Rural High Speed Internet?

[KingBubbaTruck]

Hello,

Well, I'm about to make the jump from being a suburban work at home computer abuser to a rural work at home computer abuser.

My boss doesn't care where I live, as long as my work gets done. I haven't been to the office since februrary, and nobody seems to have noticed. (I know that could seem like a bad thing, but the paychecks keep coming in )

So, I was just wondering among some of the more rural types here, how are you connecting?

I'm willing to consider almost anything, but I really need something better than dial up.

I need to use a IPSEC VPN, which could make satellite kind of questionable, due to the lag times.

I'm planning to move to a place that should be just northwest of Reno.

Things I've heard of that work are:

• Connecting Via Cell Phone (Verizion seems recommended)?
• ISDN?
• T1 (Requires probably setting up a business plan and setting up a little ISP to share with the neighbors)
• Satellite (IPSEC VPN, LAG, BandWidth Limit concerns)
• Other local ISP?
• And Finally, using my truck camper as a mobile office and commuting to the nearest wifi hotspot to setup my daily 'remote' office every day [] (This sure would be commuting from my current home to downtown San Francisco every day...

Thanks in advance for any advice!

Brent

 

[Gary Max]

Brent where we live ---way out in the sticks---They try to sell me DSL all the time. But they seem to forget that the lines will not support the service they are trying to sell. Make sure you get what you buy. Neighbor has a Satellite system and it is only a little better than phone lines.

 

[leehljp]

I was very surprised at a satellite system a friend had just 40 miles SE of New Orleans this past spring. I did the settings and hooked my notebook up to it daily for several days and was surprised at the speed and even posted a few times to some other forums. I did not notice that much lag there and I have been used to cable internet since 1997. It probably depends on the system and location for satellite.

 

[baldysm]

I'm an old network engineer, dealt with this stuff all the time.

1. Don't know about cell phone connections. Would think it comes down to a cost/speed factor, which may be high.

2. ISDN is 128k, about 2-3 times faster than dial-up. Technically it's dialup too, but you do get full 128k 100% of the time, unlike analog lines which max out at 53k and usually work slower, especially in older rural areas.

3. T1 - 1.536 mb of speed. Can't imagine you would need this kind of speed, sometimes is faster than DSL. You dont need a business plan, but it is expensive. Call up your telephone company and get some rates, also try Sprint, Qwest, AT&T, as well as some local ISPs to get some rates. You will need a router and CSU/DSU. I can help ya with the technical part. Dont need a business plan, connecting your neighbors to your T1 is probably more costly and trouble than it's worth. You might also consider a fractional T1, which means you use only a portion of the T1. There are 24 channels (each being 64k bandwidth), and you can get any multiple of them as a internet connection. If you get an 8 channel T1, you have 512k bandwidth, and it's cheaper than a full T1.

4. No experience with satelite, cant offer much advice. From the other responses, looks to be chancy.

5. Other local ISP? Your connection options would be the same, just who you are connecting to the Internet through is changing. You may be able to find a wireless ISP, which may be a good option depending where you are.

You seem to be confusing your techno babble as well. A VPN (virtual private network) has NOTHING to do with how you to connect to the Internet, just with how you connect to your office, in this case. The data between your PC and the office is encrypted and sent over the internet with a secure connection - ie no one else can listen in on the connection. A VPN can be over dialup, T1, satellite, DSL, you name it, doesnt matter (other than speed). An IPSec VPN is a type of VPN that meets some technical requirements, irrelevant to you basically.

Let me ask you this - what kind of speed do you need? What is the budget? Is DSL available? How about cable? Wireless?

Another option, is what is called multilink PPP. You can take multiple lines (telephone lines, ISDN, etc), connect them together and combine bandwidth. For example, if you have 3 phone lines, each running at 50k bandwidth, if you multilink them together you would have 150k of bandwidth combined. You do this with 128k ISDN lines anyway.

Feel free to contact me offline if you have questions. If you end up with T1, I have some Cisco routers and stuff I am looking to get rid of pretty cheap.

 

[Dario]

Sorry can't help with ISP's.

On the side note, I use VPN to enter our network from home and from there I VNC to various servers...sometimes 12 at a time. For me it is the VNC that has the most lag time (slow rendering)...even at work.

Have you tried remote desktop?

 

[penhead]

I just set several users up with Sprint Mbbile Broadband, and they are completely satisfied.
Basically, no matter where they travel, as long as they are within a Sprint coverage area (for cell phones) they can receive an Internet connection on their laptop. And I believe Sprint has the air card on sale now.
I am sure Verizon has the same or very similiar offer.
Main issue here is to check/know your local area and who will provide the fastest access to their broadband network - which usually means which tower are you closer to.
Each provider will/should be willing to provide you with that info if you give them a call.

Here's a link to Sprints offering if you are interested:
http://www.sprint.com/business/products/sections/wirelessData.html

 

[RogerGarrett]

Dial-Up, ouch! I was kind of ticked when my university announced two years ago that they would be eliminating the dial-up connection to the university. This meant that I would no longer get free email and unlimited internet access at home - only school.

They did me a HUUUUUUGE favor.

We eliminated our second phone line - which was costing us $34 per month (guess it wasn't free afterall) and went with Verizon for $29 per month. We saved about $5 per month and our connection speed is lightening fast.

I'm sure there are a number of great providers out there - we are happy with Verizon. Either way - you will be so much happier with a high speed connection.[]

Good luck!

Best,
Roger Garrett

 

[GBusardo]

Be very careful if you are thinking of Verizon...... If you have a problem, the support can be non existent. Just google Verizon customer service or Verizon complaints and poke around a little. If you go to their site, try and find a phone number. Oh, and if you decide to use their EMAIL, get used to outlook. Just my two cents. The rates are great though.
Gary

 

[woodwish]

You didn't mention cable, is it available in the area you are speaking of? Also, some power companies have started offering internet across the power lines. Although I would suspect that it is only in more populated areas.

 

[KingBubbaTruck]

Hey,

Thanks for all the replies!

Yeah, I know the VPN has nothing to do with how I connect to the network. But From what I've researched, with Satellite, when you connect the VPN (Over the satellite connection) your overall speed drops down to dial up, due the latency of the connection.

I just got back from checking out some properties today, and I think I had at least digital roam in the area I was looking at. It was funny, the Realtor had two cell phones from two different companies, and mine was from sprint. It really varied on where you were on which vendor had the best (or any) connection.

I don't think Cable or DSL is an option. Too far out and not enough potential subscribers to make it profitable for the communication companies.

As far as T1 and ISDN goes, I'm just not sure what it takes to get those lines out the sticks? Can they do it over existing copper? Or do they need to run physical lines (Probably very big bucks?)

I'm also not sure how many phone lines they can run per house. I'll definitely get 2 lines for sure (The wife and I each need one, at least).

As far as speed needs go, well, 56k down doesn't cut it. Just checked my speed and right now here at home in my suburban location (DSL) I've got about 309kb Down / 52kb up. (Didn't think the up was that slow).

I could probably live with some about half of that download speed, maybe even somewhat less. (Gaming isn't an issue anymore, got tired of being fragged by 9 year olds, once I move I plan on living in my shop working on a variety of pen related, wood working, and car restoration projects).

I usually don't upload all that much, so probably not a huge deal.

Again, I really appreciate the insites. Just wondering what the more rural/geeks have been doing.

 

[jeff]

Check to see if there is an independent wireless ISP (WISP) in your area. They deliver anywhere from 500K to 2-3MBPS via microwave to a small antenna on your house. Line of sight to their tower is usually required, but not necessarily if they run 900MHz. I lived in the sticks for 12 years and I got so sick of no broadband options that I started a WISP. I live in the suburbs now, so I can get 6MBPS cable for $40 a month.

Regarding a T-1, yes, they run over existing copper. Line conditioners along the way make that possible, and distance isn't much of an issue. I had one T-1 on a 40 mile loop and it was the most reliable of any I had. That circuit cost me $1100 a month. You can probably get a fractional (384K is usually the lowest) for around $300-500 a month unless you are in the zero-mile to your telco CO.

Try http://www.bandwidthfinders.com/ for a quote on most any data circuit you could want. You might be able to get IDSL if your telco is somewhat modern. You can push an IDSL circuit to 144KBPS at up to 40,000 feet with halfway decent copper. SDSL is another acronym you might hear. That's similar to IDSL but with higher upstream rates. Because the ISDN circuit is usually unbundled from the data service (two different companies) you end up paying through the nose. Avoid it if you can.

Email me directly if you need more help making a choice. I was up to my ears in this stuff until about a year ago.

 

[timdaleiden]

Originally posted by GBusardo
<br />Be very careful if you are thinking of Verizon...... If you have a problem, the support can be non existent. Just google Verizon customer service or Verizon complaints and poke around a little. If you go to their site, try and find a phone number. Oh, and if you decide to use their EMAIL, get used to outlook. Just my two cents. The rates are great though.
Gary

I have heard complaints about Verizon DSL on this site a few times. I have had it since Feb (I had no reasonable alternatives), and I have had only one interruption of service. I called them and it was fixed within 24 hours.

 

[penhead]

Check this out, might be the answer you are looking for [:0]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14162390/