What are my options?

[AndrewD]

There must be some internet savvy types here

I want (ideally) to get a broadband internet connection at home. Trouble is, I live in the back of beyond and we are still chiseling shopping lists for dinosaur soup stock onto stone tablets. That is to say, my simple enquiries tell me my BT line won't support broad band.

Are there any other options, I hear something about set top boxes from NTL?

Or am I doomed to a life of pteradactyl droppings on toast?

[plotloss]

Hmmn, if you cant get DSL there there is probably no chance of getting cable (NTL).

Satellite broadband could be an option...?

Matt.

[plipton]

See profile - I have friends in the know. I will try and get an answer for you.

Do you live reasonably close to a village with a telephone exchage? how far? (needs to be fairly accurate)

[AndrewD]

Plotloss - cheers, guess this is my backup option if all else fails (I notice BT are advertising this for about 900 + vat installation, and thick end of 70 a month subscrption cost )

Plipton - not sure about whether there's an exchange nearby, will mail you direct with postcode if that helps... thank you very much!

[AJLintern]

In our large village of over 2000 people there is an exchange less than a mile away - but I doubt whether BT will enable it anytime this century

[Don]

Andrew.

Amazingly in my large town of Basingstoke - I am in a section that cannot get broadband. After much research and the assistance of a number of PHers I narrowed by choices to two.

1) Liberty Broadband. They happen to be active in my town and do Wireless Broadband using a small dish pointing at an ariel a few miles away. Setup £190 and monthly £45.

2) BT Satellite broadband. This was bleedin' expensive with a setup fee of £900 and was not cheap monthly either at about £60. But I understand this can be made to work way out there in the sticks...

There are other alternatives other PHers know loads more about - but these were the two for me...

[Deester]

Sat broadband is an option. I am involved with a UK company who does just this.

www.this-tel.com

If you need more info mail me through my profile and I will help!

Deester...

[plipton]

Don said:
1) Liberty Broadband. They happen to be active in my town and do Wireless Broadband using a small dish pointing at an ariel a few miles away. Setup £190 and monthly £45.

This looks like a realistic option untill BT get their *rses in gear and BB-enable your exchange.

Well spotted Don.

[funkihamsta]

Sat broadband...ping will be a bit high for online killing wont it?

[sb930turbo]

Hi Don,
Are you using Sat Broadband?How does it compare with the speed of normal broadband?
Steve

[joust]

Beware sat broadband stuff that seems "cheap"

www.theregister.co.uk/content/22/29461.html

Minimum price you will find for a sustainable company is around £60-80 per month for 512kbps at 5:1-10:1 contention - the economics of satallite transponders don't allow it any cheaper than that I'm afriad.

And yes - if you work it out, worse case you'll be paying £60-80 per month for a service who's guarentees are no better than the 56k modem you already use.......

Go 128k ISDN flat rate - quite a few companies do it and then at least it's 128k at 1:1 contention...

J

[bruce fielding]

Didn't I read somewhere that if enough people demand broadband BT will supply it? Or is that tosh?

[joust]

Nope - you are right.

Check out www.bt.com/broadband/ for all the details.

J

[AndrewD]

Right, I'm sure Flossie and her herd in the fields outside will be putting their hooves down for a connection

My local exchange already has quite a few registrations of interest but no 'trigger' level set. So I need to get hassling BT then...

[fish]

I'm looking at it as I'm in the same boat.

Options look like:

ISDN (BT Highway) £75 install £26 month for two lines ie one at 64k + phone or both giving 128K no phone. Still need to get ISP and the cost is not dissimmilar to geting and renting a secound line

'Cheap' Sat

Found a company doing £144 harware(no install) and £28 month. This only gives you leisure time access upto 512k download min 256k upload is via existing dialin thus you still bloack phone. Don't know how effective it is.

I think I might go for ISDN as I get another line and I'm sure 64k works out about twice as fast as a normal line and is probebly more consistant.

Anyone got experience of BT highway??

[Fer]

BTTT

Anyone get anywhere with alternatives to ADSL? I have just been told that there is too much line loss to allow me to have broadband. But, typically there has been no "well you could try this", the only response I have managed to get so far is "we will refund the money you paid for the modem/splitters, etc."

Any thoughts welcome.

[Don]

sb930turbo said: Hi Don,
Are you using Sat Broadband?How does it compare with the speed of normal broadband?
Steve

Steve. Sorry...only just saw this...nope I use the Wireless broadband which happens to available in Basingstoke. I get 512kbps in one direction and 256 in the other. Not bad for the new price of 39.95pcm

[funkihamsta]

Sat broadband stinks for games (low ping), perhaps you might try to see if there is a wireless broadband service provider in your area. FreeClix for example makes a very successful fist of it in the Norfolk area.