Fastest broadband service?

Broadband VI.

(340) 719-2943

ETA: Phone number.

You might look into Innovative's broadband too. I had a dreadful time with Choice Communications on St Thomas and switched to Innovative which has been much, much better. I don't have the fastest that they offer but for what I need it's just fine and I must say that their service is very good. A couple of minor glitches here and there have been easily solved over the telephone by their techs. Dish doesn't have the facility to offer internet service.

I am a Dish Network retailer as well as a Hughesnet dealer on STX.
We've installed Dish and Hughes here for over 10 years.
You are correct that Direct has pulled back however Directv, Directv Latin America (which is what they provided here), and Hughesnet are all different companies. In fact Dish purchased Hughesnet last year.
Satellite internet may not be the fastest but the reliability is hard to beat. Great for a back up for sure!!
Give us a call at 340-718-2488
Alan
Paradise Satellite

Have houses on stt and stx. Broadband VI on stx is twice as fast as innovative on stt. Skysthelimit service is outstanding on stx.

I am a Dish Network retailer as well as a Hughesnet dealer on STX.
We've installed Dish and Hughes here for over 10 years.
You are correct that Direct has pulled back however Directv, Directv Latin America (which is what they provided here), and Hughesnet are all different companies. In fact Dish purchased Hughesnet last year.
Satellite internet may not be the fastest but the reliability is hard to beat. Great for a back up for sure!!
Give us a call at 340-718-2488
Alan
Paradise Satellite

So are you saying that one can now get internet service through Dish or would one still go through Hughesnet?

I've found it very challenging to run a business on STX when you're used to stateside broadband speeds. I've had Broadband VI and pay for their highest download speed (1.5 MPS). That's far below what you can get on the mainland, and frankly, I rarely consistently see those speeds. It fluctuates considerably to the point at which I can't use Skype at all. Unfortunately, as they say, "it is what it is" here. That's the best you can get (at least according to what I've found) and while it's certainly better than nothing, it can be challenge.

That said, I do still want to pass on kudos for the customer service at Broadband VI. They have been nothing short of pleasant, responsive, and competent when I've called with issues, and have done everything possible to fix things when they happen.

Bernie

Dish customers stateside can get internet through Wild Blue. It still requires a second Dish.
Hughesnet and Dish are separate dishes and accounts.

i have had broadband vi on stx and have had speeds fast enough to stream netflix without buffering for the majority of the time. the men who came out to install the service were very thorough in making sure they set up the receiver in the best spot to get the fastest speeds. very pleased.

I've found it very challenging to run a business on STX when you're used to stateside broadband speeds. I've had Broadband VI and pay for their highest download speed (1.5 MPS). That's far below what you can get on the mainland, and frankly, I rarely consistently see those speeds. It fluctuates considerably to the point at which I can't use Skype at all. Unfortunately, as they say, "it is what it is" here. That's the best you can get (at least according to what I've found) and while it's certainly better than nothing, it can be challenge.

That said, I do still want to pass on kudos for the customer service at Broadband VI. They have been nothing short of pleasant, responsive, and competent when I've called with issues, and have done everything possible to fix things when they happen.

Bernie

Agreed that the top speeds on STX are abysmal compared to what you get on the mainland. That said, I regularly (i.e., 2x or more a week) use Google Chat or Skype without difficulty utilizing both BBVI and Innovative services (depending on where I'm living on island), as well as stream video via Hulu and other sites without too much difficulty.

My experience with BBVI's customer service department, on the other hand, couldn't BE more different than yours and, IMHO, leaves A LOT to be desired. (And that's saying something in the VI.) Very, very rude people.

Sprint mobile card works for email and basic web browsing in a pinch when the power goes out.

Dish customers stateside can get internet through Wild Blue. It still requires a second Dish.
Hughesnet and Dish are separate dishes and accounts.

Thanks for the info.

BBVI is in the process of rolling out faster service. My 1.5Mbs was upgraded (for free and for no additional monthly cost ) and I now get over 3 Mbs on prolonged streaming of movies in HD from Netflix and from other sources. Speed Test shows 5 Mbs, but part of that is the burst that BBVI gives you during the first seconds of a download.

Have had the faster service for over a month and it is rock solid and steady which is what you need for streaming video and VOIP. Agreed it is not as fast as stateside internet, but once you can stream video in HD how much more bandwidth do you need for at home applications?

Choice at one time was offering 5 Mbs service, but they could not deliver it consistently. I belive the highest speed they offer now is 3 Mbs. Latency was also terrible as was the technical support.

Choice at one time was offering 5 Mbs service, but they could not deliver it consistently. I belive the highest speed they offer now is 3 Mbs. Latency was also terrible as was the technical support.

Yeah, that product went nowhere. Too many people signed up and Choice didn't have the infrastructure to deliver. My landlord had it for a few months last year, but switched back to Innovative when testing showed that we were getting speeds nowhere near what was being advertised.

I'm happy if I can consistently get 1Mbs these days. (But I long for my FREE stateside wifi that produced speeds upwards of 10Mps. I'd give up flush toilets and refrigeration for 10Mps here.)

I'm happy if I can consistently get 1Mbs these days. (But I long for my FREE stateside wifi that produced speeds upwards of 10Mps. I'd give up flush toilets and refrigeration for 10Mps here.)

You can't give up something you don't have.

As usual, great information from everyone...thanks so much!!

I'm happy if I can consistently get 1Mbs these days. (But I long for my FREE stateside wifi that produced speeds upwards of 10Mps. I'd give up flush toilets and refrigeration for 10Mps here.)

You can't give up something you don't have.

Huh? My toilets flush and my fridge will work until WAPA runs out of fuel in June.

That was kind of a joke Iris...

We install Hughesnet and Skycaster's on STT and STJ. Cinnamon Bay Campground has Skycaster's. 4.5 Mb down and 1.2Mb up. Fastest service is 6Mb down and1.5Mb up.
Skycaster's provides business class service. Works with VPN's and VOIP.

Sloop Jones

I've had Broadband VI and pay for their highest download speed (1.5 MPS). ..... It fluctuates considerably to the point at which I can't use Skype at all. Bernie

Is that $349.00 per month and you can't even use Skype?

I've got the Residential 768 kbps download and 512 kbps upload for $49.95 per month and it used to work fine for Skype, but not any more. new computer too. I was wondering if I upgraded if it would make a difference, but it appears I would have to upgrade a lot!

How much does a person have to budget to get a useable internet speed?

$99.95/mo through BroadbandVI will get you up to 3mbps, it's currently the best option out there. Choice claims it can compete with that for less, but everyone I know that tried it had a terrible experience. I'm locked into a contract with Innovative where I get expanded service cable tv, a landline phone, and 1mbps DSL that is of the crappiest reliability I've ever seen in an internet connection, I can't believe my F5 key isn't destroyed yet.

As soon as I'm out of this contract, it's BBVI and a Dish all the way.

The higher speed internet service from BBVI is $99 a month for residential service.

They are in the process of increasing the speed of this service from 1.5Mbs down to 3 Mbs down. I regularly get speeds of over 4 Mbs.

My wife regularly uses 400 minutes a month on Skype to talk to her family in Europe. Seldom have any problems nor did she have problems on our slower 768 Kbs connection.

We also watch Netflix regularly on our ROKU and the stream is in HD. Maybe once a month have a glitch, but that can usually be traced back to Netflix.

I have found the latency on BBVI to be cinsitently be 45 -60 ms to servers in Florida. A consistent connection is just as important as raw download speed when it comes to VOIP and streaming video.

If you are having problems with your BBVI connection have you checked your router? If you are using WiFi that could be the issue.

Residential 1.5Mbps service from Broadband VI is $99.95/month
Major increase in speed is "soon come"

I've had Broadband VI and pay for their highest download speed (1.5 MPS). ..... It fluctuates considerably to the point at which I can't use Skype at all. Bernie

Is that $349.00 per month and you can't even use Skype?

I've got the Residential 768 kbps download and 512 kbps upload for $49.95 per month and it used to work fine for Skype, but not any more. new computer too. I was wondering if I upgraded if it would make a difference, but it appears I would have to upgrade a lot!

How much does a person have to budget to get a useable internet speed?

Your computer is quite capable of handling the low speed internet (no matter where you are, even a major hub) and your problem is with the ISP. The VI has shit internet period.

EDIT: these are my speeds at $45 a month:

Should probably mention that if you rely on your residential internet connection for your business, or just have money to burn, you could buy a wan load balancer from Ecessa for ~$800 and pay for both BBVI ~3Mbps and Innovative at ~1Mbps and have a completely workable solution for just about any bandwidth need. Obviously your business better not involve streaming anything. This would run you about $160 a month, you might hit the 5Mbps range with the BBVI rollout going on.

It isn't comcast, but things are a hell of a lot better now than they were even 5 years ago.

A consistent connection is just as important as raw download speed when it comes to VOIP and streaming video.

If you are having problems with your BBVI connection have you checked your router? If you are using WiFi that could be the issue.

Thanks for the suggestion Jim Dandy,

Your right about consistent connection being important, that's what I'm concerned about. I don't have a router or wifi, I have the wire plugged directly into my laptop just to avoid any possible problems that are not ISP.

It's frustrating - Skype used to work fine day or night, but now it's hit or miss. Also, I notice I can't stream even a Youtube in the evening, forget about that. In the daytime not so bad, sometimes will work, but forget anything after 6:00pm.

I would like to be assured that the $99.95/month would work consistently - whether the BBVI office is open or not.