Satellite → WildBlue Satellite > [Exede] Any advice/suggestions on this setup?

[Exede] Any advice/suggestions on this setup?

This is long and boring, but I figure someone out there -- especially someone who lives in a remote area -- may have some valuable advice.

I'm in the process of moving to a very rural part of Tennessee where phone/Internet/cell options are very limited. Right now in Ohio, I have Time Warner Roadrunner (very pleased with the service) and a Verizon phone with a tethering option (also very pleased). However, cable Internet isn't an option where the house is located in Tennessee, and Verizon -- the only carrier with any service at all in the area down there -- has just a bar or two of service in and around the house.

Since I work from home as an editor/reporter on a fairly busy website, Internet and phone access is pretty important. Here's what I'm thinking:

- DSL Internet service. I've been told I can get up to 4MB down/1MB up service, but I'm guessing it'll be closer to 1MB down since I live so far from their equipment. It'll be installed Monday, so I'll know for sure then. I plan to use this as my primary option for downloading large work files, streaming Netflix/Amazon (if the connection even allows it), streaming some online events for work, streaming audio (Sirius, Pandora, etc.) and other things that eat up data but don't usually require immediacy. Still, if I max out at 1MB or so, I may just need to give up the streaming plans completely and deal with it. However, other DSL customers in the area who have the 4/1 option tell me they use Netflix and Youtube with little buffering, so I've got my fingers crossed.

- Land line. I'm required to have it with the DSL service, and I figure it's a good backup since anyone I called on my cellphone while in Tennessee was having problems hearing me. I could hear everyone crystal clear, but they were hearing the occasional robot voice, or I'd drop out completely for a second or two. For work, interviews, radio call-ins, etc., I need something reliable, so this should work.

- Exede satellite Internet. The reviews seem to be mixed, and most of what I've read regarding customer service scares me, but the 12MB option is apparently available in my area. It's expensive, but I could use this for the daily writing/researching/editing/website posting, uploading photos to the content system, etc. The drawback is the data cap (I currently average 200GB/month on Roadrunner). So I won't use it for video streaming or large video files unless it's during the "free zone" period. This certainly has a lot of drawbacks, but for posting a breaking-news story or needing to quickly download/upload something, at least I have the backup option if DSL is down or running super slowly.

- Verizon Wireless Network Extender: The idea of paying for the service, the extended AND the broadband sucks, but at least my cell wouldn't be an expensive paperweight that doesn't work in my house. I've heard that the extender will work and also that it won't work with Exede, so who knows for sure. I guess I'd have to use the DSL option and hope it's fast enough to handle the cell calls. While I could shift all my calling to the landline, it'd be a pain in the ass to get all my contacts using the landline number, and I still want a cellphone when I'm traveling.

Again, it'd all be pricey, and it's definitely not an ideal setup. But I think it'd give me some peace of mind and some backups if all goes to hell.

Anyone is a similar situation? Anyone have any experience with a setup like this?

If you can get a couple bars outside the house on the cell phone, you could install an antenna on the side of your house and a repeater in the house. I do this with my 3G service, but there is a 4G option. Don't get what Verizon would sell you, you can do better with a 3rd party. Talk to a company called www.solidsignal.com. They are very knowledgeable and if you explain what you are looking for as far as getting a cell signal or mobile internet in your home, they can provide solutions for you. The key is you at least must get a cell signal somewhere outside your home.

What I do in "remote" Ohio where I live is have Exede as my primary service (I don't have a DSL option). I then use Verizon broadband as my backup (antenna on the roof, repeater in the house). I don't have 4G service where I live, but the 3G is good enough in a pinch. Actually Exede is pretty reliable other than occasional weather outages. But it can be pricey and the biggest package you can get is just 25GB. Therefore make good use of the LNFZ if you can.

Installing the DSL as your first option for internet sounds reasonable. See how that works and go from there!

I appreciate the feedback.

Quick question - I get 1-2 bars of service in my house, and though I can hear people very clearly, they say I cut in and out when talking, and sometimes I drop out completely for a few seconds at a time.

I went all over my property and on the roof, and the best I got was 2 bars. Would something like a Wilson Electronics Cell Phone Signal Booster do much good since it doesn't seem like the signal gets any better anywhere else around my house?

I've been going through reviews on Amazon, and it's odd. Folks say that it'll do no good unless you're getting a strong signal on the roof or outside. But then other people were saying they get no bars inside and just one outside, but with the booster, they're getting 3-4.

The booster is only part of it. For fringe cell areas, you need to get an special antenna (not that costly) and mount it on the outside of your house. However, the key to this is to make SURE the antenna points in the direction of the tower for optimum signal. Also, the better line of sight towards the tower, the better the signal. Close buildings, trees, etc. can impact signal strength.

I would say based on what you are starting a home signal booster combined with a properly installed and pointed antenna would solve your cell phone reception problems. IMHO, most negative reviews with the home boosters is they are not properly installed. They are not hard to install, but things must be done properly. I installed mine about 18 months ago and it works great. I had spotty reception both outside and inside my home. No problems now.

Great stuff. Thanks again.

I've ordered the Wilson Electronics directional antenna/booster and will be installing it on Tuesday. Hopefully things work out.

Appreciate the help.

Best of luck on the install. Let us know how it works out for you.

Have you checked your address for Verizon 4G/LTE coverage? I'm in rural western Kentucky, and - after 13 years on satellite - recently replaced it with Home Fusion. It comes with it's own powered outdoor antenna/signal booster as part of the package (cantenna). The indoor unit (modem/router) is located on my computer desk. Side by side, my Verizon iPhone5 shows 2 bars while the modem/router interface shows 4 bars - ostensibly from the same cell tower.

//greg//
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Former DirecPC/Direcway/HughesNet customer and forum participant since 2001

Speaking of HomeFusion, there are rumors in the Verizon Wireless forum of a $100 per month unlimited usage HomeFusion plan being available. No idea if it is true, but could be something worth checking out.

If that would be true silbaco...that could really hurt satellite internet providers. $100 for 4G unlimited or around $100 for 15GB/month, restrictions on unlimited usage amounts and times, and high latency. That would be an easy decision to make.

According to Verizon's website, it's not available. I called them, though, and they said they have "great" service in that area, which I don't really believe. So I'm not real sure. But if the DSL service ends up being crap, I think I'll look into it a little more seriously.

And yeah, an unlimited plan would be a game-changer for me if it actually worked at my place. It'll be interesting to see if that actually happens.

If you want to find out if Verizon has service in your area, then sign up for this:

»Verizon Launches New Home LTE-Powered Router

Put in address/zipcode, click 4G LTE Data Coverage, refresh map

»www.verizonwireless.com/b2c/Cove···ip=96048

If you're in 3G only (although it works with 4G too), and the 3G isn't too congested, you can look at Millenicom's hotspot plan. 20GB anytime for $70 with no tax for either 3G or 4G, compared to Homefusion which is 4G only, won't work in 3G even for fallback, and $60 plus taxes for 10GB anytime (figuring in taxes, not much of a price difference maybe??). Difference is no contract, but higher startup cost, and you buy any needed antenna (but it should work with your booster for 3G). Not the speed of satellite if 3G, and probably not as good if your DSL works well. But for a backup connection, although slow, not too bad.

My setup now does about 7 meg down on 4G without an antenna, around -110 to 115 dBm. With a Wilson directional antenna ($50ish) cabling and connectors ($60ish or so), the signal is between -79 and -75dBM, and speeds are consistently around 20+ megs down, 3 up (sometimes over 6). This is 8 miles from the tower through trees, without a booster.

Your phone can make quite a bit of difference with reception. In my house, various LG and Samsung phones either don't call out, or drop calls after call out. My Motorola flip phone holds a clear signal anywhere in the house or out in the buildings, including the main shop where some others get no signal.

Also, I haven't looked within the last few weeks at boosters, but new laws go into effect next year. As of the last time I looked, there wasn't anything out on the market that met those guidelines/FCC approval. Other than some companies just saying that their stuff was good enough, even without the approval. Whether the stuff is out now, I don't know, and whether they will start shutting down some equipment, I don't know. There's a Millenicom forum here that has some info about cellular reception, etc.

Obviously true, same for this area, took them a couple months to show 4G was on, and they are very optimistic about the coverage. But if a person doesn't know if 4G is around, the map gives a rough idea where it is, if it's close, etc. Because bringing devices in here without an antenna, they will lock onto the 3G or 1x signal, they need forced on 4G. If I didn't know better, or how to do that, I would possibly only go by the 0-1 bars of 3G that some phones get, and wouldn't know if 4G was here.

I checked in on that coverage map over weeks, and watched them turn on all the areas toward here one at a time, so I had a rough idea that it was coming soon.

If you weren't aware, the Home Fusion I mentioned is 4G/LTE only,;no 3G fallback. So if there's not a usable 4G signal in your area, they won't even install Home Fusion.

//greg//
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Former DirecPC/Direcway/HughesNet customer and forum participant since 2001

Not the sales types anyway. The certified installers get a proprietary smartphone app to run speed tests from the installation site BEFORE even taking the hardware out of the truck

//greg//
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Former DirecPC/Direcway/HughesNet customer and forum participant since 2001

Hello tnallons,

It sounds like you are making progress in finding the best match for your internet needs.

Exede 12 does have a new plan option called Exede Evolution available in some areas. It offers unlimited browsing, email, and social media with 5Gb of data for other applications and a free zone from 3am-8am each day. If this type of plan would be useful for you, we can check to see if it would be available in your area.

Here is a link to more info: »www.exede.com/evolution

If you have any questions feel free to e-mail me anytime. The email address is: exedelistens@viasat.com.

Take care