sparek
join:2002-06-10
Elizabethtown, KY | Cheapest Internet Solution for Rural Customer I have an aunt and uncle that live in an extremely rural part of KY. They have no access to any cable or landline broadband. They're only landline Internet option is dialup.
Is there a better and somewhat cheap solution that they could use for Internet? DishNet? HughesNet? Exede? Millenicom?
I'm not so much interested in monthly bandwidth consumption. 2GB would probably be enough, 5GB would most certainly work for them. I'm not at all worried about throughput speeds, as long as its faster than dialup. Latency is not an issue. I'd like to find something that is around $40 a month (although, cheaper would certainly be better).
They can get AT&T and Verizon 3G, although their data plans are really just too expensive. (Although according to Mellenicom's website they don't qualify for their Basic Plan. I'm not sure whose provider that is going through). Sprint's coverage area is sketchy at best. According to Sprint's coverage map they are right on the edge of their 3G offering. Any other 3rd party providers I could consider?
Thanks |
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1 edit | Dishnet could be the cheapest satellite solution, if they have Dish TV. But by the time it is all said and done, it will run them ~$50 per month.
I would strongly recommend no less than 5GB. Every case I know of where people try going for less than 5GB as their only connection, they end up finding it to be too little. Windows and antivirus updates can sometimes devour a nice chunk of data. Even standard web pages can consume a great deal more than you would think. A lot of modern day applications and services adapt to your connection speed and do not take into account caps. They could add up overages pretty fast. |
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 Jim_in_VA
join:2004-07-11
Cobbs Creek, VA
kudos:4
 ·Northern Neck Wi..
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Millenicom's Basic plan is through T-Mobile.
You may want to checkout this site for other options:
»www.prepaid-wireless-guide.com/b···ans.html
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... need help? »evdo-tips.com/ |
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sparek
join:2002-06-10
Elizabethtown, KY | reply to sparek
Does DishNet qualify for the 2009 Recovery Act subsidy? Anybody gotten it for lower than $50/mo?
That's true with the Windows updates and anti-virus updates. 2GB might not be enough.
I do note that Virgin Mobile uses the Sprint Network, and they are on the very fringe of Sprint's 3G coverage. Since Virgin Mobile is no contract, would it be possible to buy one of their devices, try the coverage, and see if it works. If it doesn't, all I'm out is the connect device and the one plan fee (they have $5/day plan I could use to test it, if it works move up to a larger plan). This wouldn't be ideal, and it'd be low on my list of preferences, but its potentially the cheapest. |
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 gwalkPremium
join:2005-07-27
Rothbury, MI | reply to sparek
I would advise you to stay far away from Hughesnet.
Liars.cheats and thieves. |
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sparek
join:2002-06-10
Elizabethtown, KY | reply to sparek
Aren't they all liars, cheaters, and thieves?
I know people that use HughesNet, and for them it works for their needs (although, they are older, non-Gen4 customers and I have heard horror stories involving Gen4). I think a lot of people don't understand that these are people coming from dialup. They aren't after Netflix and whatever else is bandwidth intensive. These are folks that just want to be able to go to lowes.com and check out washing machines before they drive 30 miles to the store. And you can't do that with dialup. |
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| I had not thought of recovery act. That could bring down rates significantly if they qualify. I think that is exclusive to customers directly buying from Exede and HughesNet, so Dishnet wouldn't qualify. But I am not positive on that. |
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Reviews:
 ·McDonald County ..
·Millenicom
 ·HughesNet Satell..
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Unfotunatlly after being a loyal customer to HN, I would have to agree with gwalk. If you go with satellite then go with exede, not HN. The service works good, customer service is American based and actually tries to resolve your issues, not just run through a script. With that said, I would also recommend millenicom, they have great customer service and no contract but upfront costs are a little steep.
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HughesNet elite plan/.74 dish w/1watt trans. / 9000 modem / 3 computers on a linksy's wired network |
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