Trying to find highspeed internet for my home near Amarillo, Texas and am just beginning "quest for the best." Our dialup services gives us 28,800 bps when we're lucky.
Enjoyed all the comparisons you guys sent in, and Eric's comments/instructions.
Got a big disappointment when our dialup/dsl/ etc co. AmaTechTel measured our house for their antenna-type wireless internet, only to find that our wireless access was only 104 while minimum was 110. Don't really understand what that means. Seems a neighborhood house high roof was cutting out a "wedge" in the signal coverage area available to us from the grain elevator antenna that they owned.
Very little in our geographical area appears to be available - we HAVE NO CABLE SERVICE OF ANY KIND, NOR DO OUR TELEPHONE LINES (SBC) SUPPORT DSL.
So, am investigating Wildblue, Directway, cellular options.
We use several computers in our house and the usage is not games - just info from the great library in the sky: education, medical & health, email, and government/law, schoolwork for the grandson. We use Macintosh G3s and G4s.
I've written Wildblue with some questions such as basic stuff: can you use more than one computer at one time etc. (Hey, I meant "REALLY basic.") Haven't replied.
There appear to be several Wildblue installers in Amarillo. How to choose the best one?
Did not understand the discussions about: SCPC, FAT usage and overusage margins, correct rain margins.
I'll continue to soak up necessary knowledge from the posts on satsig.net and am grateful for the info. Any help from folks who've "been then before" and have suggestions will be appreciated. Thanks very much.
Regarding wireless. Ideally you want line of sight to the the wireless hub site on the grain elevator. Consider putting the antenna on the other side of your neighbours property and cable round from there. Maybe they would like broadband also and you come to some agreement to share the one wireless antenna ? Put the antenna at end of your garden on a pole or on top of house on higher pole. ? Find the grain elevator and workout exactly where it is visible from. Is there a tall building that is mutually visible ? Is so, suggest that put a wireless repeater on top of that building.
Regarding satellite: I wonder if you could go and visit the "possibly 4" Wildblue installers in Amarillo and ask to try out their demo terminals. A bit of hands on experience with a Wildblue terminal will help you. If as a result you can recommend any of these installers I will add them to this page https://www.satsig.net/satellite-internet/satellite-internet-texas.htm
