plant partly. But ya check verizon!


 $90 for 3 meg?? That is terrible!!!!

Sounds like I need to get at least 25 meg/s in order for my computer program to work at all.


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## PlayingInDirt

royB said:


> If you have a good wireless signal, you might look into this place https://unlimitedville.com/
> Its not cheap but it is unlimited, I know a couple places that use it, one their signal is spotty but when it works it works well, the other is solid. They have plans for each of the major carriers.


I'll look into this, thanks!!


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