Tell me about rural TV and internet service

[First Lady]

We are moving to a (small) acreage where our only option is going to be satellite.

Am I going back to dial up days?

Who do you use?

What are the fees like? Do they expect signed contracts?

Any other advice greatly appreciated.

[Dion]

Thoughts and prayers

[To Be Quite Honest]

Well, there is always Free to Air Satalite! What you do with furthering that knowledge is up to you.

There is microwave internet or paying for your own cable lines to the next access point. Factor in the costs.

[Jacks]

My parents are out in the country, they used to be on satellite internet. They had satellite speeds download which are okay and dial up speeds upload, It also tied up their phone line when they were on the internet. Overall their speeds were way lower than you get in the city and were a bit more expensive. The bright side is that high speed wireless is now available to them, it is quite a bit faster but is still slower than Shaw/Telus and is more expensive. They also have fairly low caps on data use, I think it's something like 10-20 gigs per month. Wireless is slowly becoming available in rural areas so you might be okay soon.

[dino7c]

what area exactly?

acreage living is awesome and the technology drawbacks are getting better

[First Lady]

Originally Posted by Jacks

My parents are out in the country, they used to be on satellite internet. They had satellite speeds download which are okay and dial up speeds upload, It also tied up their phone line when they were on the internet. Overall their speeds were way lower than you get in the city and were a bit more expensive. The bright side is that high speed wireless is now available to them, it is quite a bit faster but is still slower than Shaw/Telus and is more expensive. They also have fairly low caps on data use, I think it's something like 10-20 gigs per month. Wireless is slowly becoming available in rural areas so you might be okay soon.

Yeah we are ditching our landline... ironically the easiest thing to hook up we are going to go without.

Originally Posted by dino7c

what area exactly?

acreage living is awesome and the technology drawbacks are getting better

Priddis.

[First Lady]

Originally Posted by To Be Quite Honest

Well, there is always Free to Air Satalite! What you do with furthering that knowledge is up to you.

Interesting... If I were more nerdy it might be an option. I'm more of "pay someone else to do it"...kind of gal

There is microwave internet or paying for your own cable lines to the next access point. Factor in the costs.

Pretty sure that would be mega $$$$$$

[Buff]

You probably have a choice between a couple of "wireless" internet providers. It depends on where you are. Xplornet, Platinum and Shockware are three places that I am aware of in Southern Alberta. You'll have to do some searching to see what is available in your area. Probably a few more if you are living near Calgary.

[Flabbibulin]

I called on behalf of my in-laws on the weekend as they are in a remote spot (water valley area). They are currently with Airenet at $52/month for 1.5Mbps, but wanted to see what other options there are.

They are Shaw Direct subscribers for television, so I called up for Xplornet (Shaw Direct's sat internet affiliate) and the prices are essentially the same. The difference being you need to sign a 2 or 3 year contract with xplornet. Anyways, monthly prices were something like this:

1.5Mbps $52
2.5Mbps $57
5.0Mbps $87

All have a monthly cap, but I cant recall what they are. 10,20,30 Gigs I'm guessing.

2 year contract came with a $299 install fee, 3 year with a $99 install fee. Of course, Im guessing you need to be a Shaw Direct subscriber to use Xplornet (I think).

Of course, broadband is your better option if it is available in your area.

[Jacks]

Originally Posted by First Lady

Yeah we are ditching our landline... ironically the easiest thing to hook up we are going to go without.

That might be a problem if you are planning on satellite.

Unless you are going to spend the big bucks and transmit satellite?

[To Be Quite Honest]

Originally Posted by First Lady

Yeah we are ditching our landline... ironically the easiest thing to hook up we are going to go without.



Priddis.

If you have the internet I suggest Magic Jack for a home line. I do use it for my home line and it's great! The Magic Jack that plugs directly into your router is the best, because the one that plugs into the computer, for some reason, cuts out consistently.

[Dion]

Take a drive and visit some rural owners in Priddis and ask them what they are using and how they rate the service.

[para transit fellow]

we (our office) are on e-firehose, which was just bought by platinum.ca. Radio dish aimed at a tower at horizon. Month by month $59 no contract but they own the radio modem. Speeds are generally good but we seem to get latency issues with their up stream. This will make voice over internet 'choppy".

[First Lady]

Originally Posted by Jacks

That might be a problem if you are planning on satellite.

Unless you are going to spend the big bucks and transmit satellite?

No, for phone service we are going with our cell phones. Both (Telus & Rogers) work perfectly at our location.

[troutman]

I think my parents have Xplornet at Millarville. It is fast enough that they can watch Netflix through their Apple TV. HD shows take a little longer to download.

[Yeah_Baby]

Originally Posted by Dion

Take a drive and visit some rural owners in Priddis and ask them what they are using and how they rate the service.

Also feel free to handout Watchtowers while you're there.

[Jacks]

Originally Posted by First Lady

No, for phone service we are going with our cell phones. Both (Telus & Rogers) work perfectly at our location.

I was talking about the satellite, they usually transmit upstream using a landline.

[First Lady]

Originally Posted by Jacks

I was talking about the satellite, they usually transmit upstream using a landline.

Oh.. thanks; I didn't know that.

And thanks to Mods for move of thread.

[Rathji]

There is likely no reason to get actual satellite internet at this point, especially in Priddis. If it was a more remote location, it would possibly be the only option though.

Xplorenet currently uses 4G technology and Platinum uses WiMax, both of which are restricted by distance from tower, which I can't imagine would be an issue in Priddis for one or both of those providers.

[sa226]

My parents are in a rural area and use CCIwireless.

I actually have a saved speedtest from when I was there, I was getting 4.4Mb down and .88Mb up

For TV usually satellite in rural areas is your only option.