Is it possible to get faster internet than dial-up in the middle of nowhere?

Question

A friend of mine lives in the middle of nowhere in KY. She currently has internet access using a dial-up connection, but is it possible for her to get faster internet out there? I'm not sure, but I think they live too far out for Broadband or DSL.

Other stuff I know about their situation is as follows; they currently use AOL for the internet; their computer is brand new and pretty awesome as computers go (it even has wireless capabilities); their cell phone provider, Cingular, is pretty much the only major provider in that area and their reception is spectacular. I was thinking there might be a way for them to get faster internet via one of those USB doohickeys offered by some cell-phone providers that can find internet almost anywhere. If that wouldn't work, then is there a faster dial-up service than AOL that they could try? All suggestions are welcomed and appreciated!

Answer 1

If she can get cable, she can get broadband.

Even if she doesn't get cable, she can call her ISP and ask about broadband/fiber lines being put in to her house.  They may not have any plans to do so, but at least if she asks about it they will know there's demand for the service.

Answer 2

Satellite is the answer http://www.wildblue.com/

Answer 3

I pretty much live in the middle of no where. Not one stop light, we don't even get our mail delivered, we have to walk to it! We have to go to a near by school because we don't have one of our own. We have no police station(we use the local one) and it's technically a "village". But anyways, we wanted DSL, so for about 2 or 3 years we just had to keep complaining because it was unavailable to us. And eventually, they got it here, just for us =], and then any one else who wanted it also. Just keep complaining. Lucky for me, my family is good at it!

Answer 4

yes she can its called Hughesnet but it costs lot and can be as slow as dialup so its not worth it, have her get rid of alot of the start up programs on her computer by going to run "msconfig" startup and disabling the c**p that strats and runs with the computer. then restart!

Answer 5

there is satellite but it's not cheap. i have dish network as my satellite tv provider and it was $200 installation fee and $80 a month for internet

edit. my satellite tv doesn't go out in bad weather! i may be lucky but it never goes out so don't believe that about all satellites

Answer 6

Your friend could look into satellite internet. It's expensive, but more often than not can be broadband speeds. The problem with satellite internet is satellites don't like bad weather. If you have satellite TV you'll know what I'm talking about, every time it rains the TV goes out.

Answer 7

acourse all u have to do is contact your cable/internet dealer or contact a new provider, i have comcast works great costs about 35 a month....

Answer 8

My parents live in the middle of nowhere and have WiFi (satellite).  It works very well.

Answer 9

kentucky has a lot of area covered by Sprint and Verizon EVDO broadband wireless that uses cellular network.

Have your friend read this:

http://www.EVDOinfo.com/easy

Answer 10

There are a lot of rual areas that are now getting DSL service (my cousin is one of them, and there is nothing around him but farm land), I would say that either they should wait until they can get DSL (it'll happen eventually), until they can get cable (it'll take a long time, but it should get around those areas eventually)

there are 2 other possibilities for broadband (high-speed) internet, one is satellite internet, which does cost quite a bit, but is pretty fast, or one of those AT&T USB cell network dongles (Cingular is now AT&T), though, in my experience, even with a couple bars of service, the software was pretty glitchy and failed to connect to the dongle, not to mention that fact that you actually need software

Answer 11

Cingular may offer a wireless internet service, it is usually more expensive, but may be worth it if the service is good, then she can go anywhere with a laptop as well...

Answer 12

ya...satillite...its somwhat expencive though

Answer 13

DirecWay is internet-via-satellite.

www.direcway.com

I don't know how the speed compares to the cell providers' internet service.

Answer 14

you can get satellite linked internet but i hear its a little pricy

Answer 15

Cingular has those wireless internet thingies.

Other than that, no.

I'm speaking from experience.

We've been stuck with dial up at my house for years.

Comcast dangled the little carrot on the stick that is DSL in our faces about half a year ago, but then it was snatched away because the cutoff was a block before us.

ugh.

We can't even get high-speed internet from the phone company.

Answer 16

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Answer 17

If they have cable TV that would work.  If cellphones work there, they could get a cellular adapter.

If those aren't available there's always satellite.

EDIT:

I know from dogsitting my neighbor's pup that satellite isn't very good in the rain (or even heavy cloudcover) and completely dumps out in really severe weather.  I though I'd check the storm progress while I was playing with/feeding thir dog and I had about 10 seconds of picture then "signal loss" bouncing around.  In good weather though it's quite good!

Answer 18

Satellite internet is a possibility but it is a little expensive as long as your friend has a view of the southern sky it should be no problem. Hughesnet is the first satellite internet provider that comes to mind but there are a few out there.

Answer 19

As a former Hughesnet/DirecWay customer, don't bother. They charge you extreme amounts for a 1mbps/500kbps connection and limit you to only 100MB a day. If you exceed the 100MB limit, they cut you off and your download is only 900 bytes a second. It's the worst service ever created.

Also, if you plan to use it for VoIP or Gaming, you can't, there isn't enough bandwidth because of the QoS, and the ping is 2000 to 10000ms. No joke, I used to play Star Wars Galaxies and it was amazing how I could even play with the 2000ms ping.

Answer 20

See what (if any) cable providers are in their area.  I think most of the country has access to cable, and most companies offer high speed internet.  You might want to see who they get their TV service from.  Also, it might not hurt to try the wireless service from Cingular (now AT&T), since they have good service.  Those are the two best options for cost effectiveness.

Answer 21

See if service providers such as Cablevision and Verizon offer high speed coverage in that area, that's pretty much all you can do.

Answer 22

Hey Jonathn

Yes. Through Mobile Broadband (Wireless Broadband) provided by cell companies such as Sprint, Verizon, AT&T or Alltel it's definitely possible.

If it's a rural area, go for Sprint. They have the largest mobile broadband network of the bunch. Runners up are AT&T and Verizon. As Alltel's data roaming partner is Sprint, they virtually have the same coverage for now. You're best bet is to check the coverage review's I've provided in the sources. Each one has a coverage tool (except Alltel) that lets you put in your street address.

If speed is also a priority for you, check the final source I've provided. It's a side by side comparison of the providers (they are all faster than dialup).

Hope this helps!

Answer 23

NO