Wireless in Virginia
June 6, 2010 3:39 AM   Subscribe

Wireless in Virgina

My BF and I want to set his mom up with a better internet system - she currently uses web TV. We live overseas, I'm not American and have no idea about ISPs, account options etc. in the States. We plan to buy a basic PC/laptop online and have it shipped to her. But how do we go about setting up wireless intenet service in a home in Virginia? We want the set up process and subsequent service to be as hassle free as possible for her. Appreciate your advice Mefites :)
posted by LivinginYes to Computers & Internet (8 answers total)
 
You might want to be more specific as to WHERE in Virginia, it probably makes a difference as to the availability of DSL and/or which service providers are in the area.
posted by HuronBob at 3:44 AM on June 6, 2010


You might want to consider the iPad with 3G support. If you're set on a *real* computer, however, it complicates matters.
posted by SansPoint at 3:55 AM on June 6, 2010


If you go to broadbandreports.com and enter the ZIP code (and possibly phone exchange) they will give you a list of cable and DSL providers that claim to service that area. In the US there will generally be one cable provider (in this case probably Cox) and a bunch of DSL resellers. It also looks like Verizon FIOS might be an option but it doesn't sound like she's the kind of person to appreciate that.

As far as getting someone out there to hook up a wireless router and configure the PC to use it, I suppose you could craigslist but it would certainly be more straightforward if you knew someone in the area to go out there and do it.
posted by Rhomboid at 4:05 AM on June 6, 2010 [1 favorite]


Cox also might offer such a computer setup service but I'd be wary of letting them (or rather the third party independent technicians that they contract out to) touch anything beyond the bare necessities for getting service going.
posted by Rhomboid at 4:08 AM on June 6, 2010


At worse, if there's a Best Buy where she lives, I believe you can have the Geek Squad come over and setup things like wifi.
posted by Atreides at 6:16 AM on June 6, 2010


Cox does offer full wireless network setup & service, as does Comcast. Between them, they cover a large part of the state. Verizon FiOS is also being rolled out in many areas, and may be available for your parents. They include a wireless router & setup with basic installation. We have Cox broadband, and we've had good experiences with them on the few occasions a tech needed to come out, but some friends & neighbors have had problems with them. It most likely boils down to luck of the draw with which tech you get and the complexity of the problem. Our friends with FiOS love it when it's working, but most of them have said that tech support was slower than with Cox.
posted by gimli at 6:29 AM on June 6, 2010


Clear wireless is in some parts of VA and they're so-so easy to setup (just install the dialer). They sell wimax ready laptops on their website that might be ready to go.

The problem with computer noobs is that if they don't have a totally locked down machine (or a mac or Linux), they almost always find a way to bork it with malware.
posted by Skwirl at 8:52 AM on June 6, 2010


Response by poster: Thanks all ~ FWIW we're talking about Warrenton Va. Skwirl you caused me to think again about a Macbook. I entertained it as an option but then discarded it thinking the 13" screen may be too fiddly for her...but perhaps its prefeable to dealing with malware. We want to make life easy and happy for this fabulous 80+ lady - not invite malware to the party ;)
posted by LivinginYes at 10:30 AM on June 6, 2010


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