High speed ISP in Muskoka

May 6, 2006 8:57 AM

What are my options for high-speed internet in the Muskoka area?

Specifically, the area around Gloucester Pool (about half way between Midland and Parry Sound.)

I know about Candlelight, but their installation charge ($350) is a little steep. I recently discovered iFido, and while the service is only offered in Cumberland, it got me wondering if there are any ISPs offering (or planning to offer) the same service in Muskoka.

Has anyone found a cheaper way to get high speed access in this area?

posted by ParsonWreck to computers & internet (6 comments total)

Have you checked out DSLreports.com?

PS, what state, country?
posted by k8t at 9:05 AM on May 6, 2006

satellite is also a possibility. It is fast down but slow up and the latency is quite high. If you have line-of-sight wireless available (eg Candlelight) I would go for that.

my buddy and I have been thinking about setting up an ISP in the Beaver Valley area (not Muskoka, sorry) using point-to-point wireless. There is currently a real gap in the market in Ontario for this stuff.
posted by unSane at 9:11 AM on May 6, 2006

How about Vianet?

(I googled for "muskoka cable internet")
posted by jellicle at 9:17 AM on May 6, 2006

How about Muskoka.com?

(Googled for "+muskoka +dsl")
posted by hangashore at 9:45 AM on May 6, 2006

Thanks for the responses.

I probably could have been more specific in my question. I'm on a lake, much too far from any C/O for DSL. There's no end of companies promising their DSL service is available everywhere (muskoka.com and vianet among them.) But speak to a tech at any of places and they'll assure you "everywhere" has different meanings to different people.

It looks like unSane has reached the same conclusion I have, though. There's a gap in central Ontario for decent high speed options. I guess I'm just hoping there's something obvious I've overlooked.
posted by ParsonWreck at 10:48 AM on May 6, 2006

Yeah, we have a cottage on an island in Parry Sound with the same problem. You certainly can't get dsl through a radio phone.

A few people we know bought satellite internet, but it's expensive ($500 to set up, $100 a month), and isn't as responsive as dsl or cable.

We thought about setting up a cantenna link to a dsl line on the mainland, but by that point we had some serious lounging to catch up on.
posted by Popular Ethics at 9:00 PM on May 6, 2006