Rural Internet and Phone Communications

might try Hughes.net Know some folks who have it and say it works well for 70 or 80 a month. Also I don't know for sure but there are several internet phone programs that might work over a satellite connection.

Got Wildblue. It works alright. You have that 1-2 second lag but you get used to it. Cost my $70 a month because I needed the high bandwidth but it does download fast. uploads are about 200k. The one bad thing is that VPNs do not work with satellite yet so you need to implement SSL vpn (vpn connection over websites) in order to get into company resources. I can email, browse just fine.

Here is a decent article talking about the state of the satellite internet industry.

http://www.cnn.com/2007/TECH/internet/05/09/rural.internet.service.ap/index.html

LOL!

Zsa Zsa Gabor!....

Upgrade the phone system or the caller. :?: :roll:

After being on the "string-n-can plan" for awhile I can upgrade:

I will be taking a more primitive approach for communication:

http://www.things2make.com/Things2make_files/instructions%20over%205/canphone.htm

We use Starband for our internet connection it can be use for phone also but their fastest modem is around $135.00 per month then vonage or what ever phone service. It won't be cheap what ever you go with.

Sadly VoIP is not a viable option for use via Satelite. It uses a relatively small amount of bandwidth, so it's Ok there, but it is extremely dependent on a low-latency connection. From what I've read, satelite Internet typically yields 300-500ms response time (compared that to an "average" broadband connection which is well under 100ms).

The same goes for Terminal Server connections, if too many packets time-out during transit, your server connection will break.

I hope that info helps your research...
Jim

I use Wildblue for my internet service. It's very reliable but not real fast. It's also fairly pricey.......$49.00 a month for their slowest speed option. I tried Vonage with the satellite connection without any luck at all. I believe if you read the fine print on the Vonage website it states that their service is not recommended for satellite based internet connections. As far as the moble Sat dished that are broken down and set up as needed, I was told that you have to be a certified installer. The gentleman that installed my Wildblue dish told me a horror story of a customer that attempted to move and realign his dish. He ended up linking to the wrong satellite and was facing outrageous fines of $50,000 a day from the FCC for the mishap. But from what I understand there are classes you can take to become certified because they do sell the dishes to consumers who tend to be fulltime RVer's. Thay also sell the automatic tracking type as previously mentioned, but they prohibitively expensive in my opinion. Try [url]www.campingworld.com [/url]for some ideas on pricing for these options.

I'll be watching to see other ideas from others.

Good Luck,

Andy

I use Hughes (formally Direcway) for our Internet connection. Our office is rural and there is no other options and I was tired of dial-up. We have had the service for several years now and I am satisfied. Rare to to have weather related outages, just have to keep brushing the snow off in the winter. Not as fast as broadband service but definately useable.

Tips if you decide to go this way:
Make SURE the dish is mounted very firmly to something you are confident will not move!!!!!!!! Pain in the #%^ to get service calls in remote areas. Most common problem that I know of is dish moving and losing signal. Never happened to me. :lol:
If you are subject to snow, make sure you can reach the dish to clear it off or you will lose signal if too much sticks to the dish.
Good luck with whatever you decide.

P.S. Mobile systems like you are talking about above are very expensive!! Looked at them for our motorhome and was scared away fast!!

Now that I think of it, it seems like I saw a flush mount direcTV (or the like) antenna on some tricked out vehicle on "Pimp my ride". It sat flat on the roof and you could watch satellite television while driving around. Has anyone seen anything like this and do you know what it is called?

Sam

I found this answer on the FAQ section of HughesNet website. Maybe I can just hook up one of these on my truck :lol:

Q: Can I put this system on a boat or in an RV?

A: HughesNetTM Home and Professional service is available for non-mobile (fixed) locations. To receive mobile high-speed Internet service, please contact one of the following Value Added Service providers:

Ground Control www.groundcontrol.com

MobilSat www.mobilsat.com

MotoSAT www.motosat.com

Check this out:

http://www.wildblue.com/ or

http://www.onelasvegas.com/wireless/NM.html

Might give you some leads...
Vern

P.S. We use a wireless broadband (similar to wi-fi but called wi-max - it is line of sight, so if someone has a tower on top of a mountain?). It works fairly well and is much cheaper than satellite. We also use Vonage with it, but that is NOT working well. We get alot of static - sometimes not even useable.

Rod,

Thanks for the ideas. Great ideas for sure but probably not practical. There is not broadband that I know of within 20 miles, maybe more. Closest cell tower is about 15 miles away. However, I like both of those ideas and will have to keep them in mind.

Jeff,

Your approach has been near the top of my list because it seems like it would be the easiest and most proven approach. However, I am hoping someone out there has a unique idea for us all.

Thanks,

Sam

Sam,

I've had the same thoughts about having connectivity when out in the sticks. I have been fortunate enough to work from home for the last 2 years, and I've often wondered if I could get reliable VPN (Virtual private Network) and VOIP(Voice over Internet Protocol) access through a satellite setup, so I could be "working from home" but be camping out on my hunting lease.

I think technically both the VPN and VOIP would work over the satellite, but the concern would be the speed and if it would affect call quality. I currently use Vonage for phone service over my cable modem connection and it works great. They list a minimum upload speed of 90kbps. Hughesnet.com's "home" plan for satellite internet service is supposed to have 700kbps download and 128kbps upload speed. It's a bit more expensive that typical broadband, but they know people that need satellite internet don't have any other choice.

Hughesnet also lists in their FAQ section some information about VPN over satellite. Sounds like it may be painfully slow, but would probably work. There may be other satellite internet providers that work bettter?

Anyway, let me know if you venture down this path. I may try it eventually, especially when I find land for my log home and get moved out to it.

BTW, I don't work for Hughes or Vonage.... these are just companies I've looked at to try to solve this remote access situation.

Jeff

I don't know if I'll get the opportunity to use it, but I got a great deal on a complete Netkrom Technologieswifi bridge, which consists of two 108 Mbps wireless routers and parabolic dishes. It should have a range of at least 10 miles line-of-sight. If you can find someone with broadband who is willing to allow the install of the other half of the bridge within a 10 mile radius of your home you could have internet and VoIP telephone service.

Cell phone service might still be possible too, if connected to a high gain, external omnidirectional antenna, or better yet, a parabolic pointed at a visible tower. (what can you see from rooftop height?) Most Motorola cell phones have an external antenna jack.