Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with dsl and satellite

High speed internet in the sticks?

youcancallmeal — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 17:21:25 -0800

How can I get DSL in Barre, Vermont? Alternately: is satellite internet really that bad? So, my boyfriend and I are moving to an apartment just south of town in Barre, VT and the lease says that Verizon services the place. The Verizon website disagrees. Is there something I'm missing? Is there another provider I should be looking for?

If we can't get DSL... I've heard bad things about satellite speeds. Is it still that bad? We mostly just use the internet for surfing, general youtube watching, some TV streaming, XBOX/Wii playing, etc. Will it choke?

Reliable, faster internet access from an apartment in Beijing.

bleecker — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 22:29:14 -0800

Will be moving to Beijing and would like to have high speed reliable internet service in my apartment. We'll likely be living in one of the US or HK developed apartments along Chao Yang park. I've worked with DSL connections in serviced apartments in Beijing and Shanghai and was not thrilled with the throughput (70kbs) or reliability. The Great Firewall is not an issue as far as completely blocking sites, but I'm sure it affects transfer speeds from the US sites I'd be accessing. I've done some digging and have come up with:

1. Dual DSL lines and a load balancing router: wouldn't really increase throughput of a single connection but might help with simultaneous transfers and reliability.
2. Satellite internet: Pricier and legally shadowy. No guarantee that I could even put up/properly direct a dish.

Are there any other options I should consider? Are there "commercial only" options that may be possible?

Bonus question:
Is there some way I could increase the likelihood that I would be able to create VPN connections to the US. (In my experience, I was able do so with 1 out of the 2 DSL connections I used in China).

Testing the health of a broadband connection

hodyoaten — Wed, 01 Aug 2007 19:36:40 -0800

Is there a software program of some kind that will automatically monitor and analyze the health (i.e. transfer rate and up/down status) of a broadband Internet connection? Ideally like to see statistics graphed over the course of a week or so, tested every 1 to 15 minutes, so I can see what kind of quality I'm getting. I'm not sure if any software like this exists.

Comcast vs. DirecTV in Seattle Eastside?

frogan — Thu, 20 Apr 2006 14:32:56 -0800

Comcast vs. DirecTV in Seattle Eastside? I'm moving soon and need advice on telephone, internet and television. Need advice and a best plan of action. I currently have DirecTV+ TiVo, DSLExtreme and SBC phones in SoCal. I'm fairly happy with this arrangement.

I'm moving to Sammamish, WA and need to re-evaluate my set-up.

DirecTV has a promotion in which they will install a dish at the new house in exchange for keeping their service for one year. A similar service on Comcast seems to be about the same price (give or take), but Comcast does not have a channel lineup currently available on their site.

Moreover, Comcast also offers all-in-one packages of television, cable-based broadband and telephone services. This seems like it could be very good or very painful.

* Anyone have any experience on the all-in-one Comcast service?
* Does inclement weather in the Seattle area ruin satellite service very often?
* Any other general pieces of advice?

Cable Alternatives

mhaw — Tue, 02 Aug 2005 12:15:08 -0800

DSL vs Cable Internet... what are the differences in term of performance, reliability, price, etc? Can anyone given an evaluation of the pros/cons. Bonus if you can comment on the advantages/disadvantages of satellite TV over digital cable or vice versa. I've been a digital cable subscriber for the past two years, I'm generally happy with the content and service, but I'm unhappy with the high price... nearly $140 a month for full digital cable and internet through Comcast. So are there equivalent, cheaper alternatives?

If it makes a difference I use Tivo.

Losing high-speed Internet

shannymara — Tue, 22 Mar 2005 10:34:39 -0800

Losing high-speed Internet. We're moving from Austin to an area of rural Texas, and I am trying to find any last option for having high-speed Internet. The phone company that owns the lines (Valor Telecom) confirmed that we qualified for DSL when we set up our account, and we ordered it. Even dslreports.com had given a "yes!" answer to the DSL question. Then a few days before the install date Valor called and said "we're sorry, you're too far away to get DSL". WTF?

So what are our options out in a rural area? Has satellite Internet improved any from the days of Hughes Direct and its requirement for a landline connection and the obnoxious bandwidth throttling? Are those stratospheric WiFi plans just a bunch of hot air? Is wireless cable w/ cablemodem a possibility?

We are 2.4 miles from a main road, so I think we're near a trunk, and we'd certainly pay hundreds of dollars to have a spur extended our way. It also occurred to me I could beg a neighbor closer to the spur to get DSL/WiFi then we'd pay them to leech off their WiFi connection.

I'm sure T1 is out of the question. I was actually considering that for my home business a few years ago, and the rate quote was only good for an insane laugh.

Blech, back to the stone age.

Satellite DSL or Other Ways of Speedy Internet in Rural Iowa?

bricoleur — Mon, 07 Feb 2005 04:21:31 -0800

I live in rural Iowa, and can't get landline DSL. I'd like to hear of any success stories with satellite DSL. I'd also like to hear the horror stories.

And if there are other ways of getting fast Internet in the sticks, I'd love to hear about that, too.