Rural internet

[Lost1wing]

Living out in the middle of nowhere has it's advantages. But one disadvantage is lack of a quality internet provider.

I have Hughesnet now and on an average day my download/upload speeds are 6mbs/2mbs. I had ViaSat for a few years and it was no better. Att wireless is not available in my area nor is Starlink. Cable or DSL will has been in the works for 10 years. The best I can do at the moment is Verizon 4g service. Even that is sketchy most of the time. It does not work in the house at all unless I have an external antenna pointed at a tower. I need to occasionally point the antenna at a different tower from time to time.

Is there another option for rural areas? Starlink may end up what I go to, but I'm not holding my breath like I did for Windstream DSL.

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[Tom C]

I live in a rural area. We have Windstream 1GB Fibre. I have no complaints.

 

[Lost1wing]

I live in a rural area. We have Windstream 1GB Fibre. I have no complaints.

I wish that was an option. Windstream can only provide a basic telephone line. Not even a simple DSL. They would have to upgrade everything they have in the ground and more. Couldn't even use dial-up on the old telephone line.

 

[Loud Lyle]

I’m in the same boat. Nothing good available where we live so I’m 1 year into the waiting list for Starlink.

 

[Lost1wing]

Starlink website says 2023 for my area. According to their coverage map, my property is cut in half. Half available and the other half is coming soon. My neighbor, 1000 feet north has Starlink and loves it. I'm sure their is no physical line, just they are not taking any more load in my area.

I have heard of others beaming off Government buildings and tapping into their internet. Our state Senetor has this type service just 3 miles away.

 

[staying_tuned]

Starlink roam here in KY coupled with weBoost for cell. Love it. I'm a WFH software architect spending quite a bit of time on Zoom w/ folks. Zero issues from day one and a beautifully elegant user install/operation experience from Starlink. Here are a few pics:

1. Starlink Roam - Despite Starlink not officially supporting our area they'll still sell you the mobile roam product which I opted to permanently mount. Trouble free since day 1 with the exception of a few <10 second drops, almost exclusively in the middle of the night. I only know of them because the app shows historic uptime.

2. WeBoost Home Complete w LPDA high gain antenna - We went from literally zero cell coverage to strong 4G with zero downtime.

3. Eero Mesh - Starlink offers a mesh option but we've loved our Eero setup. All compatible, near zero visible wires anywhere in our home.

This pic is the weBoost internal antenna. As mentioned zero wires as all hardware is in the attic, dropping the wires was a trivial install.

Links for reference:

Starlink Roam - https://www.starlink.com/roam

weBoost Home Complete (we opted for the LPDA antenna upgrade) - https://www.wilsonamplifiers.com/weboost-home-complete-signal-booster-kit-470145/

 

[Lost1wing]

Starlink roam here in KY coupled with weBoost for cell. Love it. I'm a WFH software architect spending quite a bit of time on Zoom w/ folks. Zero issues from day one and a beautifully elegant user install/operation experience from Starlink. Here are a few pics:

1. Starlink Roam - Despite Starlink not officially supporting our area they'll still sell you the mobile roam product which I opted to permanently mount. Trouble free since day 1 with the exception of a few <10 second drops, almost exclusively in the middle of the night. I only know of them because the app shows historic uptime.

2. WeBoost Home Complete w LPDA high gain antenna - We went from literally zero cell coverage to strong 4G with zero downtime.

3. Eero Mesh - Starlink offers a mesh option but we've loved our Eero setup. All compatible, near zero visible wires anywhere in our home.

This pic is the weBoost internal antenna. As mentioned zero wires as all hardware is in the attic, dropping the wires was a trivial install.

Links for reference:

Starlink Roam - https://www.starlink.com/roam

weBoost Home Complete (we opted for the LPDA antenna upgrade) - https://www.wilsonamplifiers.com/weboost-home-complete-signal-booster-kit-470145/

Thank you for this info and the links. I did read a few reviews on Starlink roam. I have spoke with one other person about it and he advised for me to wait.

Now I have a cell booster, but it really only brings the cell signal under the steel roof. My closest cell tower aimed at my direction is 18 miles away. I get 1 bar most of the time. I'm restricted to smoke signals basically.

I will look at the starlink roam a lot closer. Thank you!

 

[staying_tuned]

Sounds good, our only other alternative was AT&T fixed wifi (horrid and failing as a viable product for AT&T but they will still sell it) and Hughesnet (even worse as you know). With Starlink roam we average just over 80mbps, which is enough for me to zoom in HD while streaming 4k on the TV simultaneously.

That said, I would never recommend Roam to be used as Starlink intended because it doesn't lock on the satellites while in motion like you'd think it should. I believe this is why Starlink came out with an entirely new product since roam called mobile.

With mine (roam) it takes about 20 minutes just to lock onto a sat or array of sats. This is great when mounted permanently, it only happens once at setup. From that point on it simply follows the satellites and we get no drops. I'm into tech but that thing still feels like alien technology when it moves. Anyhow if you were to take my same roam dish and actually try to overland with it you'd get pissed pretty quickly, especially if you were highly mobile and needed connectivity a lot. I'd say as a true mobile sat option it is a great proof of concept, nothing more. As a hack/loophole to get sat speed & reliability in an otherwise unsupported area, it is absolutely perfect. With a cell booster and a cheap Jackery/EcoFlow along with a 100w+ solar panel, you essentially have comms up indefinitely.

 

[Lost1wing]

I am getting an RV soon and was thinking about Starlink roam. My first idea was to try it on the RV and if it didn't workout, use it at the house. Now you say there is a mobile Starlink? I need to do some more research.

I have been away from a quality internet for 10 years now. It only gets slower from what I could tell. Have you noticed Starlink roam to have slowed down since you first got it? Or is it about the same? Our neighbor that has Starlink said that his has slowed down a lot but still much better than Hughesnet.

 

[slowstang305]

Starlink is the answer to this 100%. I have one of these antenna's on a remote island off the coast of Alaska with 200+ meg internet speeds. Seems to be very stable in that location. You are in GA, should easily be able to get VERY good service from a starlink dish.

 

[Lost1wing]

Sounds good, our only other alternative was AT&T fixed wifi (horrid and failing as a viable product for AT&T but they will still sell it) and Hughesnet (even worse as you know). With Starlink roam we average just over 80mbps, which is enough for me to zoom in HD while streaming 4k on the TV simultaneously.

That said, I would never recommend Roam to be used as Starlink intended because it doesn't lock on the satellites while in motion like you'd think it should. I believe this is why Starlink came out with an entirely new product since roam called mobile.

With mine (roam) it takes about 20 minutes just to lock onto a sat or array of sats. This is great when mounted permanently, it only happens once at setup. From that point on it simply follows the satellites and we get no drops. I'm into tech but that thing still feels like alien technology when it moves. Anyhow if you were to take my same roam dish and actually try to overland with it you'd get pissed pretty quickly, especially if you were highly mobile and needed connectivity a lot. I'd say as a true mobile sat option it is a great proof of concept, nothing more. As a hack/loophole to get sat speed & reliability in an otherwise unsupported area, it is absolutely perfect. With a cell booster and a cheap Jackery/EcoFlow along with a 100w+ solar panel, you essentially have comms up indefinitely.

Sold! I guess I just needed some kind of confirmation. I can cancel the waiting list and order the starlink roam version. My cell if functional the way it is now. I lose a call every now and then but I can live with that. I can live without internet too, but it would be nice. Never streamed a show yet, so I don't know what I'm missing.

 

[jav_eee]

T-Mobile home internet an option? I have it out at my ranch where nothing but copper line with dial-up speeds or latent nightmare viasat is available. It’s only $50/month.

 

[Lost1wing]

I have not heard of anyone i. The area with T mobile. I assume they share the same towers with att and Verizon. I could look at it but the Starlink roam looks like my best option.​

 

[unsocbl]

I had T-Mobile (WFH Network Engineer) and it was fine. Moved to Starlink when it was available and absolutely love it! Stream 3 TV's, kids use the PS5 constantly and no issues whatsoever!

Downside to Starlink is there is NO customer support. If you get it, buy an extra cable to have as a spare as they tend to have issues.

 

[WILDHOBO]

Living out in the middle of nowhere has it's advantages. But one disadvantage is lack of a quality internet provider.

I have Hughesnet now and on an average day my download/upload speeds are 6mbs/2mbs. I had ViaSat for a few years and it was no better. Att wireless is not available in my area nor is Starlink. Cable or DSL will has been in the works for 10 years. The best I can do at the moment is Verizon 4g service. Even that is sketchy most of the time. It does not work in the house at all unless I have an external antenna pointed at a tower. I need to occasionally point the antenna at a different tower from time to time.

Is there another option for rural areas? Starlink may end up what I go to, but I'm not holding my breath like I did for Windstream DSL.

Starlink. Reasonably priced and reliable.

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