Finally getting Sat - WildBlue or Hughenet?

[bhelms]

Slocoma & Bhelms, I thought PA had a law already requiring all households to have broadband available to them but maybe the information I read a while back in regards to that was wrong.

If you have line of site to a town that has broadband then you could have a link made to be brought into your area to offer broadband to you and your neighbors wanting it. Is there no broadband in the town close to you? Do you have a lot of people that live around you? Maybe you live too far out of the city limits to get DSL. Is there cable in the town close to you or is the town very very small?

I am looking up my resources to see what I find. I am looking at opportunities to do wireless broadband in other areas than where I am at due to the fact that my area has so many hills and trees making it difficult to serve much of an area at all from one single access point. There is going to be a bit more money this year for grants to expand broadband to unserved and underserved areas.

Tks for the comments. As I mentioned my current landline phone provider Windstream is indeed trying to get me to sign up for DSL, but I know I am about 10 miles from their nearest switch so I expect service at my location to be very slow as DSL goes, not worth the added expense. I guess that qualifies as a required available BB service. I could sign-up for a trial I guess at minimal expense. Maybe there's a way they could send a tech out in advance to test the phone line data rates so I would know exactly what I'm getting into if I sign-up for DSL. Anyone have experience along those line?

We're in rolling country here and I'm back in the woods. No LOS to much of anything unless you're on top of a 100' tower...!

[Stargazer]

There is a technology that allows them to extend the DSL line / amplify the line after it gets to a certain distance to make it goes further. They can test the lines to see if you qualify for the service and it is worth a shot.

If you found a house up on a hill (or can have power up on a hill) and able to achieve line of site to someone with broadband access then you can get a pair of radios and bring the internet down to your house.

[slocoma]

I called one local dealer and his prices were the same (monthly and install) as I see on the wildblue and HN web sites. Should I keep calling around? Will someone be cheaper than the online prices or are they locked in to those prices?

[grohgreg]

The majority of offers you'll find are fixed minimums, but there should never be a charge for standard installation. Non-standard installations should always be negotiated up front with the installer. No surprises that way. Higher advertised prices should be avoided, unless they're bona fide VARs (Value Added Resellers) that offer genuine service upgrades (in writing) in return for the extra money.

//greg//

[slocoma]

So the $399 install with $100 rebate I should be able to get for $0?

[grohgreg]

So the $399 install with $100 rebate I should be able to get for $0?

Don't think we learned the same brand of math. First off - there is no itemized charge for the standard installationl. I'll assume you're talking HughesNet here. The $399 buys you the hardware - and that's an installed price. The current Hughes discount is a $100 rebate for first time customers, making it $300 installed. After that, you just pay whatever the monthly charge is for whichever rate plan you elect.

Wildblue - same thing. You buy the hardware - no additional charge for standard installation. Their hardware is cheaper from the git-go though. The current Wildblue discount is a $50 rebate for first time customers, making them $100 installed. After that, you just pay whatever the monthly charge is for whichever rate play you elect.

These offers apply to online orders (not recommended) as well as most local dealers/installers (recommended). VARs on the other hand may have additional incentives. They're few and far between though, usually going more after the business and enterprise customers.

//greg//

[slocoma]

Got it. Thanks.