115/100

No, that isn't my blood pressure (although that would be pretty good on the systolic side, but slightly off on the diastolic side). Actually that is my download and upload speeds using the Verizon internet thingy that I'm trying out. Sitting in the church (about the same as at the farm) with the double USB port thing and an external antenna I manged 115 kbps download and 100 kbps upload. For comparison I did a test using the adsl internet we have here at the church and received 1,547 upload and 380 download.

So, what do you think of that (does anyone know how that compares to dial-up)? Unfortunately I'm not in the Verizon "Broadband" access area, just their "National" access area. When I was in the "Broadband" area I liked it a lot, but then I drove twenty-five minutes to my house and I wasn't as pleased...

I have continued researching the satellite options, but must admit that I am completely scared of those because of the MANY poor reviews all of the companies receive from users. I do run across some reviews from satisfied customers, but I just wonder how many satisfied people there are (I know the satisfied ones don't talk as loudly though).

That is the internet quandary that I am in right now. I am really beginning to see how important the internet could be to our farm through our blogging, communicating, networking, and sales. With all of that in mind I'm just not sure what to try. I may go and check out the Alltel store here in town, but from their coverage maps it appears that I can expect about the same as my Verizon I have now.

In other farm related news it seems that we will have a little over two more weeks to finish the house and move in. That should give us time to finish the entire floor and all of the electrical installations. Then the only things left to do while we are living there is some trim and stovepipe installation! Soon....

Internet is the Issue...

Well, with our move to the farm just a few days away (still lots of work to do, but I don't want to think about it at this moment) we are struggling with what to do for an internet solution. All along our plan has been to go with the local dial-up and their land-line plan and keep my cellphone that I have for work. But, recently I have by trying to look at other options such as satellite, a cellphone adapter, or a wireless internet service provider. And ... I'm not having much luck figuring anything out!

Here is what I know. You can get Wild Blue or Hughesnet in the area I believe, but the reviews of those satellite companies are touch and go. The price on the satellite internet runs between $50 and $60 for the base plan (is the base plan even worth it?). I find some people that love them and plenty of others that absolutely hate them. Next is the cell adapter route. It appears that maybe the only cell providers available are Alltel or Verizon and those both run about $60 a month, but i'm not completely sure that we would be within their coverage area for the internet thing. Finally, a wireless internet service provider sounds like it would be a cool option, but I have only found one for my area (maybe) and they are something like $70 per month!

Which brings me back to dial-up. It will be the least expensive by far, but it may also be the slowest by far. Do any of you have any experiences, thoughts, or suggestions? We are open to anything right now.