Your internet choices are extremely poor! Have you looked into alternative plans for rural areas?
Your internet choices are extremely poor! Have you looked into alternative plans for rural areas?
I’m sharing some old tech experiences here. Back when I was younger, my mom worked in tech and brought home a Compaq 286sx with a slow external modem. Upgrading to the 56.6k modem really changed things—it felt like a big leap. Now living in a rural spot, the choices seem limited and often have strict data limits that don’t suit my needs. I rely on HughesNet for a modest cap around 10GB per month, which gives me about 3.5GB per hour. My internet stays slow, with over 600ms delays. On the other hand, I use Verizon’s hotspot plan—about 15GB monthly at decent speed, but only around 5GB per hour here. I’m planning to switch to a new unlimited plan that promises 20GB “unlimited” data. Setting up my Xbox has been a struggle; it’s been running at reduced speeds for most of the time, trying to install games. I’m looking for fresh ideas or better “truly unlimited” options like Unlimitedville or Unlimitedtogo. There are no cable choices, but there’s a 12mbps DSL option that seems uncertain—it might be real, just based on past reports from someone who used it years ago.
Locals seem pressured into these companies and their poor pricing. I found someone who installed a WISP and used a long-range Ubiquiti antenna. It only cost me $30 a month for speeds up to 100/100 Mbps. The antenna was around $150. If anyone nearby has a fast connection they’d be happy to share, it might help.
I’ve got two family members nearby, each about an hour away. One doesn’t have internet access, the other does, but neither is faster than usual. I used it for a full day to install roughly half of the original setup. They’re quite old, have the slowest connection possible, and haven’t upgraded their modem in about eight years because they just don’t seem interested.
Thanks for your reply. I reached out to a few local businesses in my area, but I'm still at the very edge of what I can find. I'm new around here and haven't met many people yet, but I hope things work out.
I’d consider reaching out to the local town hall or checking online forums—sometimes services aren’t listed. For instance, if I need internet at my village house, my choices are quite narrow—only one provider claims they can connect me. A conversation with a nearby friend revealed a small business linked to the town hall that offered 10-15 MBs for around 10 euros a month. Their only promotion appeared as a tiny notice on the bus stop, and even a quick search online didn’t turn up any details. Maybe explore mobile options instead? Since I recently signed a contract promising unlimited data for 25 euros a month (don’t be surprised if other plans don’t work here), it’s been great—over 90% of the country has solid 4G with good speeds. TBH we’re expecting the cable provider’s contract to end soon, so we’ll likely cancel it.
Unfortunately, your top choice seems to be 3 Mbps DSL or 4G LTE. Luckily, 5G is coming soon and could benefit users like you. The only remaining choice is relocating to a city with cable and fiber connections.
I understand your situation with 4G LTE and streaming. You’re looking for cellular internet options nearby, especially since you don’t have a fixed line connection. The Binge-On service lets you stream content without hitting data limits, which has helped this household replace cable and satellite TV. My main concerns are PC updates and game downloads—often needing external connections or flash drives. For gaming, multiplayer isn’t ideal on PC due to Steam DRM restrictions. Data usage is manageable, but frequent large updates are problematic. Single-player sessions are frustrating because of compatibility issues. Overall, GoG seems like the most suitable choice for offline use without DRM constraints.
I wasn't really aware the binge on worked through tethering either. It seems I thought it only functioned on the device itself. This is precisely the kind of detail I needed. I often stream Netflix and YouTube from my phone, using that data instead of relying on my tethering connection, which can be really restrictive.
I've spoken with all the neighbors I could reach. Most are second or third generation, not using the internet, and they're surprised by the limited DSL service. Others are first generation, recently getting internet access, so they're amazed at how slow their current DSL is. Some are too poor to afford the long fiber connections needed for reliable service. If you want to know about CenturyLink's data limits or throttling in Arizona, let me know and I can look into that.