[Hidden-tech] Does anybody have HughesNet or DirecTVsatellite webaccess?

[Jeremy Dunn]

> A much better solution, which we now have been using for nearly a year, is 
> a
> wireless data card  -- but you've got to have cellular coverage

I did this solution TOO, in the after-dialup-before-DSL portion of my 
internet existence! :-)

Actually, it's not good enough to have cell coverage.  You have to be within 
the wireless footprint of the broadband access from the cell carrier of your 
choice.  Lucky for me there's a Verizon tower with this capability less than 
1/2 mile from my house.  But I have several friends and associates, all of 
whom have very adequate cell phone coverage in their homes, but all of whom 
are unable to get wireless broadband coverage, or else the signal is 
extremely marginal.

I'm not sure about Sprint, but Verizon offers a 30-day money-back guarantee 
on their wireless broadband.  You buy the modem (which can be a laptop card 
or USB format), sign up for a 1- or 2-year contract, and try it at home.  I 
think with a 2-year contract you get a rebate for the full price of the 
modem, if you keep the service.  If it doesn't work, return the modem for a 
full refund; contract is cancelled with no penalty, and all you pay is a 
pro-rated portion for the time you had the service.  I actually did this 
once, before they rolled out high-speed access; found it unacceptable, and 
returned it.   A few months later they finished building out their broadband 
wireless capability and I signed up again.

As above, I live quite close to a tower, so I was getting 1300k down / 350k 
up.  (this is like slow DSL)  At one point I drove all over town (Becket) 
with my laptop, testing the service for other interested persons (in the 
months before DSL came to <some> of Becket).  Some places had great service; 
some had none; in some it degraded to about 500-600k down.  Whether this is 
worth $60/month is up to you.   Note again that there is decent cell phone 
coverage everywhere; the wireless broadband footprint is much more limited.

Also note there is a 5GB/month data limit.  After this, they assess 
penalties at a ridiculously high rate.  You definitely do NOT want to exceed 
the quota.  One neighbor who tried the service ended up with a $2300 monthly 
bill! (not kidding).  I don't want to speculate about what he was 
downloading... But even with moderately heavy usage (I watched a few movies 
on Netflix for example) I never hit 5GB/month in about 6 months of using it.

Lastly, Verizon offers two speeds: so-called "national access" which is a 
pokey 128k down; and "broadband" access as described above.  "National 
Access" is only about 3-5x faster than dialup.  For my money, this was not 
worth $60/month.  Which speed you get depends on proximity to a tower, and 
geography.  Another friend is right on the edge of broadband coverage: if 
we're on a Skype call and the wind blows her directional antenna a little, 
she drops to National access speeds and we lose voice contact, although we 
can still IM.

- Jeremy

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "John W. DeWitt" <john at jwdewitt.com>
To: <hidden-discuss at lists.hidden-tech.net>
Sent: Monday, January 12, 2009 1:02 PM
Subject: RE: [Hidden-tech] Does anybody have HughesNet or DirecTVsatellite 
webaccess?



> A much better solution, which we now have been using for nearly a year, is 
> a
> wireless data card -- but you've got to have cellular coverage. We have a
> Sprint data card running on a Linksys router supporting 4 PCs with very
> decent performance. Even though the specs on bandwidth indicate it should 
> be
> much slower, actual performance (primarily due to the lack of latency) is
> generally much better than satellite for web surfing, online banking,
> routine e-mailing, and everything else except for streaming high-bandwidth
> video and up/downloading large files.
>
> Hope this helps.
>
> _________________________
> John W. DeWitt
> JW DeWitt | Business Communications
> 978-544-1918 Office
> 646-232-6620 Mobile
> 978-544-1928 Fax
> john at jwdewitt.com | www.jwdewitt.com
> _________________________