What internet are yall using?

[shocker998md]

I'm looking at spending a bit of time with family down in snow hill and figured I'd ask here if there's any other options then starlink for decent internet. Hoping to be able to stream and possibly do some remote work/school.
So far all the decent options I've googled are for just in town and nothing surrounding. Any ideas?

 

[jrumann59]

Comcast/Xfinity has no foot print outside of town.

 

[Occam]

How's the local cellular coverage? Any local towers? If so, you could get a proper hotspot and use a high-gain directional antenna for maximal data coverage. If there's a tower close enough, you might be fine with an as-is hotspot device - though you might need to get it from a different carrier depending on whose tower it is. Otherwise, there just no comparison to Starlink for out-yonder service, if you can get it (the hardware, and the service) while they're still ramping up.

 

[owldo]

If you have good cellular coverage you can tether you cell phone to a laptop or PC ...

 

[adit]

Check these guys.

Residential - Bloosurf

Fast, Affordable High-Speed Internet Fast, Affordable High-Speed Internet Home Internet Home Phone Home Bundles About Bloosurf

bloosurf.com

 

[KingClown]

Whats wrong with Starlink?
I have it and it works great. Its my only option. I just got an email this morning that they amended fair use and there are now no caps again. However if you are in an under served area its $120 a month and in an over served area its $80 a month. Seems kinda backwards. I am in an underserved area. But I split mine with a PTP and share the connection with my sister next door. There is a total of 9 of us using it with 5 streams going at any time with no issues. Latency is to high for video games but the only ones that play them are my step kids and I am not upset I think kids play to many video games

 

[Inigoes]

If you have good cellular coverage you can tether you cell phone to a laptop or PC ...

The problem with Cellular is limiting 5G or 10G data.

They advertise unlimited 5G, but when you read the fine print the carrier will offer a certain amount (15GB-25GB) at 5G speeds, and then step down to 3G or 4LTE for the never ending data speeds for the rest.

 

[E.Shell]

I use my verizon phone service as a hotspot when I stay down near Bishops Head (40 minutes south of Cambridge). Service is spotty, sometimes freezes up, but when it's good, it's still very slow. Better than nothing, but not by much. I had a dedicated 'JetPack' hotpsot I used to lug around between rural VA and MD-ES that was no better than my phone.

 

[jc1240]

Starlink is supposed to be as good as cable. I know folks play FPS games on it which can't be done with HughsNet or whatever it's called today. I had that and it was horrible. Email and web browsing only. Starlink is the Holy Grail.

If you have good cellular coverage you can tether you cell phone to a laptop or PC ...

I would have cellular as a last resort. I don't know if they are still made; there used to be and still might be home routers that use cellular. At the time the network interface was PCMCIA and PCCardBus cards. We used cellular after dumping HughsNet and before Comcast finally laid cable on our street. I was always sweating the monthly cap. Even "unlimited" isn't unlimited. Fine print BS that they can reduce your speed to worse-than-dial-up after you go over some limit.

 

[Biggfoot44]

Data is way way cheaper on a mobile hotspot than on a phone plan . My hotspot has 100G .

Added , that's 100G full speed , no throttling down .

 

[shocker998md]

So it looks like starlink is my only option. I just wanted to make sure I wasn't overlooking something

 

[HRDWRK]

There is a whole thread about Starlink.

From an email last night..

Good news! Your Starlink subscription will remain unlimited and will no longer be deprioritized after 1 TB of data use.

We’ve updated our Terms and Conditions to reflect this change. See the Starlink Fair Use policy to learn how we manage our network for the benefit of all customers.

We’ve also introduced the ability to easily change your service plan on your account portal or the Starlink app. There are four types of service plans available:

• Standard for typical household use (your current service plan)
• Priority for businesses and other high demand users (visit Business for more info)
• Mobile for portable land use, such as RVs and camping (visit Roam for more info)
• Mobile Priority for maritime, in-motion, and high demand mobile use (visit Maritime or Mobility for more info)

 

[adit]

So it looks like starlink is my only option. I just wanted to make sure I wasn't overlooking something

Did you check with BlooSurf? They are based right in Salisbury.

 

[Inigoes]

Have you performed an online search for local broadband providers? Sometimes the surrounding areas have broadband providers close by, within 50 miles.

 

[shocker998md]

Did you check with BlooSurf? They are based right in Salisbury.

Yep they don't mess with anything outside of town.

Either starlink or a tmobile/ Verizon plan looks to be in my future.

 

[Crazytrain]

I'm not on the Eastern Shore, but the only terrestrial internet I can get is DSL. Very happily, there is a t-mobile 5g tower nearby. I pay for the T-Mobile home 5g internet. It's not expensive. It is reasonably fast (we stream at 5k all the time). It is true unlimited. They also pay for Netflix (standard resolution...I kick in a bit for the 5k stuff), Paramount+, Apple TV, and other stuff. It's a good deal. If you are in their coverage area.

 

[K31]

I'm using AlGore's Internet.

 

[Crazytrain]

I'm not on the Eastern Shore, but the only terrestrial internet I can get is DSL. Very happily, there is a t-mobile 5g tower nearby. I pay for the T-Mobile home 5g internet. It's not expensive. It is reasonably fast (we stream at 5k all the time). It is true unlimited. They also pay for Netflix (standard resolution...I kick in a bit for the 5k stuff), Paramount+, Apple TV, and other stuff. It's a good deal. If you are in their coverage area.

Hmm...it just occurred to me that cellular internet IS terrestrial. Woops. But, the point remains. No cable to my homestead.

 

[kshaw]

I picked up one of the portable (has rechargeable battery) Netgear 4G modems for T-Mobile. I use it for camping. Starlink is mostly used for RVs parked where they have no other options because it is so expensive.

 

[Occam]

Starlink is mostly used for RVs parked where they have no other options because it is so expensive.

By far their biggest user demographic are folks who have little or zero internet access in remote areas, and need actually functional (in a useful 21st century sense) bandwidth. It’s not expensive at all in that context. Total game changer for a huge number of folks outside large metro areas. For the RV folks - who are making the choice to live an expensive lifestyle - finally getting real bandwidth while out yonder, that’s amazing. And it can be easily deployed in minutes, not just while parked long term.