Wireless internet?

[krowsea]

My '75 Sovereign and I will be living in lovely Julian California (92036). I have phone service, but the neanderthals down at the cable company refuse to run a couple of hundred miles of wire, just so I can access the internet at faster than dialup speeds. Oh, the travesty of it all.

Does anyone know of a service or company that can provide a dish, Wi-Fi or other wireless internet connection. I found lots of companies offering dish or wireless TV in my area, but none of them had internet access. I don't mind a combination TV/internet package, but as I watch virtually no TV, it would be no problem if it was internet only. There are plenty of TV dishes on the trailers around me, so reception shouldn't be a problem, I just need to find a provider. Any help would be deeply appreciated.

John-Boy

[thenewkid64]

What about DSL???

Avoid the dish and it's siren calls. The dish for Internet is flaky and will addict you with the idea that you can have Internet access anywhere. The pipe dream bubble normally pops when it comes time to write the check. Big bucks for mediocre service from what I have seen.

There are some campgrounds that are offering a subscription service that is broadband wi-fi in the park. Many parks offer something like this and the subscription on a monthly basis is usable in any park that has the system installed.

If this is not available look for wi-fi hot spots in your local java house for the broadband fix and do the email over dial up. Not as gratifying as broadband all the time, but it can work.

[krowsea]

Originally Posted by thenewkid64

What about DSL???

Avoid the dish and it's siren calls. The dish for Internet is flaky and will addict you with the idea that you can have Internet access anywhere. The pipe dream bubble normally pops when it comes time to write the check. Big bucks for mediocre service from what I have seen.

Well, you're just a busy little beaver tonight, aren't ya! My park does not have internet access. Everyone is watching Soaps on their TV dishes, most don't seem to care about the internet, or even know what it is. I've checked out a few Wi-Fi websites, but when I type in my location, no hot spots show up. I've not been able to find many Wi-Fi providers yet, so maybe there's light at the end of the tunnel if keep looking.

John-Boy

[thenewkid64]

Originally Posted by krowsea

Well, you're just a busy little beaver tonight, aren't ya!

Nah, just addicted to the forum and tend to goto bed late. I am in the EST ZONE

[Tinsel Loaf]

Carefull about that dish and Wi-Fi if you value your privacy. There is none! Through the air, you are fair game. Dial up is slow but does offer some protection against hacks, although I have been hacked a couple of times on dial up before I put up a good firewall. Best to you in Julian, (been there)where the desert meets the coast, sorta, kinda.

[krowsea]

Originally Posted by Tinsel Loaf

Carefull about that dish and Wi-Fi if you value your privacy. There is none!

Thanks for the update. That was a concern of mine. I don't mind a dialup for e-mail, but I use the internet to download reports, photos and movies from my buddies diving exploits, and to upload images and .pdf files for a diving newsletter I produce. With the multi-MB size of most files, I'll be outa business with dialup.

John-Boy

[Janets Husband]

Have you tried scanning with your WIFI device. I am sitting here on a WIFI network with my HP ipaq 4155 Pocket PC.
The scan might reveal an avaiable network .

[rluhr]

Originally Posted by Tinsel Loaf

Carefull about that dish and Wi-Fi if you value your privacy. There is none!

Well, that's half right. There is no privacy with Wi-Fi, even with WEP encryption, if a devoted hacker is nearby. But satellite is pretty safe. The signal is line-of-sight (UP) to the satellite. You'd have to be in a tree or a helicopter to intercept it.

On the other hand, I have to agree with thenewkid64. I use fixed 2-way satellite for my Internet and it is not great. But, it beats dial-up. The system is called DIRECWAY and it generally costs about $70/mo for 100 kb download, and dial-up speed on the upload (even with the "two-way" version). This is a lot cheaper than the RV (mobile) version, but of course it requires a very stable point to mount the antenna, which may not be permitted in your park.

Enjoy your life up there among the apple trees. Julian is on my short list of places to live. Anza-Borrego SP is one of my favorites.

[59toaster]

T-Mobile, Cingular, AT&T are all on the verge of high speed data on the GSM cell system. In some places it's already available if you close enough to the tower. In Atlanta Cingular has "Edge" available and it can approach slow DSL in speed around 100k sometimes better. Next Gen is about 3 years out and it will be able to provide streaming video and 500+k data speeds.


www.cingular.com and see what they offer in your area.

There is two ways of doing this. You can get a data capable phone then use a cale between the computer and phone. Some will suport Bluetooth. There is also a card avaialbe that you just plug into the PCMIC slot. I have played with both. The card works pretty good.

[59toaster]

I just looked up your Zip on some internal coverage maps. The whole zip code has pretty poor coverage on Cingular ( I work for them). You have to be reasonably close to the towers to pull the fast data and it just doen's look like that will be possible there. Check with AT&T and Virizon. They may have a tower in the area.