Author Topic: Internet options in rural areas  (Read 2586 times)

Davnasty

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Internet options in rural areas
« on: March 01, 2019, 02:51:21 PM »
I've been trying to help someone who plans to move to a rural part of Virginia determine their internet options. Their work from home job is dependent on having a reliable, high-speed connection.

Does anyone know the best way to go about determining what's available in a given area? I've used some of the online search sites like https://www.highspeedinternet.com but I question whether the search results are comprehensive and accurate. Is there a better resource?

I'm also wondering if there are other options outside of local providers such as satellite internet. Ideally they want low cost, but because their job relies on it they're willing to pay up for reliable service if necessary.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Khaetra

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Re: Internet options in rural areas
« Reply #1 on: March 01, 2019, 03:45:13 PM »
I would go directly to the County/City site and start there, if they have one.  If they (or you) have FB look to see if there are Pages for the area and ask what's available.  Maybe try real estate site like Zillow and see if they have a place to ask questions.

lukebuz

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Re: Internet options in rural areas
« Reply #2 on: March 02, 2019, 08:38:30 AM »
Check if they have wireless cell coverage.  We live in an area without cable access.  We use our local cell provider 4G.  6MBPS - fast enough for pretty much anything except endless streaming.

Turkey Leg

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Re: Internet options in rural areas
« Reply #3 on: March 02, 2019, 08:44:39 AM »
If you have an AT&T cell tower nearby, ubifi internet is awesome! I switched to them in January of this year (2019) and have been thrilled so far.

https://www.ubifi.net/

This is an AT&T cellular modem—with NO throttling or data caps. The cost for unlimited internet access is $89.99 a month. Even while streaming a Netflix movie, a speed test put our speed at over 30 mbps download. I’ve had as much at 65 mbps, but never below 30 mbps. The modem cost is about $349 (that’s with tax). The service is month to month (no contract). If you decide you don’t like the service, there’s a 15% restocking fee to return the modem.

My upload speeds so far have always in the double digits: 10 mbps to 15 mbps.

Compare this to old provider (DSL), with 6 mbps download and less than 1 mbps upload that was costing me $53 a month.

Davnasty

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Re: Internet options in rural areas
« Reply #4 on: March 04, 2019, 02:11:32 PM »
Thanks for the suggestions everyone. We were able to put them in touch with some current residents in the area and it looks like they will be able to get adequate service through Atlantic Broadband.

Ubifi could potentially be a backup plan and is exactly the type of thing that I was curious about.