One last ISP question

[rvdsabu4life]

I posted before about being in an internet dead zone. Many people recommended Satellite internet. Well, our current ISP had infuriated me after a phone call this morning. So I am now seriously considering Satellite.

My question is about reliability. I have read it is terrible for gaming. How about skype and remote VPN connections. How have you experiences been?

[usacvlr]

Can you get verizon wireless broadband? I live out in the country and it's fantastic. You can game on it just fine.

[rvdsabu4life]

I haven't looked into that. Is that over the cell antennas?

Also we aren't looking to game, we are looking for reliability.

[Blues]

You can do cellular wireless as an alternative to Satellite Im not sure which is more reliable really and it depends more on your location. You may also want to consider provides other then Verizon depending on who provides the best signal in your area.

[Clark W. Griswold]

Definitely avoid satellite unless it is your only choice. My mother in law lives in the middle of nowhere and can't get cable or DSL broadband.
I hooked her up with the Verizon broadband card and here speed are really good now.

I think satellite uses the phone line for upload, the the speeds there are very slow. Plus it is expensive. I know Verizon caps you at 5 GB a month, so if you need more than that check out AT&T or Sprint. I don't think they have the limitations.

I also know you can buy a router to plug the aircard into, and it broadcasts the signal like a wireless network.
Or you might even be able to share the broadband network connection, then plug the PC with the card into a wireless router for the same effect using the network card out into the LAN plug on the router..

[usacvlr]

Verizon wireless broadband does work through the cell network and I typically get 150K a second on downloads thats kbytes not kbits. The latency is fine for gaming and the network is very solid at least here.

Satellite only used a modem for queries in the old days,, like 10 years ago. Nowadays the dish is duplex and really does transmit. Satellite however royally sucks from everything I've read and people I've talked to who have it. Basically dial up.

[lward1]

We live on the outer limits of being able to get DSL where I live. So I had to do something other than dial up, enter Wild Blue. http://www.wildblue.com I've had it for about 2 years now. It is much better than dial up, the only problem I run into is that I usually reach my "threshold" for downloads about half way thru the month, they have a 30 day rolling threshold limit. I am on the Pro Plan

Download Speed (up to) 1.5Mbps
Upload Speed (up to) 256 Kbps
Threshold 17,000MB Download and 5,000MB Upload

I can usually go thru a rainstorm and not loose signal unless it is severe. Also I can loose signal if there is bad weather at the main uplink site, I think mine is in Cheyenne,Wy.

I download and upload directly thru the satellite modem I don't have a phone line connected in any way.
As far as cost I think the total for the install 2 years ago was like 4-500 dollars, and I pay 79.95 a month.


I also usually have 3 desktops on line at any given time.

[rvdsabu4life]

Thanks for the feedback. I was looking into windblue for the wireless provider

[JRDtechnet]

FYI- most cell phone providers have a cap of 5gb and then their either charge you per meg over, warn you, or suspend your service for the rest of the month. If they say unlimited data its for when you use your smartphone/blackberry but if you tether it or use a card its 5gb a month.

[usacvlr]

I've never had a problem with the 5 gig limit myself even gaming which I did pretty heavily for awhile in WoW. You can check your usage as well at any time to see if you're close. Now if you're downloading a bunch of illegal music and video then yeah it will be an issue but for just browsing and such it's fine.

[cis4smack]

Definitely avoid satellite unless it is your only choice. My mother in law lives in the middle of nowhere and can't get cable or DSL broadband.
I hooked her up with the Verizon broadband card and here speed are really good now.

I think satellite uses the phone line for upload, the the speeds there are very slow. Plus it is expensive. I know Verizon caps you at 5 GB a month, so if you need more than that check out AT&T or Sprint. I don't think they have the limitations.

I also know you can buy a router to plug the aircard into, and it broadcasts the signal like a wireless network.
Or you might even be able to share the broadband network connection, then plug the PC with the card into a wireless router for the same effect using the network card out into the LAN plug on the router..

I think all providers cap at 5GB. They advertise it's unlimited but it's really not. I was looking into getting one, but opted not.

[Clark W. Griswold]

I think all providers cap at 5GB. They advertise it's unlimited but it's really not. I was looking into getting one, but opted not.

I don't think so - my friend has Verizon and no cable. He used his Verizon card to watch a lot of streaming video, then was cut off by his provider. He switched to Sprint and went over 5 GB regularly, had service for over a year now. He has not been contacted yet, and he downloads a lot of live music too. It could change soon, but there are providers out there that still do more than 5 GB.

[Jory]

The major problem with satellite is latency. If you're using it for web browsing and downloading it should be fine because you're not going to notice that half second delay, but once you start working with time sensitive transmissions you're going to have a problem. It's also ridiculously expensive.

I'd try to find someone in your area that has cellular internet service and see if they're happy with it. You'll end up getting less total transfer for the money, but at least you could use it for gaming, and it has the added benefit of being mobile.

[rvdsabu4life]

Thanks for the help! I am, needless to say, in favor of the nationwide broadband proposal from President Elect Obama