I had this issue when we bought our retirement house in the country. No DSL or cable available . I looked at WildBlue and Hughes satellite Internet services. Both had bandwidth limits that I thought could be trouble for me.
I was ready to give one of them a try when I learned more about Broadband Wireless. That is Internet data over cell phone networks. Some folks think that this comes over a satellite, but it is actually beamed from cell phone towers.
If you can get a solid cell phone signal, you can probably get broadband wireless at that location. The more bars in signal strength means faster speeds for the Internet.
I have the unlimited plan with Sprint. It is not as fast as cable, but is faster than satellite. And no limits for time or data amounts. Sprint has a 30 day trial where you can get out of the 2 year contract if it doesn't work out for you that first month. Probably other providers do that too.
After I saw it would work for me, I got the special wireless router that allows me to take the card out of my laptop and put it into the router when I'm home. I can then place the router where it gets the best signal strength in the house. The laptop then is hooked into the local wireless 802.11G network in my house. The router is pricey, but it is cheaper than the equipment required for satellite Internet. The monthly cost is in the same range.
Wireless Broadband does have some of the cell phone issues like an occasional dropped signal and variable reception in fringe areas. But I'm pretty happy with it. The bonus is it allows me to get on the Internet in all kinds of places, even at a swap meet. LOL
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Jim "Oldgas" Potts
Your host and moderator
