Internet access

Where are you going to be living. Living say on a mountain or a valley? Are you in site of a tower for wireless? I prefer dsl because it is reliable (not always fast but it always works), my experiences with broadband and satelites have been poor but I live in a valley. So it can depend on quite a few things.

Hi JB,

I went through a 6 month or so period using dial up at home last year. Some people don't mind dial-up, but for me, it was pure hell.

I evaluated what was available to me here in the islands and decided to go with a Mobile Broadband Card for home use. I love it and have never had a single problem with it!!! It's wonderful for traveling too!!! I got mine through Sprint and pay $59.99 per month. It is slower than the DSL service I had in the states, but the "perceptible" difference to me is not very significant.

Anyhow, you might want to check it out and see if it is something that might work for you too!

🙂

I use hughsnet satellite, I have a dish and have never had an outage.....I would never depend on innovative especially for telephone service anywhere on STX......I have friends here who use VI broadband and are very happy with their service.

hughsnet....does that provide phone and TV service as well or only internet? I had DishTV for a year in North Carolina and thunderstorms with heavy clouds blocked me out of service from time to time. How big is the dish and how much does it cost? Sounds interesting. Have you had hughsnet long enough to know it is reliable during a hurricane?

During a hurricane your dish is going to blow away if you leave it outside and if you are unlucky if it is inside.

Also unless you have a generator where are you going to get the power to stay on line once yu find your dish and put it back up?

Jim

Thought about the generator. Hadn't thought about taking a dish down and putting it back up with every hurricane threat. That can't be fun. I am guessing land phone lines, dsl and cable are more reliable when the yogurt hits the fan then?

Not necessarily with bad weather everything usually goes at least for a while. For example, if we dont get a hurricane we get a massive amount of rain sometime between Aug to Nov. In stx last year cable and phone were out at my place on the east end for about two weeks. You will usually have a certain amount of bad weather each year, think of it as the pay off for warm weather year round.

Last year as I said I never lost Internet service....lost power all the time.......WAPA cuts the power whenever there is a big lightning storm 20 plus times last year ......in Cane bay at least.........I have a battery back up..(.APC _UPS) and a small generator for my home........the best buy I have ever made .......a few sleepless fan less nights will send you to a home depot.........my dish comes right off with just 2 screws......not a problem they only weigh about 20 pounds...........I'm still very happy with my system

sounds good flounder. I gather you use this satellite exclusively for internet and nothing else?? What is the monthly cost?

oh and another question....what do you use the battery back up..(.APC _UPS) to support....and what size/specs did you get?

you need a separate satellite for Internet and TV......you have to buy your dish , cable boxes and routers outright they do not rent or lease here...paid 2k for 5 boxes, routers etc.. and both dishes, installation and hard wiring for 3 computer areas and 4 rooms for TV .........apcc.com for the ups....they have a light and appliance option also.(wish I had bought that option)........I have the 1400 and I run a fan, Internet , laptop and TV for about 3 1/2 hours ..the best part is it also serves as a serge protector and a voltage cleaner... current fluctuations here.can be huge when they re-boot the power......I also have a small Honda generator for the week long possibility's.......don't use it more than once or twice a year.....so far.....I pay $69 for satellite and $100 for 5 boxes and all the pay Chanel's for the TV.......... hope it helps..........good luck

most excellent! Thanks for teh thorough lowdown. very, very helpful...will certainly need to save this one.