Service Providers (Internet, TV, Etc)

Agraza · Dec 29, 2015

Is Project Fi bad for you/your area? Will work with a 6P.

Denamian · Dec 29, 2015

Fi uses TMO and Sprint, which he said doesn't work where he's at.

BrutulTM · Dec 29, 2015

Straight Talk would definitely be an option if it works on the local co-op towers. I've heard mixed opinions on whether it does but I will look into it. The local co-op might be an option as well. They have unlimited calling on the home network which is pretty robust in eastern Montana plus 400 minutes of roaming and unlimited text and 5 gigs of data for $50/month. The only downside is that if you go over your 400 minutes roaming it's $.50 a minute but I don't travel much or talk on the phone much so that would be pretty unlikely.

Joeboo · Dec 29, 2015

BrutulTM_sl said:
So I'm looking at the Verizon's plans and they seem pretty shitty. I can stick with my old plan (450 minutes/10c per text/2GB data/subsidized phone every 2 years/$69.99) or the "verizon plan" (unlimited talk & text/3GB data/no phone subsidies $64.99). I was resigned to losing the device subsidies but I had hoped to get some savings in return. Yeah it's $5 a month less and yes it's more service, but the extra service means very little to me since I have never gone over on my minutes and only once or twice on my data and text usually less than 50 times per month.

10c per text would send me into a murderous rage just on general principle. I had no idea that there were carriers out there that still charged per text.

At 10c per text, you're paying $750 per MB of data. MB, not GB mind you. 1 max character text(140 char) = .0001335 MB, or basically 7500 texts use 1MB of data.

Denamian · Dec 29, 2015

Per text charges has always been a moneymaking scam for carriers. They cost almost nothing and are carried by information already going between your phone and the tower.

BrutulTM · Dec 29, 2015

joeboo_sl said:
10c per text would send me into a murderous rage just on general principle. I had no idea that there were carriers out there that still charged per text.

At 10c per text, you're paying $750 per MB of data. MB, not GB mind you. 1 max character text(140 char) = .0001335 MB, or basically 7500 texts use 1MB of data.

If you only send 25 texts a month though, it's still cheaper than signing up for Verizon's 1000 text messages for $10 plan.

Joeboo · Dec 30, 2015

The thing is, texts shouldn't cost anything, it uses effectively zero bandwidth. I don't think Sprint or AT&T or anyone else charge anything extra for texting anymore. I have Sprint and I haven't paid for texting since the days of flip-phones.

BrutulTM · Dec 30, 2015

All the new Verizon plans have unlimited texting too, I have just not switched because my old plan makes more sense for the way I use my phone.

Looks like straight talk can't roam on the local co-op towers so they're out. If I can use my Nexus 6P (which is set to arrive today) on the local co-op then I'm switching. Is there any reason not to activate the new phone on Verizon until I make the switch? It's not going to get locked in or anything is it? I bought it direct from Google.

Denamian · Dec 30, 2015

Activating an unlocked phone with a carrier does not lock it to that carrier.

Kedwyn · Dec 30, 2015

Not surprised.

ATT Will Stop Offering 2-Year Phone Contracts On January 8th [Update]

Guvnah · Jan 8, 2016

I live a bit outside of town on some acreage and am having a difficult time finding solid internet options.

Currently, I have CenturyTel DSL which is getting me 1.5mbps down and 256kbps up for $70 per month. I have a bunch of devices using both wired and wireless internet in the house but we primarily use the kids tablets and a couple laptops for videos and games.

I am trying to find a good solution to get 3-5mbps consistently with unlimited data.

I have looked at existing options in the area which include:

Quantum Internet (Wimax using Sprint) yielding 1.5mbps up and down at $50 per month.
Verizon/ATT plans that are quite fast at my place (~20mbps) but routinely have data caps.
T-Mobile seems to have difficulty in my area for whatever reason.
Satellite ? unsure the details but have heard that it sucks.

Most recently, I ordered a Karma MIFI device with their neverstop plan which was touted as 5mbsp unlimited data for $50 per month. This was perfect for my needs, but they are now re-evaluating their business model due to underestimation of customer usage.

Any recommendations?

Joeboo · Jan 8, 2016

My dad has Hughes.net satellite at his lake house. It's really the only thing available other than dial-up and cell phone services. The speeds are actually pretty good(the advertise 10-15mbps depending on the plan) and he regularly gets it, but the latency is HORRID. Talking 500-1000ms pings. Definitely no online gaming, and while streaming video and music is ok once it gets up and going, doing any kind of VOIP service for phones is out of the question. Both wifi cell usage and things like Ooma are mostly unusable due to the high pings/delay in relaying real-time speech.

The pricing isn't bad(I think he pays like $50 per month) but they do data cap you fairly low(compared to cable companies), like 50-70GB per month depending on the plan you choose(but that's better than most cell phone providers offer with their hotspots/tethering)

BrutulTM · Jan 8, 2016

I have been using satellite internet for 7 years now and I have had both Hughesnet and Wild Blue and I can confirm that they both suck. Pretty sure joeboo is wrong on the data caps. I currently have a 14 GB cap with Hughesnet and an additional 10GB that can only be used between 2AM and 8AM. I pay $80 a month and if you're in off hours it will actually hit 5-10 Mbps but in the evening during prime internet hours I usually get less than 1Mbps. I would happily trade it for reliable 1.5 Mb DSL with no data cap.

Here's a speedtest I just took at 8:50 PM to show you the glory of hughesnet.

Agraza · Jan 9, 2016

Please join civilized society cavedude.

Denamian · Jan 9, 2016

NY approves $55 billion Charter-Time Warner Cable deal - The Buzz: Business news

Well, NY has approved Charter buyout of Time Warner. Part of the approval requires Charter to offer 300 Mbps to the entire state by 2019. Considering I pay just shy of $60 for 15/1 Mbps, I can only imagine how expensive that would be. I highly doubt they'll meet that deadline, as there are places that don't get cable at all, especially in the Adirondack Park.

Feds and other states haven't approved it yet, so I'm wondering what other conditions will be attached

Palum · Jan 9, 2016

Well considering all those tax benefits, exclusivity and utility right-of-ways, etc. they always get in return for these grandiose service promises which never materialize for the resident's benefit because 'oh we got distracted' or other 'delays'... wouldn't hold your breath.

BrutulTM · Jan 9, 2016

Agraza_sl said:
Please join civilized society cavedude.

I would love to. There's not many things that I miss from living in the city but real broadband is definitely one of them.

Joeboo · Jan 9, 2016

BrutulTM_sl said:
I have been using satellite internet for 7 years now and I have had both Hughesnet and Wild Blue and I can confirm that they both suck. Pretty sure joeboo is wrong on the data caps. I currently have a 14 GB cap with Hughesnet and an additional 10GB that can only be used between 2AM and 8AM. I pay $80 a month and if you're in off hours it will actually hit 5-10 Mbps but in the evening during prime internet hours I usually get less than 1Mbps. I would happily trade it for reliable 1.5 Mb DSL with no data cap.

Here's a speedtest I just took at 8:50 PM to show you the glory of hughesnet.

How old is your actual physical satellite dish? My dad got a new one this year and his speeds increased 10x. Their satellites from 3-5 years ago are apparently trash compared to the new ones.

BrutulTM · Jan 9, 2016

Hmm, I'm not sure. I think it's less than 2 years old but I can't remember exactly.

Joeboo · Jan 9, 2016

And it does look like they do a weird split cap thing. One cap for regular usage, and then a 2am-8am additional data amount. That's about worthless.

Service Providers (Internet, TV, Etc)

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