A buddy of mine just bought a house on 50 acres, 3 barns, ponds, beautiful place. He is moving in this week (His wife works from Home) on an internet search of best internet services at their address and zip code, she called all 5 service providers and no one is offering service at their address, it stops about a half mile down the road, also their house sits back about 1/2 mile from the road, anyone have any suggestions for internet?
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Internet Service
- Thread starter dw1
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alfredeneuman
Well-known member
A buddy of mine just bought a house on 50 acres, 3 barns, ponds, beautiful place. He is moving in this week (His wife works from Home) on an internet search of best internet services at their address and zip code, she called all 5 service providers and no one is offering service at their address, it stops about a half mile down the road, also their house sits back about 1/2 mile from the road, anyone have any suggestions for internet?
What about satellite internet, such as Visasat or HughesNet?
wyliesdiesels
Well-known member
Satellite internet *****
Theres a way better alternative.
Check if there are any WISPs in your area. WISP- wireless internet service provider. They used radios on towers to deliver fixed point line of sight internet via point to point microwave radios.
If i had your location, i could do a wuick search for you.
Theres a way better alternative.
Check if there are any WISPs in your area. WISP- wireless internet service provider. They used radios on towers to deliver fixed point line of sight internet via point to point microwave radios.
If i had your location, i could do a wuick search for you.
From the experience of 41 years in the computer business, this is something that needed to be determined before they bought the property. I have a customer that extremely high speed internet is critical to his business but thought he HAD to be in a certain area. Signed a lease and now paying $6,800 per month for similar service that i just signed up another customer for $500. If high speed internet is critical, then this can be the most important part of the value of a property.
If they have to connect via VPN or work through Terminal Services, Sat connections will be worthless. Perhaps she USED to work from home.
If suitable service is available only a half mile away and they are a half mile from the road, perhaps they can get connected. I hope it is cheaper there than it is here as we figure $10 per foot around here so that would be $50,000 or so.
Not being a wiseass, this could be a really big deal depending on their needs.
If they have to connect via VPN or work through Terminal Services, Sat connections will be worthless. Perhaps she USED to work from home.
If suitable service is available only a half mile away and they are a half mile from the road, perhaps they can get connected. I hope it is cheaper there than it is here as we figure $10 per foot around here so that would be $50,000 or so.
Not being a wiseass, this could be a really big deal depending on their needs.
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wyliesdiesels
Well-known member
Theres another option and that is to setup service on someone’s property half mile away then use microwave radios to send the signal to your property
Hughesnet has to many bad reviews out there, she has called ViaSat, waiting for them to get back with her. ATT's equipment is to old, they are not updating anything because not enough customers at this time. This was family property, they knew this going in, I thought they had taken care of it, I was out there yesterday hanging ceiling fans, TV's and some fixtures. This is a beautiful piece of property, I was able to train my dog out there. (Wylie, I sent you the address to search, I didn't want to post it on here) Thanks for the suggestions
manwithtools
ALLIANCE MEMBER
Stop gap is cellular. Long term is a high speed connection to a neighbor and Ubiquiti antennas and hardware to get the signal to your friends house. Have him pay for a separate connection to the neighbor and then a little extra to the neighbor.
AntiqueVises
Well-known member
A buddy of mine just bought a house on 50 acres, 3 barns, ponds, beautiful place. He is moving in this week (His wife works from Home) on an internet search of best internet services at their address and zip code, she called all 5 service providers and no one is offering service at their address, it stops about a half mile down the road, also their house sits back about 1/2 mile from the road, anyone have any suggestions for internet?
I live on a farm with only access to ViaSat or Hughesnet, I will say ViaSat is MUCH better than Hughesnet.. That's all. If there is A-N-Y other option that is NOT satellite; choose that option.
Any kind of WISP service will most likely beat that. If satellite works for them without meeting data caps (heavy streaming/uploading) then they will be fine with ViaSat. I have "unlimited" which is 100GB a month of data and then after that amount, your service is pretty horrible in heavy times (school breaks, weekends, mid day).
If it costs them $50,000 and they enjoy the place and plan to stay there, perhaps financing that would be a smart option with her working from home. Oh and if a raindrop or snowflake falls, GOOD LUCK to her getting any work done that day. I've had to broom snow off of my satellite dish before after about 1 ft of snow.
IF she goes with ViaSat, she can perhaps purchase several hundred GB of data for a rediculous amount (I pay $105 a month for the 100GB), something worth checking out!
mrobins297aaa
Well-known member
Hughes is the worst, I had it for over 10 years, I doubt any of the sat services are much better, satellite is satellite.
you could try Verizon 4g home internet service, if it's available in your area.......if your Verizon phone works so will the internet........it's pretty good
you could try Verizon 4g home internet service, if it's available in your area.......if your Verizon phone works so will the internet........it's pretty good
Nice to hear it was family property and they knew this going in rather than buying something without checking first.
Need to define "works from home" as the big problems with "alternative" internet is speed UP and latency. Sat has decent speed DOWN, no speed UP and horrible latency but this works fine to download files and watch movies. Sending emails can be acceptable when using Hosted Exchange Server as it will work and just take longer to send big email attachments but it won't affect you working. VPN will be unusable, etc. It really depends on the intended use.
Need to define "works from home" as the big problems with "alternative" internet is speed UP and latency. Sat has decent speed DOWN, no speed UP and horrible latency but this works fine to download files and watch movies. Sending emails can be acceptable when using Hosted Exchange Server as it will work and just take longer to send big email attachments but it won't affect you working. VPN will be unusable, etc. It really depends on the intended use.
wyliesdiesels
Well-known member
I checked several sites.
There is absolutey no coverage for any service there other than maybe satellite.
point to point microwave radios colocated on neighbors property where internet is available will be the best option as long as there is line of sight on roof tops or towers
There is absolutey no coverage for any service there other than maybe satellite.
point to point microwave radios colocated on neighbors property where internet is available will be the best option as long as there is line of sight on roof tops or towers
My Old Tools
Well-known member
https://www.att.com/internet/fixed-wireless.html
https://www.t-mobile.com/ISP
Both work well. They are completely reliable. Speeds from 50-65 Mb/s. You need a decent cell signal. You can put in a Wilson cell amp repeater if you have a signal outside but too weak inside. You may have to put up a ham tower to get a good signal. Not that expensive.
https://www.t-mobile.com/ISP
Both work well. They are completely reliable. Speeds from 50-65 Mb/s. You need a decent cell signal. You can put in a Wilson cell amp repeater if you have a signal outside but too weak inside. You may have to put up a ham tower to get a good signal. Not that expensive.
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SGKent
Banned
this may seem like a stupid answer but if you have copper wire for telephone, consider seeing if anyone has dial up service. It is slow but you can get to the Internet. I am guessing there is no cable TV there either but if there is do they sell Internet service? If you have cell service, consider seeing if they have a data plan to access the Internet. 5G will be along in time. Last, she may have to rent an office nearby to go to on the days she has to upload or download files to the Internet.
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ard
Well-known member
Years ago I was in a similar situation. Only choice was dial up/
So I started my own WISP co-op. 10 of us shared. Over the years it has changed, now I have 4 homes total sharing an 80mb pipe, $350 total a month.
Satellite *****, all of them.
If all they can do is 'call companies that the find with google searches' this will be painful....
As Wylie intimates, there ARE solutions- but it will require work on their part. Like a ubiquiti point-to-point,... which can bridge 25 miles. 0.5M is nothing. But again, no company will give you an 800 number to talk with a sales rep in the phillipines for them to engineer an install this....
Wylie- Did you ID any WISPs in the general area? Not for their property by neighboring? Sometimes a call and an offer to help underwrite some of the $$ costs, maybe a WISP will invest in an extension???
So I started my own WISP co-op. 10 of us shared. Over the years it has changed, now I have 4 homes total sharing an 80mb pipe, $350 total a month.
Satellite *****, all of them.
If all they can do is 'call companies that the find with google searches' this will be painful....
As Wylie intimates, there ARE solutions- but it will require work on their part. Like a ubiquiti point-to-point,... which can bridge 25 miles. 0.5M is nothing. But again, no company will give you an 800 number to talk with a sales rep in the phillipines for them to engineer an install this....
Wylie- Did you ID any WISPs in the general area? Not for their property by neighboring? Sometimes a call and an offer to help underwrite some of the $$ costs, maybe a WISP will invest in an extension???
anythingyoucanimagine
Well-known member
A buddy of mine just bought a house on 50 acres, 3 barns, ponds, beautiful place. He is moving in this week (His wife works from Home) on an internet search of best internet services at their address and zip code, she called all 5 service providers and no one is offering service at their address, it stops about a half mile down the road, also their house sits back about 1/2 mile from the road, anyone have any suggestions for internet?
When it is good, satellite will be decent. When it's bad, cellular will be more reliable. How much do they want for the end loop? Retail is easily 5-7 from seeing the "5g" you see on TV.
Do you have line-of-sight to anything?
When it is good, satellite will be decent. When it's bad, cellular will be more reliable. How much do they want for the end loop? Retail is easily 5-7 from seeing the "5g" you see on TV.
Do you have line-of-sight to anything?
They have line of sight with their neighbors next door, you cannot see the road from their house, all of the properties on their side of the road is acreage, they are on 50 acres, a couple down from them, the guy has several hundred acres. They do have copper telephone, no cable tv, I think his parents had satellite tv a few years back when they had the property.
Thanks for the replies!!
casmurbax
Well-known member
This GJ member paid the ISP to run the connection to their home.
https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=236005&page=3
When you talked to your ISP(s) to see what the cost would be?
https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=236005&page=3
When you talked to your ISP(s) to see what the cost would be?
finn
Well-known member
We went from dial up to satellite to WISP. No cellular service where we are unless you put up a 200’ tower.
Each move was as improvement in speed but a downgrade in reliability.
The Wisp is locally owned, but beset by equipment failures and outages, so don’t get your hopes up.
Rural life has its disadvantages, so you have to sometimes adapt.
Each move was as improvement in speed but a downgrade in reliability.
The Wisp is locally owned, but beset by equipment failures and outages, so don’t get your hopes up.
Rural life has its disadvantages, so you have to sometimes adapt.
anythingyoucanimagine
Well-known member
They have line of sight with their neighbors next door
I asked about line of sight thinking wimax (microwave). Didn't realize that wyliesdiesels had beat me to it. Microwave is only for last mile and degrades in rain/snow. Sounds like wyliesdiesels knows a lot about it. When we were using it we did short distance stuff to cut down on latency. When the weather was bad we always switched back to fiber/copper.
What is the budget? If you have multiple WANs and a decent routing setup you can make it work. Especially if you really tune and prioritize traffic. Is there sdsl available? How is the cell service?
One more suggestion:
Take a look at Squid. Depending on the situation, it can cut down on bandwidth bigtime. If she needs to be on a VPN then don't bother unless you think it'll cut down on other bandwidth (kids/husband browsing). Lots of colleges and universities use software like Squid.
Bigbandguy
Well-known member
If I had your friends problem I would try something like this. Maybe rent a bucket truck for a day and spend some time in the bucket with a laptop and see what is "out there" from 30 or so feet up. A few hundred spent might find him a good direction to point a dish. A half mile isn't that far.
https://rootsaid.com/long-range-antenna/
The video is obnoxious but has a fair amount of info if you can stand the announcer or the music track.
I use the "pringles can" version of this to hit router from my workshop 75 feet away but using a dish would likely handle that half mile pretty well if your friend has line of sight to anything . Worth a try, old sat dishes are cheap.
https://rootsaid.com/long-range-antenna/
The video is obnoxious but has a fair amount of info if you can stand the announcer or the music track.
I use the "pringles can" version of this to hit router from my workshop 75 feet away but using a dish would likely handle that half mile pretty well if your friend has line of sight to anything . Worth a try, old sat dishes are cheap.
This GJ member paid the ISP to run the connection to their home.
They can definitely get good internet out there if they throw enough money at it. Though Starlink is supposed to go live next year so I'd be reluctant to throw a lot of money at a terrestrial solution right now.
https://www.space.com/spacex-starlink-satellite-internet-service-2020.html
Wylie said:There is absolutey no coverage for any service there other than maybe satellite.
Did you check cellular coverage maps? Cellular is better than satellite IME.
manwithtools
ALLIANCE MEMBER
They can definitely get good internet out there if they throw enough money at it. Though Starlink is supposed to go live next year so I'd be reluctant to throw a lot of money at a terrestrial solution right now.
https://www.space.com/spacex-starlink-satellite-internet-service-2020.html
Did you check cellular coverage maps? Cellular is better than satellite IME.
Cellular is far superior to any Satellite solution I've encountered.
Cellular is far superior to any Satellite solution I've encountered.
Yeah even 3G is better than any satellite system I've connected to. Though I haven't used the "latest & greatest" in satellite tech which is supposed to be better.
And FWIW the 4G on my phone is over 2X the download speed of my "not DSL" internet and absolutely kills it on upload.
theoldwizard1
Well-known member
If you can get an AT&T wireless signal you can have internet for $360/year plus $400 one time equipment cost.
This thing actually works pretty well. Mount it high on a pole for best coverage.
This thing actually works pretty well. Mount it high on a pole for best coverage.
Falcon67
Well-known member
If there is line-of-sight to the pole for one of the ISPs, you could ask about them putting a dmarc on their pole and mounting a Ubiquity product - either a Rocket or even AirFiber - to shoot signal to their location. 1/2 mile is spit for even the cheap $90 Ubiquity bridges.
As for copper - DSL is only good for some distance from the CO. If they are outside of that, it'd be old dialup. Assuming anyone can home that anymore.
Based on Elon's track record, I'd hold off a bit on Starlink. V1.0 I'd expect to be a cheap loss-leader and possibly not real reliable.
As for copper - DSL is only good for some distance from the CO. If they are outside of that, it'd be old dialup. Assuming anyone can home that anymore.
Based on Elon's track record, I'd hold off a bit on Starlink. V1.0 I'd expect to be a cheap loss-leader and possibly not real reliable.
larry4406
Well-known member
If you can get an AT&T wireless signal you can have internet for $360/year plus $400 one time equipment cost.
This thing actually works pretty well. Mount it high on a pole for best coverage.
Interesting...
The links list this for RV’s etc. I would assume they don’t care if it’s stationary for a residence?
wyliesdiesels
Well-known member
They can definitely get good internet out there if they throw enough money at it. Though Starlink is supposed to go live next year so I'd be reluctant to throw a lot of money at a terrestrial solution right now.
https://www.space.com/spacex-starlink-satellite-internet-service-2020.html
Did you check cellular coverage maps? Cellular is better than satellite IME.
I checked numerous ISP tracking websites and they all said there was no service available.
However, verizons site says there is 4G LTE so i guess OP could try a hotspot and see how it works.
Im still voting for the co-located internet on neighbor's property and send the signal over a microwave point to point
theoldwizard1
Well-known member
Interesting...
The links list this for RV’s etc. I would assume they don’t care if it’s stationary for a residence?
My assumption also.
AT&T had a deal on another device a year ago. It was powered off the OBD-II port so it was only supposed to work when you were driving the car. For about $20 you could buy an AC adapter with the opposite half of the OBD-II plug.
fitter30
Well-known member
Hughes net is only good for email. Had it for 28 month's never got the speed they advertised couldn't steam, watch a you tube and when i canceled it was a pain.
Based on Elon's track record, I'd hold off a bit on Starlink. V1.0 I'd expect to be a cheap loss-leader and possibly not real reliable.
No telling how Starlink will play out. And they're not the only low orbit player either. Just the closest to rolling out service if you believe Elon..................
I just don't think sinking a bunch of money into a terrestrial solution is a wise investment right now if the OPs friends can live with satellite, or preferably cellular, for a year or so.
However, verizons site says there is 4G LTE so i guess OP could try a hotspot and see how it works.
No need to buy a hotspot to try it. Just need to run a speed test & try streaming netflix with a VZW cellphone. And if the signal is iffy on the ground climb up on the roof. Yeah I've BTDT.
b-boy
Well-known member
Hot spot is the way to go IMHO.
My company uses satellite communications with our boats. It "works" (finger quotes), but you can't do much with it other than email. Even web surfing is pretty painful. We use it mostly to ferry data between the vessels and the office - and this is with $40K satellite dishes onboard.
My company uses satellite communications with our boats. It "works" (finger quotes), but you can't do much with it other than email. Even web surfing is pretty painful. We use it mostly to ferry data between the vessels and the office - and this is with $40K satellite dishes onboard.
dcg9381
Well-known member
A buddy of mine just bought a house on 50 acres, 3 barns, ponds, beautiful place. He is moving in this week (His wife works from Home) on an internet search of best internet services at their address and zip code, she called all 5 service providers and no one is offering service at their address, it stops about a half mile down the road, also their house sits back about 1/2 mile from the road, anyone have any suggestions for internet?
Have a brother - same deal. Pretty rural. Eventually, he had to speak to the local provider and engage "business internet" department to get some assistance. As he was able to trench his own cable, install wasn't that big a deal.
Without local service, you can use a number of Sat uplink companies.. Or heck, even (in some places) devices that do WiFI and cellular internet - but both usually have data caps.
I agree with others - with line of site to any residence or business that DOES have internet, it's pretty easy to do 2 directional relay... This is "roughly" how I'm doing it in my neighborhood now before the house goes up.
Falcon67
Well-known member
We have a hot spot for a backup to the fiber feed. It "works" but it's slow as hell for a home office. And that's on 4G.
anythingyoucanimagine
Well-known member
Im still voting for the co-located internet on neighbor's property and send the signal over a microwave point to point
You don't find that it degrades as soon as it gets humid, rains or snows? We found it extremely temperamental with UDP.
manwithtools
ALLIANCE MEMBER
Have a brother - same deal. Pretty rural. Eventually, he had to speak to the local provider and engage "business internet" department to get some assistance. As he was able to trench his own cable, install wasn't that big a deal.
Without local service, you can use a number of Sat uplink companies.. Or heck, even (in some places) devices that do WiFI and cellular internet - but both usually have data caps.
I agree with others - with line of site to any residence or business that DOES have internet, it's pretty easy to do 2 directional relay... This is "roughly" how I'm doing it in my neighborhood now before the house goes up.
In my experience, satellite always has data caps. Cellular and WiFi typically don't if you get the right plan.
Satellite just plain ***** in every way, rain, snow, FAP (Fair Access Policy) will kill it just when you need it most.
ard
Well-known member
You don't find that it degrades as soon as it gets humid, rains or snows? We found it extremely temperamental with UDP.
I have a 200mb link that runs a bit over 2 miles. Solid. Only when it is raining over 1 inch per hour do we see fluctuations in connection speed, but as soon as in tapers off the speed pops back up.
Ubiquiti AirFiber for backhaul; Ubiquiti Powerbeam AC gen2 for clients. Just bulletproof so far
I agree w Wylie, the more people that are involved in getting a service, the more money to pool for a solution. A neighbor paying for one good service, then sharing that with 1, 2 or more, will have a higher likelihood of success....
I have a 200mb link that runs a bit over 2 miles. Solid. Only when it is raining over 1 inch per hour do we see fluctuations in connection speed, but as soon as in tapers off the speed pops back up.
Ubiquiti AirFiber for backhaul; Ubiquiti Powerbeam AC gen2 for clients. Just bulletproof so far
I agree w Wylie, the more people that are involved in getting a service, the more money to pool for a solution. A neighbor paying for one good service, then sharing that with 1, 2 or more, will have a higher likelihood of success....
This exactly how most WISPs are born. I work for one of the largest and fastest growing in the country. This is the solution you want to explore. On another forum, a guy just connected internet from his business location in town to his rural home, including renting rad line and mounting antennas at 275' on a tower, mounting a pole and running fiber 200 yards across his property.
wyliesdiesels
Well-known member
You don't find that it degrades as soon as it gets humid, rains or snows? We found it extremely temperamental with UDP.
Not wih the radios i use...
Falcon67
Well-known member
I have a 200mb link that runs a bit over 2 miles. Solid. Only when it is raining over 1 inch per hour do we see fluctuations in connection speed, but as soon as in tapers off the speed pops back up.
Ubiquiti AirFiber for backhaul; Ubiquiti Powerbeam AC gen2 for clients. Just bulletproof so far
Good stuff. At my work we use a Rocket with a multi-sector antenna and host four remote buildings using Nano endpoints. All has been in operation for many years. We just replaced a non-receptive Nano M5 that's been up at least 7 years on a pole at 0.4 miles from the Rocket - come to find out it was a cable issue, not the Nano. That Nano had been outside in the weather so long the little plastic parts that glow the LEDs out the back have evaporated. So not only was it out in the weather, the weather was inside the unit. I reset it to factory, updated the firmware and it's ready to go again. I plan to take it home and cut a piece of Lexan to glue over the LED ports.
I have also used Nanos to connect internet to a remote building, with the end Nano inside the building attic, going through the siding and normal clutter.
Oh, and we're running high res video of soccer and softball games over one of those 5 ghz air links along with phone and regular PC type business traffic.
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