My options? (spoiled by cable, moving)

[teknomedic]

Hi all, I just found this place and from what little I've read it seems most know what they're talking about here.

My wife and I are considering buying a new home and moving to a home that's currently not provided any DSL or cable internet service.

I'll be moving to an area about 30miles outside of Rochester MN (not NY, lol) and it appears my only internet options will be Satellite. I'm currently a Charter Cable Internet user that gets 25+ Mbps DL for about $65 a month so I'm getting a bit of sticker and speed shock as I research my sat options, not to mention the horrible, horrible FAP rules I've learned about.

So, who is considered the "best" Sat provider for internet? I'm leaning towards Starband due to their relaxed FAP and 6hr "unlimited window", but they of course cost more. Also, the new home already has WildBlue installed (I assume I can start service for a reduced cost due to the hardware already being installed???).

I'm also wondering if anyone might know if Wimax or similar options (anything other than sat) might be available currently or soon in my area. The zip code is 55927.

I'm currently a heavy internet user (Hulu, Netflix streaming, 360/PS3/PC gaming) so I suspect this would be a HUGE internet lifestyle change going with satellite.

Personally, I could deal with the slower speeds, but those FAPs are killing me. Any thoughts on any of this?

Thanks for any help or suggestions.
TK.

 

[bradleys]

Unfortunately, from your notes on your usage pattern, it looks like you're doomed with satellite. Unless you're willing to Hulu during the no-FAP time, those large streams and downloads will get you. Oh, as an aside, HughesNet also has an unlimited period in the middle of the night. When I go between my 12 Mbps DSL in Seattle and my "1.5" Mbps satellite in Blaine, it's like returning to the Dark Ages. Even hordes of Visigoths swarming over the hillside with hand-written documents would be faster than satellite. One of the problems with satellite is that so many web pages nowadays are VERY busy. All the internal links create DNS lookups and data fetches, and it takes forever. Even with the "acceleration" in the satellite service, the rendering is still slow and jerky.

If you can get WiMax or cellular internet, they're FAR superior in performance to satellite (I've used all). WiMax limits depend on your provider. Cellular limits may be less than satellite, although they're structured differently. Here in Washington state, Verizon cellular has a 5GB limit on their their high-end service. Above that, they charge you.

As far as determining your WiMax or cellular availability, it really depends on your specific location (not just your zip area). Verizon tells me that they have service in my area, but I can only get a signal of -117 dBm, which is way less than the -80 dBm that's required for decent intrernet. There's a website that will list WiMax providers in your area, but I don't remember it. Several people have posted it in this sub-forum, so look around and you'll find it. The general rule in my experience is that you have to decide if you want trees or internet.

And, of course, depending on how much you want to spend, there are commercial options available. I looked at a T-1 (briefly), but it was $350 per month. That's only 1.5 Mbps, but the speeds are up and down. It's not very fast compared to good DSL or cable, but it was available.

$0.02
YMMV
FWIW
EIEIO

 

[TonyKZ1]

After checking your zip code on WildBlue's site, it appears that the beam from them for your area is available. So that gives you 3 sat internet providers to choose from. You might also look at Millenicom's website, and see if you can service in your area from them as that would also be faster and less latency.
Tony

 

[grohgreg]

If price is not an object, check into iDirect. iDirect - Find an iDirect Partner

//greg//

 

[iwc5893]

Minnesota

 

[harshness]

All the streaming stuff is pretty much out the door with satellite and, most likely, wireless services.

The microwave systems that I'm familiar with also have bandwidth limits.

For their part, Clear has "unlimited" accounts, but they are indeed limited and your bandwidth can be choked down to practically nothing.

I'd make sure you don't alienate the postman because that's probably where your Netflix content is going to be coming from.

 

[teknomedic]

Thank you so much everyone for the all the suggestions. I'll do some more searches and look into the suggestions. It seems you're all echoing the same things I read about.

So, assuming Satellite is my only option... who has the better FAP?

I didn't know about the "free period" with Hughes so that might move them up the list over WildBlue and StarBand. Can anyone provide a link to that "free period" info? The biggest problem I saw with Hughes was the EXTREMELY low download limits (ie, 200MB to 500MB) allowed for a day.... are they CRAZY??

The plus with StarBand is the FAP and higher download limits and "nicer" 7 day rotating limit vs the 30 day limit on WildBlue, but my local phone company installs WildBlue and can help with most of the technical issues and customer service I would need at the home. Plus she mentioned a newer WildBlue sat being launched early next year offering speeds upto 6mbps? Can anyone confirm that? She also said WildBlue was looking at starting their own "free period" or maybe relaxing the FAP for the higher speed customers for the new satellite. If anyone can confirm this that would be great... ok well.... better news anyway.

Tough choice.



Also, I think I have a 50/50 shot at DSL after tracking down a more local provider so I'll cross my fingers cause that would be a lifeline in a sea of crap.


Slow speeds I can deal with... and bad Pings I can ignore (since I could easliy cut my online gaming... prefer signle player anyway)... but download caps and then punishment for going over is BS. Either upgrade your sats or reduce the average speed but allow no limits. As I'd rather have 512kb service with no limits than 1mb service with crazy limits.

 

[bradleys]

The "free period" info for HughesNet is about two screens below the download limits in the FAQs. They call it the "Download Zone".

High Speed Internet Connection at Home

The HughesNet limit is only for 24 hours if you don't continue to go over. That's in the link above.

You mentioned a Wild Blue 6 Mbps plan. HughesNet has a 5 Mbps plan right now. The problem is that the cost is $350 per month!

(I'm not pushing HughesNet over the other satellite providers, by the way. I'm just noting some things that may have been missed.)

As far as the limits and FAP being "CRAZY" or "BS", I don't really think the satellite companies are doing it just to be mean. I'm sure they'd love to be competitive to cable or DSL. They know what they have. When I called Xplornet Satellite (in Canada) to cancel, the first question they asked was "Are you switching to cable or DSL?"

You also need to CAREFULLY read the terms of service for the various providers. As an example, Clear/Clearwire blocks incoming port 80, so you can't run a webserver (unless you tell your users to use an alternate port, of course.) When I used marina-provided broadband in Canada, I couldn't use Vonage. It turns out that the DSL line the marina had hooked up to their wireless access was provided by the local phone company. And guess what? They blocked ports for all voice-over-IP providers. While these terms exist on your present cable service, they're often more strict with providers who have limited bandwidth in their upstream connections (at least the ones I've used).

Personally, I'm waiting for either Google gigabit fiber or all that government broadband that we've been promised!

 

[oldford]

It's easy for me to say "go with Starband" because I'm a dealer. But - They do have American customer support. I have the Nova 1500 and have never run into FAP issues. I don't stream video or do on-line gaming either. Most of my customers who stream set it up to take place after 12AM and watch it off the hard-drive at their leisure. No way you are going to beat the long ping times, thats just physics.
As far as bandwidth goes - satellite time is horrendusly expensive. The carriers have to come up with a business model that makes best use of the alloted bandwidth. There are clearly different approaches. I've looked at the FAPs of all 3 (in the stickies at the top of this forum) and they are very difficult to "shop". If you have a Starband dealer around you, I'd say at least give him a call.

HTH, Eric

 

[HCI]

The biggest problem I saw with Hughes was the EXTREMELY low download limits (ie, 200MB to 500MB) allowed for a day.... are they CRAZY??

.

Not really because most people never get close to going over 200MB in a days time. Also with Hughes they have whats called a token that allows you to reset your fap if you go over, you get 1 of these free per month but after that if you go over in that same month and need your fap reset you can do it for like $9.99 I believe.

 

[tobifelinis]

If you truly are going to do the things that you say you are NONE of the consumer grade plans will be satisfactory to you. You need to look at Enterprise systems and Idirect. You need to look real hard for some posible wirless provider before going Satellite.

It is clear that no one has really explained the Hughes FAP to you and that is understandable as it is not spelled out on their website anywhere.

The current modem is the 9000 series with that the 500mb plan is actually 625 Mb in a 24 hour period not counting the free period between 2AM and 7AM. People regularly download gigs of data in a 24 hour period with no FAP.

You get one free token (get out of jail/FAP) each billing period and can buy others for a percentage of your bill varies between about$5 and $12. No one else lets you buy your way out of FAP.

Uploads do not count with Hughes which in some cases can be a benefit.

with Wildblue if you do a very large download in one day you can put yourself into FAP for many days even weeks. Plus uploads count.

I don't have any real world experience with StarBand.

 

[sundude90]

I would look for Wireless Broadband Internet Service Providers in your area, they are far better than Satellite. Where I live in Maine, that is my only option besides Satellite. My wireless company has NO usage limits and fairly cheap.