Rural Internet

Mortein

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Hello all. I have been looking at my options for internet coverage where we are moving to and it looks like I might have to go with smoke signals. :(
There is a .Gov subsidy to get sat hard wear fitted for free. Thens its a matter of getting an ISP. But after looking at internet plans I was shocked st the price/month.
I remembered reading a Renew mag where someone used a Next G relay set up to connect to the internet. I have a ridge sbout 150m's away that I can get eniugh signal on my phone to send and recieve text.
So my question is. Has anyone seen this done or have any first hand experience?
Cheers
KB
 

Jenni

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I am in town and can't get reception in some areas of the house, so I can imagine your issue out there. When you say relay are you referring to those wireless modems because that could work if you could put that on the hill. then wireless connect to it. I know you can get a booster for ADSL so maybe they have one as well for wireless. Although they aren't cheap either but better than satellite.

Sorry not much help..
 

Mark

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So can you not get 3G coverage from the house?

If not, a relay station could work but if your signal is poor on the ridge by the time it gets to your PC in your house the signal will be degraded even more. I would think you would need a good wireless signal from the relay point to make it worthwhile.

When we first moved here (nearly 10 years ago) we had no internet our copper wires were too degraded plus we are on a RIM so no ADSL anyway. We had 3G but only just enough signal to make a call on a mobile (usually standing outside) so internet over 3G was deemed pointless. Then, I tried fixed wireless through a local wireless company who had a relay tower on a mountain about 10 k away and that looked promising until we tested it and realised the large gum tree bushland between us and the tower fractured the signal too much. So, my last and only option in the end was to get Government assisted satellite.

Overall, the installation of the sat dish and hardware cost around $3500 all paid for by the taxman. The actual service was slow, unreliable, and expensive but it was all we could get and it did the job. Thankfully, a few years later Telstra upgraded their 3G wireless towers in our area and I realised we could get 3G if I installed a whip antenna on our roof. These days, we get speeds of around 1 mb to 3 max on an outrageous plan of $150 per month for 25 GB (that's with a $10 discount) of which we use every last bit due to our online work and kids.

I'm hanging out big time for the NBN!!!!!! Our local member Wyatt Roy has contacted me directly (after my vocal outcries on SM and direct letters to him and the Comm Minister) to assure me NBN is coming in 2015 to our area.

Have you investigated the NBN? The excerpt below is from the NBN site here

Long Term Satellite Service
As part of the NBN Long Term Satellite Service, NBN Co will launch two next-generation Ka-band satellites to provide access to the NBN outside the fibre and fixed wireless footprints. The satellites, which are planned to launch in 2015, are designed to provide high speed broadband coverage to around three percent of homes and businesses including outback areas and Australia’s external territories such as Norfolk Island, Christmas Island, Macquarie Island and the Cocos Islands.

After their launch, NBN Co will be able to offer wholesale services configured for a planned 12 megabits per second (Mbps) download and 1Mbps upload service2, to RSPs serving homes and businesses outside the NBN fibre and fixed wireless footprints.

Satellite internet has improved dramatically with improve latency or drop outs and if this gets up, as they say it is, you should be covered hopefully under the NBN. There are several resellers available and if you check out the plans on offer they are pretty reasonably priced (certainly much better than what I got under the old sat scheme). Have a look at these plans from ANT for example.

If you can't get 3 or 4G satellite will be your only option I suspect.
 

Tim C

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In Milparinka I had a car phone ariel zip-tied t an old 10m fibreglass uhf base station ariel. With an extension cable into my Telstra Elite pre-paid USB.
Out in the sticks I have found only Telstra has the coverage. I pre-pay $50 for 3GB- lasts about a month.
I am reasonably sure there are subsidised options for those without coverage, but you would need to do your homework before making a decision which one and jump through a lot of hoops to get it.
If you are just out of range you may be able to put a magnetic car ariel on the crest of the house roof with an extension. The other option would be a wireless router for not-too-long distances from ariel to computer.
 

stevo

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Does this map help? Set it on "detailed" and "4G" and "3G" for rural areas. and try the "extrernal antenna" option too. https://www.telstra.com.au/mobile-phones/coverage-networks/our-coverage

If you're not too far out of range I'd try a big antenna as high as you can put it.

I have a little antenna that plugs in to my 4G modem and it works great in rural areas, I get internet in places that phones don't work, so external antennas work pretty well, bigger the better. (but yeah it may not solve your issue)
 

Mortein

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Thanks everyone. That is exactly the info I was after. I will continue to do my home work all be it better informed now.
The responses above are the reason why I signed up to this forum. Its info from real world users and subject matter experts.
Cheers everyone.
KB
 

Mark

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Please let us know how you go and what you decide on?

This is my satellite dish now it's a huge bird bath and seed station :)

sat dish now a bird bath.jpg
 

Mortein

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Ok. After doing a bit of research, Next G connection is out. As you said Mark way to slow. Good for texting if I stand on the fence on the highest part of the property. The "cabin" is 100m's down a hill. So I spoke to a very helpful man from the NBN Suport Scheme (NSS) and I qualify for free satellite install. Checking my internet usage to date I only use around the 5gig mark on average. A plan around that amount is $30-$40 a month for a 12 month contract. I will ask around to see what the neighbours are using ISP wise.
Stay tuned
KB
 

Mark

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I thought satellite might be the go and if the speeds are what they say it will be (around 8-12 MB) then that's a really good service and better than most outer city suburbs on ADSL.

Good luck - I hope it goes well!
 

Tim C

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I would be loathe to sign up to any contract with any ISP- EVER! I would suggest it you can get it without a contract, pay the up-front price instead and retain your freedom of choice. Once you are locked in they will bleed you dry.
 

Mark

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Most contracts are 12 months or open ended now days - I hope the times of ISP lock in contracts for 2 or 3 years are past us (fingers crossed)...
 

Mortein

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The ones I am looking at are 12 month contracts. No choice if I want to access the NSS for free. Also there are only the 10 ISP's signed up to the NSS and they all do 12 month contracts.
 

Mortein

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Just a quick up date to the interweb connection. I brought a prepaid USB Dongle and get good internet a k down the road. So my ute is now called the mobile internet café. I am going to get an antenna for the dongle and check it on my property to see what I get signal wise. I will be checking at the same site as the shed/house will be built.
 

Mark

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That sounds promising then! I assume you're building the house on the high ground so with an antenna on top hopefully it should be sweet :)
 
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