Way to get a great internet connection in the country

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Liama8
Level 2
Virginia Beach, VA

Way to get a great internet connection in the country

Hello!

 

I live and host my home way out in the country.  I only have 1 internet service provider - Hughes Net.  I get okay wifi, but not good enough to host clients who would use my listing to "work from home."  I have lost 3 clients who wanted extended stays because of this issue.  Does anyone know if there is a gadget or piece of gear I can purchase to guarantee a great connection all the time?

1 Best Answer
M199
Level 10
South Bruce Peninsula, Canada

@Liama8 

 

We are in a very similar situation.  We get no service at all.  Try signing up for Starlik, Elon Musk's internet service.  It's in Beta testing and you may have to wait a few months until they get more satellites up, but if your on the wait list, at least you will have another option.

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13 Replies 13
M199
Level 10
South Bruce Peninsula, Canada

@Liama8 

 

We are in a very similar situation.  We get no service at all.  Try signing up for Starlik, Elon Musk's internet service.  It's in Beta testing and you may have to wait a few months until they get more satellites up, but if your on the wait list, at least you will have another option.

Liama8
Level 2
Virginia Beach, VA

Thank you!  I will look into it.

M199
Level 10
South Bruce Peninsula, Canada

@Liama8 

 

Sorry typo...

 

 

Starlink

Lisa723
Level 10
Quilcene, WA

@Liama8 @M199 same situation. We provide Verizon jet pack hotspots but they are throttled after a monthly limit. We advise guests to use their own phones as hotspots, as I do when I work from the property— and this works fine (for those with adequate data plans). I think wired/satellite internet is likely shortly to become a relic, as cellular providers build up bandwidth.

Good points.  Thank you.

Debra300
Level 10
Gros Islet, Saint Lucia

@Liama8,

 

If Tmobile service reaches your property, you may want to see if you can get their internet service, which is basically a 5g plan for the house.

Hi.  I appreciate that, but there is nothing but Hughes Net at this time.  I do believe there is another company slowly working their way down my long street!  Thank you.

I am looking into satellite internet.  We currently have WISP internet service at our house and it’s great.  The service stinks and we have been waiting to get it installed in our rental 7 months ago.  My friends out in the country have satellite internet - one has Hughes and the other Viastat.  They are both able to stream Roku.  

is one better than the other?  Hope rural broadband arrives before I die! Have you tried Roku? 

Michelle53
Level 10
Chicago, IL

@Liama8   There are two parts to this question. 

 

Part 1: where does my internet come from ?

Part 2: where does my wifi connectivity come from ?

 

Part 1: Your internet comes from an internet service provider (ISP). In your case, Hughes.net.  As I understand it, this is a satellite service. This is already wireless (unlike a provider that runs a cable to your location) but still enters your home through a modem.

 

When you sign up for a plan, they will tell you what the incoming speed is. That isn't necessarily the speed you will get from devices connected in various parts of you house. 

 

Part 2: Wifi is distributed from your incoming service location (modem) to other parts of your house (router).  This signal can degrade the further you are from the access point, as the signal tries to pass through walls, floors, ductwork etc etc, so that speeds get less and less, the further you are from the  access point. This can be improved by placing the modem in a central location, or  purchasing range extenders or mesh routing systems that can enhance the signal. 

 

In general, at least at things stand today, you can expect incoming speed from a wireless service to be lower than speed from a wired service  (because the signal degrades with distance).

Thank you for the clarification!  I will try range extenders in the meantime, though if I understand it, that will help things to be accessible from other parts of the house but not boost the level of speed from the modem.  Is that correct?

@Liama8  Range extenders can't change the speed from your provider, but can  boost the signal to be more available in other parts of the house where the current setup may not reach.

 

https://www.businessinsider.com/how-do-wifi-extenders-work#:~:text=pros%20and%20cons.-,How%20Wi%2DFi....

Anita1096
Level 1
Tacoma, WA

I was hoping for a solution as well. I had Hughes come out and they couldn't get a signal. Starlink was a no. I am guess that Viasat will not be able to help. Has anyone had a no go from Hughes/starlink but was able to get Viasat?

Elaine701
Level 10
Balearic Islands, Spain

Whatever speed your internet provider can give you is what you'll get (usually something less than that). But that has nothing to do with the WiFi coverage in your house. 

 

WiFi extenders can be useful, but they do tend to reduce speed for those decides connected through them. If your internet speed isn't that good to begin with, then these make it worse. 

 

We have a large property, with a lot of outdoor living space, and guests prefer to have a good WiFi signal in those areas. 

 

So the approach we've taken is simple. Just add more WiFi access points around the property. You do have to run cable to them, but the effect is dramatic and highly reliable. And it doesn't slow down the connection. We have 5 of them all around the property. Not only for the benefit of guests, but it's great to have a good WiFi connection when there's maintenance tasks or other things you're doing outside of the house. And the access points are cheap. You can also configure old routers to be a simple access point. You just need to run a cable (there are outdoor cables available, not expensive at all, you can bury them or lay them in gutters). Mount the WiFi access points under roofs and away from sun and rain. Or at opposite ends of your house indoors, or one on the top floor, one on the bottom... 

 

The only other thing you need to do is give every access point the same name and password. You smartphone or tablet will automatically switch to the one with the best signal, invisibly. It simply appears that you have very strong WiFi signal everywhere 

 

🙂