Rural internet recommendations ?

raw outdoors · #1 01-07-2021, 10:48 AM

For the people that live a little further off the grid, what do you recommend for internet? My parents use explorer-net and used to use Bell I think, but the bell worked off of cell towers and that’s not an option. No cell serves here. I just need the internet to be good enough to have two kids do online school and me to watch YouTube fishing videos.

Let me know what works for you
Thanks

Dean2 · #2 01-07-2021, 11:00 AM

Easiest option is to go talk to 4 or 5 of your closest neighbours. Best is completely determined by EXACTLY where you are located. One that is great out by Calling Lake doesn't work at all south of Watino.

nimrod · #3 01-07-2021, 11:06 AM

We use explore net now, had them a few years back, when went with a new company, they said needed a tower to get signal , now no need for the tower, selling it now, we can see the explore tower, so we get a great LTD signal

silvertip · #4 01-07-2021, 11:27 AM

For us when we live in the country we had a couple different options
we went with Xplornet.com
tower was 10-12 k away but direct line of site on a hill
never had any issues to speak of
service was great
speed was great
no complaints

tirebob · #5 01-07-2021, 11:33 AM

Where my property is we have no option other than satellite as we have zero cell service to be able to use the hub style and currently Xplornet is our only choice. I have no real complaints with the service other than it being more expensive than if we had the hub style and we have to be a bit careful as we have a maximum download volume allowed is less, but so far in the last couple years we do fine. We made a couple adjustments like lowering the Netflix steaming rate so we doing gobble up bandwidth with 4k/HD movies etc but otherwise it has been reliable and more than fast enough for what we need. It has gone down a few times over that time but never for very long.

Overall I have nothing really bad to say!

Stinky Buffalo · #6 01-07-2021, 11:40 AM

Friend just moved to his farm permanently this year. Ended up getting a Telus hub, and all was good. Especially after getting a proper external antenna.

Just recently it all went downhill... The Telus rep told him that his local tower was oversubscribed. He is so frustrated right now - he and his spouse run their businesses from that location and depend on it. Maddening.

MountainTi · #7 01-07-2021, 11:42 AM

Lot's of rural areas only have one option. Go from there.

I have CCI and quite happy with them if that means anythig

jstubbs · #8 01-07-2021, 12:19 PM

I am just a few KM west of Edmonton, on Xplornet, so far from being out in the bush or anything.

It is OK. I rarely have issues with it not providing any internet connection at all, but the issue I have with it is consistency. When I try to download something, the speeds are going up and down, from anywhere from 500 kbps to 30 mbps, every few seconds. Really frustrating to deal with sometimes. It also struggles if you have multiple people on the internet as well, especially if one is streaming video (i.e. Netflix).

Just sad, I had hardwired broadband internet in 2005 that was more consistent than this. You would have thought that in 15 years wireless technology could have improved enough by now. Oh well.

jstubbs · #9 01-07-2021, 12:25 PM

Has anyone used Rogers or Bell wireless hubs? I get fantastic cell service on Rogers at my place as there is a tower quite nearby, was on Telus before and got horrid cell reception (so can’t use Telus). I have actually used my phone to hotspot wifi during times that Xplornet isn’t working for me and it does great.

How is it for speeds and consistency?

7magtime · #10 01-07-2021, 01:22 PM

We've been using MCSNet for about 10 years. Speed is good and at one point we were both working from home and kids were doing online school, managed okay with no big issues....

Flyingfisher · #11 01-07-2021, 02:50 PM

Another vote for Xplorenet. I can see the tower from my place and have their 50mb/s service.

Jays toyz · #12 01-07-2021, 03:56 PM

Wow, Nobody has suggested starlink! All rural internet will be Starlink soon. Canadian beta is active now and will be fully available soon this year

https://www.starlink.com

Put in your address and see if you qualify. $600 for the antenna and $100 per month for 50 to 150mbs download at 20-40ms latency.

Stinky Buffalo · #13 01-07-2021, 04:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jays toyz

Wow, Nobody has suggested starlink! All rural internet will be Starlink soon. Canadian beta is active now and will be fully available soon this year

https://www.starlink.com

Put in your address and see if you qualify. $600 for the antenna and $100 per month for 50 to 150mbs download at 20-40ms latency.

Yes, for sure - my friend with the farm looked at that, and unfortunately wasn't in the right area to qualify for the beta.

Will definitely be looking at that when I move out of the city.

kargor · #14 01-07-2021, 06:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jays toyz

Wow, Nobody has suggested starlink! All rural internet will be Starlink soon. Canadian beta is active now and will be fully available soon this year

https://www.starlink.com

Put in your address and see if you qualify. $600 for the antenna and $100 per month for 50 to 150mbs download at 20-40ms latency.

I have a cousin who is beta testing now, he is getting 100 to 150 MBPS consistently . He is in Ontario . He said it was expensive to get in but was extremely easy to setup .

tbiddy · #15 01-07-2021, 08:42 PM

We are running CCI and it’s ok. Paying about $90/month for 10mbps. We usually get 5-7mbps but it is unlimited. There is only 2 of us and it does it’s job but would like it to be faster. We can’t use the VOD feature on Shaw Direct but we can both stream Netflix, Crave, etc.. with no issues.

coyotecaller · #16 01-08-2021, 07:23 AM

In my experience with rural internet, and I suggest to all, is to contact your provider regularly. And also keep track of off days. We had explornet, and it was sporadic. So I kept track of days when the service was poor, and some days, we didn’t even get internet usage from them. When I contacted them, and with a lengthy phone call to a supervisor, I was reimbursed for the poor days. Also, I suggest contacting a CSR at least quarterly. I was surprised to find out that updates to their services are not automatically authorized. They would update only when I phoned them, at no cost. Their customer service is good, but when I had it, their equipment was sub par. We now have internet through the Telus hub. And with online learning passed on by our government, I phoned to ask about a upgrade to 500 GB, and they provided it, at no extra cost to my old 250 GB plan. Can’t complain there.

jstubbs · #17 01-08-2021, 07:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jays toyz

Wow, Nobody has suggested starlink! All rural internet will be Starlink soon. Canadian beta is active now and will be fully available soon this year

https://www.starlink.com

Put in your address and see if you qualify. $600 for the antenna and $100 per month for 50 to 150mbs download at 20-40ms latency.

Just tried. Doesn’t look like it’s available in my area. Like I said, I’m just a few KM west of Edm. Sucks it isn’t here yet.

tirebob · #18 01-08-2021, 03:01 PM

Talk about timing on a thread... I just got an e-mail I am selected to be part of the Starlink beta test! Woohoo! I will be reporting back when the system gets here and hooked up... Stay tuned!

jstubbs · #19 01-08-2021, 08:43 PM

Nice!! Please keep us updated on your experiences. StarLink at this point seriously sounds like a revelation for us poor out in da country folk. Lol

amosfella · #20 01-09-2021, 04:45 PM

the farm gets the internet from a local provider here. He only provides service in Vulcan County as I recall. The tower is on our land.

I went to school with the owner. I send him a text if there's a problem, and the problem gets fixed.

Howard Hutchinson · #21 01-10-2021, 12:22 AM

I've tried hubs with Bell, Rogers and Telus..All worked well yet before you know it you're over the max limit and it gets expensive in a heck of a hurray..

We also has Xlpornet 3 times over 14 years or so..The first 2 times were using satellite and it was terrible...We are now using a 20' tower to tower and it has been quite good...Speed isn't lightening fast, 25-30 download, which is about 24 better than their satellite speed...Its enabled me to start working from, so that in and of itself is saying something...

32-40win · #22 01-10-2021, 12:45 PM

Curious, as I am going to be moving somewhere out of Calgary soon. Would it be fair to assume that a town with a grocery store, a bank and a school and a small gov't office of some obscure form, and gas station and motel would have decent internet service available? Not sure where the boundaries for these outfits service levels are altogether. Ie; Wifi vs cable availability vs programs advertised vs consumer base.

Dean2 · #23 01-10-2021, 12:54 PM

32 40. I have lived in a number of country locations. Wired Internet ALWAYS beats any satellite or tower based service. Were we live now there is only Shaw for wired, not my favourite but way better than the options. It is easy to find out if there is a wired option for the location you are looking at. If there isn't, like I said above talk to a half dozen future neighbors as the service that works great in one spot is a complete dud in another. We have never had the same wireless provider in any of the houses we had that were not wire accessible. The best wireless has been different every time we moved. Tower usually beats satellite by quite a bit.

32-40win · #24 01-11-2021, 01:39 AM

Would prefer cable for sure. Wasn't sure where the boundary was on the size of a town to get it in though, I would expect there would be a minimum base size or perhaps a certain special requirement of some form that needs it, within the town, to get it. Every town I've looked at on MLS so far, they advertise all kinds of service, but, it's the same ads in all of them, I'm thinking, meh, knowing the telcoms, they have been known to speak with forked tongue.

KegRiver · #25 01-11-2021, 05:00 AM

Wouldn't help you none but we have great service here.

Local provider. Actually a local farmer who got tired of dialup. Bought his own Broadband system and started hooking up neighbors.

Started with a $20,000 setup because back then that was the cheapest available for this far north. Hooked up neighbors to help pay for it.

Upgraded, hooked up more people till where he is now, the biggest and best provider north of Grande Prairie.

Fastest and cheapest available.

We pay $56.00 a month for 100 mbps with no data cap.

Even better the scammers think I live at the top of my neighbors grain leg.

I suppose you could set up your own system and make some money on the side like he did.

tirebob · #26 01-20-2021, 04:45 PM

Just installed my new Starlink system and gotta say, I am impressed! Piece of cake to do (other than putting my knee through a roof vent under the snow! Uggggh) and first speed test came back 140mb down and 30mb up! I am so happy!

Dean2 · #27 01-20-2021, 04:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tirebob

Just installed my new Starlink system and gotta say, I am impressed! Piece of cake to do (other than putting my knee through a roof vent under the snow! Uggggh) and first speed test came back 140mb down and 30mb up! I am so happy!

Glad it works well are they tower based or satellite? because if that is sat it is amazing speed for one of those systems.

tirebob · #28 01-20-2021, 04:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dean2

Glad it works well are they tower based or satellite? because if that is sat it is amazing speed for one of those systems.

Satellite 100%. Super cool too. You just plug it in and it self tracks and calibrates. No pointing necessary.

SamSteele · #29 01-21-2021, 02:12 PM

From what I have read, Starlink is available between the lattitudes of 43.1 to 45.3 (Hamilton to Ottawa lattitudes) and 50.01 to 50.71 (south of Calgary area).

I would love to get it for our cabin in Northern Sask, but it doesn't look like it's servicing that area yet. I have seen the satellites pass over head up there in the winter nights though. First time I saw them I wondered if there was an invasion going on. 80 lights in a straight line looked suspicious with no context!

SS

tirebob · #30 01-21-2021, 02:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SamSteele

From what I have read, Starlink is available between the lattitudes of 43.1 to 45.3 (Hamilton to Ottawa lattitudes) and 50.01 to 50.71 (south of Calgary area).

I would love to get it for our cabin in Northern Sask, but it doesn't look like it's servicing that area yet. I have seen the satellites pass over head up there in the winter nights though. First time I saw them I wondered if there was an invasion going on. 80 lights in a straight line looked suspicious with no context!

SS

I think this is true for the beta testing but once things are a go and more satellites are brought online it will open up.